Geniza Lab

Recto: A table of Psalms. Verso: The same note as on the preceding shelfmark, for Abū l-Najm the Parnas to give bread to the bearer. There are also two introductory lines of a letter to Moshe the Judge.

Opening of a letter, with address on verso; no names preserved. (Information from CUDL)

The middle (vertical) third of a very long letter addressed perhaps to Mordechai ha-Kohen b. Abū ʿImrān al-Kohen Sarārifī (?). Due to the fragmentary nature it is hard to follow the story, but the topics include the following: the writer's arrival in al-Maḥalla; staying in the funduq, sad and weeping; nobody giving him any money; Damascus; and perhaps the writer's dependence on the addressee's charity. He sends regards to Abū l-Maʿānī b. al-Amshāṭī and to Abū Faḍā'il al-Talmid. ASE.

Letter of appeal from a blind (maḍrūr) man Moshe who is unable to work and distressed on account of the capitation tax. Rather than asking for charity, he asks the addressee if he can think of any employment in his shop for the writer ("do you plan to open? . . . I heard from Ibrāhīm that you mentioned to him that you plan to open this Friday.") If there is no work directly in the shop, he writes that he would even work for a Gentile. He then asks for a loan of two dinars for the jāliya and promises to repay it as soon as possible. He perishes from sitting at home all day on account of the capitation tax owed. ASE.

Fragment of a business letter in Judaeo-Arabic.

Fragment of a letter in Hebrew addressing 'the elders.'

Small fragment containing Judaeo-Arabic poetry; see joins for more substantial poems written by the same scribe.

Fragments from a letter, probably an 11th-century mercantile letter.

Letter of appeal in Hebrew, probably 14th century or later, including lengthy praises for the addressee and then a request to help with the [poll?] tax, as the writer and his family are unable to leave the house.

Fragment from a letter of appeal in which the writer alludes to news 'that made my chest constrict and the world collapse on me.' He intends to travel in the Rīf in search of a living, but he does not even have the money to rent a pack animal. He asks the addressee for a loan of three dirhams to rent an animal, and perhaps a little more for provisions.

Fragment from the opening of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. On this fragment there are mainly holiday greetings, but the Hebrew opening suggests that the writer is in some distress and preparing to ask for help. Chances of a join seem high.

Very short note from Elʿazar to R. Yosef: "I need the silver very much, please send it with the bearer." Verso has a few letters in Hebrew, probably pen trials.

Short, faded note to 'al-melammed' telling the addressee to take a 'dast' (a certain quantity) from 'this paper,' for the writer is without employment.

Small slip of paper containing the words al-mamlūk al-aṣghar wa-l-muḥibb al-akram.

Small fragment, probably from a legal document, mentioning Sanīy al-Dawla. Someone of the same title is mentioned in several other mid-12-century documents. For instance, Frenkel identifies the Abū l-Makārim mentioned by Abū Naṣr b. Avraham in T-S 12.290 as אבו אלמכארם סני אלדולה משה בן יפת הלוי. The present document may also be in the hand of Abū Naṣr.

Short note from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu, ordering a medicinal syrup (sharāb) from al-Shaykh al-Nafīs.

Testimony stating that Abu al-Fadl al-Sayrafi Masliah b. Meshullam informed Nahray b. Nissim that his wife had vacated the room on the floor (tabaqa) belonging to Shemuel b. al-Kohen, Nahray's in-law. Dated Iyyar-Sivan 1407/ 29 April 1096 - 27 May 1096, in Fustat. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Fragment from the end of a legal document, signed by Avraham ha-Levi b. Moshe ha-Levi and Ṣedaqa b. Yeshuʿa (?).

Legal document. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat/Cairo. Dated: Monday, 26 Ḥeshvan 5342 AM, which is 1581 CE. In which Budayrī acknowledges that he owes ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Ḥimṣī a debt of 12 gold Venetian ducats (peraḥim), which he will repay within 2 months. Signed by Yosef b. Meir Somekh ha-Kohen alongside another elaborate signature. Verso contains confirmation of receipt (of only 6 ducats?), written transversely in relation to recto. The note on verso is dated: first decade of Nisan 5342 AM (so well beyond the two month repayment that was agreed upon). (Information in part from CUDL.)

Fragment of a legal document mentioning a divorce and Mawlāy al-Nezer.