Geniza Lab

The first page from a letter in three languages requesting aid and assistance coming from the compensation of "Raḥov ha-Nahār" in Jerusalem – the second page is an assessment of the rabbis' compensated traveled, and the changes that occurred with it regarding the collectors and the lighting – undated – (number 295) – in Hebrew, Yiddish, and English.

Narrative of events and stories of religious figures – undated – Bassatine Cemetery – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 296) – in Hebrew. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 39). MCD.

Selections from the poetry of Ḥayyim Nahman Bialik – Bassatine Cemetery – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 297) – in Yiddish. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 31). MCD.

The story of the prophet Joseph and his brothers illustrated in fourteen scenes – undated – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 298) – in Judeo-Arabic and French. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 46). MCD.

Announcement by the Ashkenazi Jewish community of Cairo for the opening of a public clinic in the neighborhood of the communal synagogue on Rosette Gardens Street in Cairo – undated – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 3) – in Yiddish and French. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 52). A scan and translation of this document is available in Al-Janiza wa-l-maʿābid al-Yahūdiyya fī Miṣr (p. 157-158). The original text in French reads: "Communauté Israélite Aschkénazi du Caire – Commision de Bienfaisance – Avis – Nous avons l'honneur d'informer l'honorable public du Caire que nous avons installé une clinque gratuite pour malades, sans distinction de nationalité, sons la direction du docteur A. Tonis, diplômé de l'Université de Genève (Suisse). Clinque ouverte tous les jours de 11 a.m. - 12 sauf Samedi et jours fériés, dans le local de la Cour du Temple de la Communauté sis rue Jardin Rosette." MCD.

Contract of a commercial sale – 192_CE [digit missing] – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 30) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 67). MCD.

Letter letting a friend know of the sender's arrival to Jerusalem – 27 September 1923CE– Museum of Islamic Art – (number 32) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 59). MCD.

Invitation to the Jews of Egypt to donate and assist 1200 Torah students in the cities of Palestine in their poverty or because they are orphans and their rising expenses – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 34). (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 53). MCD.

Donation of agricultural floodland from one sister to another – 30 December 1909CE – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 35) – in Arabic, and four lines in French. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 74). MCD.

Letter regarding the construction of the tomb of Rabbi Yaʿacov Abu Haṣīra [in Damanhur] – 1935CE – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 36) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 36). MCD.

Monetary sales papers from the Nadā, Ḥalfūn, and Partners Bank in Cairo for Kẖawaja Elli Kohen in al-Ẓāhir in Cairo – February 24 1940CE – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 37) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 74). MCD.

Announcement to members of the community about donating to the Egyptian army for the defense of Egypt – May 28 1948CE – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 38) in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 64). MCD.

Letter requesting correspondence with knowledge of prices for lost packages and also it is asking for the purchase of clothing and a personal gift – 29 September 1929CE – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 39) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 68). MCD.

Letter sent from father to son on June 6, 1934 CE. Although the sender's name is not listed, nor is his son's, it is clear that the letter was sent from Petah Tikvah to Cairo. The main purpose of the letter is the father requesting that his son emigrate from Cairo in order to reside in Petah Tikvah. Ḥasan and Sarrāj offer an original scan, edition, and analysis of the letter in Al-Janiza wa-l-maʿābid al-Yahūdiyya fī Miṣr (pp. 160-165). Notably this letter is not mentioned in Muḥammad Rabīʿa's catalogue Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda, which confirms Mark Cohen's appraisal that this resource does not portray the full selection of the MIAC's holdings of geniza fragments unearthed from the Bassatine Cemetery (see: Cohen, "Geniza for Islamicists," 139). MCD.

List of names of those present at the sermons and preaching offered at a collective meeting of rabbis from Yemen and Persia – Bassatine Cemetery – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 4) in Hebrew. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 38). MCD.

Appeal from the administrative council of the Jews of Egypt to the assembly of the religious group – undated and it appears that it is dating to after the year 1903 the date of the establishment of the synagogue – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 40) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 33). MCD.

List issued by the Grand Rabbinate of Cairo naming the butchers who are permitted to slaughter chickens on the eve of Yom Kippur Tishrei 1920-1922 – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 41) – in Judeo-Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 38). A scan of this document is available in Al-Janiza wa-l-maʿābid al-Yahūdiyya fī Miṣr, where Ḥasan and Sarrāj also offer a transliteration of its contents to Arabic script. This is a fascinating list because it lists the approved kosher butchers by twelve specific locations in Cairo: Hārat al-Yahūd, Ismaʿilīya, Tawfīqīya, al-Ẓāhir wa al-ʿAbassīya, Darb al-Barābarā[?], Heliopolis, al-Mansi wa al-Khalīj, Suq Khuḍar Bāb al-Lūq, Sharʿa Ġamara, Meydān Fakhrī Qabīsī, Fustat [Miṣrayīm al-ʿAtiqa], and Ḥelwan. The names of each butcher are handwritten below each of these typewritten locations and they are all in the same hand. This document is also crucial for establishing that when nineteenth- and twentieth-century documents refer to the Ḥakhamhāne Miṣr/Rabanūt ha-Rashīt bi-Miṣrayīm, the implication is that Miṣr/Miṣrayīm is refers to Cairo, specifically, rather than Egypt as a broader territory (this is confirmed by the tri-lingual letterhead which includes the French "Grand Rabbinat du Caire" parallel to the other two titles). MCD.

Notice from the District Court of Qalyub for the appearance of two proprietors and each of them are Jewish individuals living in Cairo's Jewish quarter – 5 February 1920CE – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 42) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 56). MCD.

Religious rulings – undated – Bassatine Cemetery – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 43) – in Mishnaic Hebrew. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 43). MCD.

Donation request for the Yeshiva Ahava VeAhva in Meydān al-Ẓāhir in Cairo – undated – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 44) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 59). MCD.