Geniza Lab

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Writer and addressee unknown. Dating: No earlier than 15th century, since it mentions the currency ashrafī. Deals mainly with business matters. Mentions Rashīd. The writer will be accompanying a certain amīr to 'the villages' and to Alexandria. Needs further examination.

Story in Judaeo-Arabic. Reminiscent of the 1001 Nights, in that they tell of a clever woman in the palace of the king, answering riddles, etc. Needs further examination.

Letter from a woman named Harja, somewhere in Syria, to her brother ʿAbd al-Dā'im Ibn Fayrūz, in Cairo. See tag for other letters by her.

Letter from Avraham Neḥmad to Moshe b. ʿAbd al-Waliyy. Writer and addressee are Qaraites. Written in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. The letter begins with a recommendation for the bearer, Yiṣḥaq al-Ḥamawī. The whole community of Ḥamawīs (people from Hama) in the writer's location is in great distress on account of the capitation tax (jāliya). The continuation of the letter deals with business matters. Verso also contains sums in

Commentary in Judaeo-Arabic on Psalm 80, which is called here "the Psalm for parshat Bamidbar."

Letter from the Qaraite community of Jerusalem to the Qaraite community of Damascus. The scribe is Meir Rofe Tawrīzī, and the letter is also signed by Mordekhai Hillel and ʿAbd al-Raḥīm. Written in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Unknown, but possibly the 1580s CE based on the mention of the sanjak named Abū Sayfayn, known from other sources to have been the administrator of the sanjak of Nablus under Sinan Pasha. The letter is a vivid account of the dire circumstances and persecutions in Jerusalem. The writers mention that the Rabbanites were in fact oppressed even more, but they subsequently turned on the Qaraites. The writers need assistance, and they write that they are seeking it from Damascus because the community of Fustat/Cairo "is not to be turned to," it seems due to troubles of their own. Needs further examination.

Letter in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Needs examination.

Letter from Faraj Allāh to unknown addressee(s). In Judaeo-Arabic with one line of Arabic script on verso. The letter consists mostly of expressions of concern and regards. In the final lines he writes, "As for the matter of Fāris, the matter is explained in the letter that is with Ibrāhīm al-[...]."

Business letter in Judaeo-Arabic, with some Arabic script in the margin and the address written in Arabic script. Dating: No earlier than 15th century; mentions the currency ashrafī. Needs examination.

Letter of condolence from Yūsuf b. Shemuel to his 'partner' (sharīk) Naṣrallāh. In Judaeo-Arabic.

Accounts in Arabic script.

Letter in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions Dā'ūd al-Ḥazzān (the writer is quarreling with him) and the beadle ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq. Also mentions "dār al-shāmiyyīn," the house of the Palestinians/Levantines. Needs further examination

Legal testimony, or perhaps a letter. Written in Judaeo-Arabic on a bifolium. The document contains a blow-by-blow account of what various messengers said about the ripening of the barley crop and what ensued. Needs further examination.

Letter to the writer's 'son' ʿAbd al-Wāḥīd. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer repeats half a dozen times that the addressee should not believe the false rumors that the writer gloats at his misfortunes. On the contrary, his misfortune is the writer's misfortune and his happiness is the writer's happiness. He further writes that the addressee's mother is constantly praying for him.

Letter from Jerusalem. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer reports that he arrived safely in Jerusalem with his group on Thursday at the end of the day. No one expected such a smooth and successful journey. The Muslims who encounter them say, "You Jews! You must have a secret with God." Most of the remainder consists of greetings.

Letter from Ibrāhīm al-Ḥakīm, unknown location, to ʿAbd al-Karīm b. Maʿānī(?), in Cairo. The letter is in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic with the address in Arabic script. The letter consists mostly of greetings.

Business letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: No earlier than 15th century; mentions the currency ashrafī. Needs examination.

Recto: Letter from an unknown man to a communal authority. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer is seeking help in a convoluted case involving marital trouble and serial evictions by his landlord. There is a lot of information about the dwelling and its location. At one point the writer closed the main door and opened a new door onto an entrance hall (or alley? dihlīz) where a group of Qaraites live, including ʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Baṣīr, and Wahba al-Zayyāt and his son ʿAbdallāh. The writer repeats several times that he vows that all he says is true. He also vowed to live in that house and already paid (or contracted to pay?) its rent for an entire year--possibly this vow was part of a settlement of a marital dispute. Verso: Another note in Judaeo-Arabic on the same case, but appears to be written from another person's perspective. The whole document merits further examination.

Letter from an unknown writer, in Damascus, to his parents. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: Thursday, 25 Tammuz 5341 AM = 1581 CE (unless we are only meant to read the numbers with arrows over them, in which case it is 5301 AM = 1541 CE; the day of the week might help determine which). ʿAbd al-Laṭīf "the cousin" (ibn ʿamm) and Faraj Allāh "the boy" add a postscript. The letter mainly deals with business matters; mentions many names; mentions the currency ashrafī. The writer had recently arrived in Damascus with a group of ten travelers; he reports on the high prices of pepper and ginger in Damascus and regrets not having brought a certain commodity with him to sell there. Many people are named in the closing greetings. Needs further examination.

Letter from Naṣrallāh al-Khāzin, in Jerusalem, to Shemuel al-Qayyim, Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions ʿAbd al-Laṭīf b. ʿAbd al-Waliyy; 60 dinars; a woman (Ḥājja Khātūn) who is the sister of Najm al-Dīn, and who mentioned that Umm ʿAfīf had told her that the writer would send her her money; it goes on in this vein. Needs examination.