Geniza Lab

The main documentary item under this shelfmark is a copy of a letter from Rav Hayya Gaon to Avraham b. ʿAṭā' the Nagid of Qayrawān. Needs examination.

Literary. Introduction to a literary work in Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew.

Letter from an unknown writer in Egypt to Moshe Kohen in an unknown location. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late, probably 16th century at the earliest. Mentions the currency sharīfī. The writer reports that the community gave 400 qirsh to a person who came bearing letters of recommendation, of which 240 are intended for the children of Namir. There is a blank where the person's name ought to be--it was never filled in, and the letter was perhaps never sent. The writer reports on the financial affairs of the community on Egypt and all the money that goes toward interest payments. Needs further examination.

Literary. Eshkol ha-Kofer by Yehuda Hadasi. Dating: Possibly 15th or 16th c. Information from NLI.

Literary. Eshkol ha-Kofer by Yehuda Hadasi. Dating: Possibly 15th or 16th c. Information from NLI.

Literary. Eshkol ha-Kofer by Yehuda Hadasi. Dating: Possibly 15th or 16th c. Information from NLI.

Bill of divorce (get). Location: Cairo. Dated: Tevet 1744 Seleucid, which is 1432/33 CE. Husband: Shemuel b. [...] b. Shemuel. Wife: Sarah bt. [...]. The blanks in the date were never filled in, and there are no signatures, so this document was never actually used.

Literary. Catalogued as a 15th-century copy of Sefer Teshuva, the polemical work against the Rabbanites by Yefet al-Barqamānī (13th c.).

Court notebook, probably Qaraite. Many pages. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 1570s CE, based on the dates in individual entries. Needs examination.

Literary work. Many pages. See FGP for identifications.

Letter "to the Sulṭān regarding. . ." written in calligraphic and vocalized Judaeo-Arabic. The header is too faded to be easily read from the microfilm. The text is filled with expressions glorifying the sultan.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, late. From Moshe Ḥayyim Ḥayyūn (?) to Mordekhai Hannān (?) and another person whose name is effaced. Dating: Probably 18th or 19th century. There is no address and no folding, so possibly a draft. Deals with business matters. Mentions Damietta and a certain Nissim. Regards to various people at the end.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Late. Dealing with business matters. Neither writer nor addressee appear to be named; the latter is addressed as 'my brother.'

Rendering of the book Esther into Judaeo-Arabic. Late.

Colophon for an unidentified work. Location: Cairo. Dated: Sivan 1819 Seleucid = Muharram 914 AH = 1508 CE. On verso there is a note in Judaeo-Arabic referring to "my late cousin Yeshuʿa."

The story of Esther in Judaeo-Arabic.

Letter draft from an unknown man in Egypt to Marzūq Chelebi (? גלבי) in Damascus. Both writer and addressee are Qaraites. The latter is greeted as someone who is renowned for his charity "among Muslims, Christians, and Rabbanites." Recto is written in Judaeo-Arabic, and verso is in Arabic script; both sides appear to belong to the same letter. The letter mentions a figure named Isaac Navarro several times as well as "the Pasha." It tells the tale of persecution and imprisonment; it seems that the captive Rabbanites had the wherewithal to advocate with the Pasha for their release, but not so the Qaraites, and the Rabbanites gloated tremendously (wa-yā shamātat al-rabbānīn!). Needs further examination.

Literary. Muqaddimāt and tafsīr.

Legal testimony. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated Tuesday, 25 Tammuz 1693 Seleucid = פֿדֿןֿ Hijri (this is confusing notation: perhaps 584 + an implied 200?). In any case, this corresponds to 1382 CE. Witnesses: Avraham b. Moshe b. Shemuel Ibn al-Kāzarūnī and David b. Yehoshuaʿ. The document has to do with Sitt al-[...] bt. Saʿīd b. Faraj Allāh who received from ʿAbdallāh b. [...] b. Khaṭīr Ibn al-Khāzin the 2200 dirhams nuqra that she had been willed by the deceased, ʿAbd al-Qādir b. ʿAbd al-Kāfī b. Khaṭīr Ibn al-Khāzin. The aforementioned ʿAbdallāh was the executor of the will.

Legal document. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated Monday 2 Adar 5497 AM, which is 1737 CE. ʿEzra b. Eliyyahu Rofe Fayrūz acknowledges a debt of 31(?) golden fonduclis from Yosef Levi b. Naḥum Levi (or the grandson of Naḥum Levi?). This took place in the house of Moshe ha-Rofe b. Aharon Ẓaʿīr. There are no signatures and there are several corrections; probably a draft.