Geniza Lab

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. There are the remnants of 6 lines. Mentions Abū Isḥāq al-Kohen.

Letter in Arabic script with some Hebrew mixed in (בהיכלו). Faded and damaged. A portion of the address is preserved; the sender's name may be Sahl b. Thābit.

Recto: Legal query with responsum. Dating: First half of the 11th century. Concerning a cantor who took an oath not to lead prayers in the synagogue or to slaughter for the congregation in the market. In order to release him from the vow, the heads of the congregation asked him questions such as, would he have taken this oath if he knew that people would say that he was an idiot? If he knew that his family would get mad at him? If he knew that people would say that he was a melancholic (sawdāwī) and therefore prone to taking many oaths? He responded that he would not have taken the oath. Thus, they released him from his oath. The responsum is damaged but appears to state that the release from the vow is invalid. (Information from Amir Ashur via FGP.)

Verso: Memorial list in the hand of ʿEli b. ʿAmram, who was the head of the Palestinian congregation in Fustat 1055–66, but apparently already active as a judge from 1026 onward. The last dated document mentioning ʿEli b. ʿAmram as still alive is from 1075 CE. (Information from Amir Ashur via FGP.)

Legal query sent to Rosh ha-Seder regarding an owner of a house who left to another land without paying his kharāj (AA)

Letter in elegant Arabic script. Fragment (right side of recto). Sent from Ramla (l. 2). The content is unclear, but the tone is deferential and the sender is evidently asking for a favor of some kind. Dating: Likely 11th century. On verso, apart from the address, are numerous jottings of different kinds in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic (including one calendrical that states that the sun was created in Nisan). Needs examination.

List of Ottoman sultans. In Hebrew and western Arabic numerals. There is a comment after Suleiman II: אמו היה מגזע עמלקים, presumably because Aşub Sultan was born Christian (despite the wrong gender for the verb). Seems to be part of a larger book in Hebrew containing prayers, poems, other literary text.

Marriage document. Two small fragments from a dowry list, probably from a ketubah. 11th century. Judeo-Arabic, Aramaic. AA

Letter from a teacher to the father of a pupil. In Judaeo-Arabic, fully vocalized. Need examination for content. (Information from Goitein’s index card)

Fragment of torn and damaged vellum, contains Geonic responsa. Published in Teshuvot ha-Hageonim Marmorstein, p. 2-3. On recto the end of a responsum on debt. On l. 12 another responsum on the custom to pray half in silence and half loud, which continues on verso. In l. 4 another responsum published in Otzar ha-Geonim, Berakhot. p. 63, no. 136. attributed to Rav Zemah Gaon. In li. 16 another responsum, published in Otzar ha-Geonim, Shabbat, p. 1, no. 2. In Ginzei Qedem, V, p. 85ff, TS 16.376 is published and contains another versions of the last 3 responsa here. AA

Document in Arabic script. Accounts? Needs conservation and needs examination.

Writing exercises based on a business letter. "I have sent you with Abū l-Faraj.... use it to buy 20 dinars of cinnamon... a dinar of pepper... a dinar of קסט... a dinar of mastic..." (Information in part from Goitein's index card)

A Hebrew-Aramaic-Yiddish biblical dictionary. Genesis 27:40–31:27. See FGP for further discussion and identification.

Poem in stanzas. In Ladino. There is also some different text in Hebrew.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic.

Petition. Dating: Late 16th or early 17th century, as it involves the well-known rabbi and judge Ḥayyim Kapūsī (1540–1631). The petitioner makes accusations against a Jewish man named Saʿd b. al-ʿAyṣī(?) who held the rights to a capitation tax farm (kāna multazim bi-muqāṭaʿat al-jawālī) but who was caught up in some sort of scandal (unkira ʿalayhi min al-amwāl al-muḥarrara ʿalayhi li-jānib al-dīwān) and had to leave Egypt for a long time. He eventually returned and attached himself to the court of Ḥayyim al-Kapūsī. Now, whenever litigants come before the court, he extorts bribes from them and hinders them from bringing cases before the Muslim courts. He infringes on people's rights, especially the poor and anyone who does not pay him enough of a bribe. The addressees are asked to send two witnesses to observe the truth of these claims and then act against the wicked man. The Hebrew script in the margin likely belongs with the accounts on verso; it does not appear to be a filing note. This document is particularly noteworthy, because the most famous hagiographical anecdote about Ḥayyim Kapūsī (also spelled Capoussi or Capousi) is that he miraculously regained his eyesight after being accused of taking bribes, thereby proving his righteousness and silencing his enemies. ASE

Mamluk or early Ottoman petition.

Accounts or sums in Greek/Coptic numerals (no words). There is also some literary text in Hebrew.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. On verso of a literary text.

Legal formularies. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Likely belongs with ENA 3755.6.