Geniza Lab

Letter from an in-law to Shelomo b. Eliyyahu, entreating him to divorce his wife (Sitt Ghazāl).

Beginning of a letter. Only the blessings have survived.

Four lines from a Hebrew letter. Dating: probably 11th century.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Shelomo b. Eliyyahu’s hand? Mentions an old woman, then somebody's (probably the writer's) intention to bring a matter before the state authorities ([anā] ʿāzim ʿalā l-dukhūl ilā l-sulṭān. . . fī qaḍiyyatī wa-injāz qiṣṣatī. . . al-salāṭīn ʿazza naṣruhum. . .), then perhaps returns to the old woman and the desire for her to enjoy peace of mind and tranquil years. If [...] agrees, the writer will send another letter, and if a certain woman also wishes something. . . otherwise, let her sit until God has mercy . . . [it ends around here]. ASE.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late, perhaps 14th–17th century. Mainly the closing greetings are preserved. In a postscript, a woman named Muʾnisa (מונסה) asks the addressee to send her something (מרבטה?).

Letter from the office of the Nagid Yehoshuaʿ Maimonides (d. 1355), bearing his motto and in the hand of his clerk. Regarding a certain Avraham, Yosef, and Shemuel, a payment of 8 [...], and the community's fund for food distribution (mezonot).

Letter in Hebrew. Regarding debts and rent of houses.

Verso: Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic.

Recto: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Addressed to a woman. Dating: No earlier than 1425 CE, as the ashrafī is mentioned. The sender orders a raṭl of cheese (last line).

Letter fragment from Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, in Qalyūb, to a family member, in Fustat. He reports that their letter and the chebulic myrobalan and the opium all arrived. He fears that he has been a burden on them. The recipient is to give some money to Maḥfūẓ and Ibn al-Nuʿmān and receive confirmation of how much Moshe still owes them. He doesn't want to return (to Fustat) if that can be helped. ASE.

Letter fragment. Probably written by Hananel b. Shemuel, Avraham Maimuni's father-in-law.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. The writer and addressee are unknown, but the handwriting seems very familiar. The writer starts by addressing a single person and sending blessings for his son; he then switches to addressing that person together with his brothers. The letter is a quintessential example of the epistolary norms surrounding illness, expressing preoccupation for others, and rebuking others for failing to do the same. "When I heard that your condition had worsened (takhallufhā), I became very distressed and forgot my own illnesses and condition, until God had mercy and the news of your health arrived, and I thanked God for that, yodu l-adonay ḥasdo, and may God avert all evil from you and your brothers and all in your care and protect me from all bad news. By my life, I am pained/sick of heart from the fact that you do not mention me in a letter or an inquiry, despite the fact that I have not cut off (our correspondence), and the fact that you are to me like my children, nay, like my brothers-in-law, and you ought to be inquiring after me (iftiqādī) if only with a letter or an inquiry. But I forgive you because of all of your cares." ASE.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Very deferential. Asking for a favor from the addressee (sayyidnā). The sender says that he would be able to obtain all that he needs if he could travel to al-Maḥalla.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Small fragment. Mentions Alexandria twice, but the context is unclear.

Letter from a man to his brother. Mostly blessings. Regards are sent to Abi al Muhasin and his mother

Letter, in Judaeo-Arabic in a cursive, Maghrebi hand signed by Avraham b. David (bottom fragment). The top one contains some Biblical phrases and few Hebrew poetic lines, probably from an oppening of a letter.

Small fragment of a Fatimid decree containing a truncated closing formula and the beginning of the date (day of the week only — Thursday). Interesting for truncation of formula (informal decree from a midlevel official to lower one?). The preserved text reads "liyaʿlam Inshāʾ Allah wa kutiba yawm al-khamīs".

Prenuptial agreement, draft. Late. Currency: peraḥim. The groom is not permittted to take the bride out of Egypt, not even to Eretz Israel.

Letter from a father to his son. Draft (abandoned in the middle of a line). In Judaeo-Arabic. He asks him to purchase some tartar and some poppy (khūshkhūsh) to be divided between the writer and Abū l-Munā.

Note of a Nagid to the 'noble congregation' of Fustat (same type as described in Mediterranean Society, II, App. C 101-112) asking them to complete the collection of the pledges made on the Day of Atonement, especially those for a traveler from Europe, ifranji, who was to leave on the morning after the first two days of the Feast of Tabernacles. The interesting fact to be learned from this note is the speediness with which the pledges were collected. There are only four days between the Day of Atonement and the beginning of the Feats of Tabernacles. The letter seems to assume that, say, on the third day of the interval between the two holidays most of the pledges had already come in. Another interesting point is the Nagid's admonition to think of the poor on the Siyyum (Heb.), the festive conclusion of the yearly reading of the Pentateuch, which takes place at the end of the autumn holidays. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 506, App. C 132)