Geniza Lab

Three poems by Avraham Ibn Yiju in honor of Madmun b. Ḥasan, Aden, ca. 1140, who was expecting his third son.

Deed of manumission for Ashu, an Indian female slave, written by Avraham Ibn Yijū, Mangalore, October 17, 1132. On the verso and on the margins of the deed Ibn Yijū copied drafts of 3 poems for Maḍmūn b. Ḥasan of Aden (See II, 40). Both Goitein and Friedman suggest that Ibn Yijū bought Ashu so that he could release her and then marry her. This deed is especially important for the 'reshut' clause, written in India, and mentioning both Daniel b. [Ḥ]isday, the Exilarch in Baghdad and Maṣliaḥ b. Shelomo, the head of the Palestinian Yeshiva residing in Cairo.

Letter from Ṣadoq ha-Kohen, in Sunbāṭ, to Peraḥya ha-Kohen, probably in Malīj. Reporting on the substance of a legal case that came before him in the city of Sunbāṭ. The case was dated Wednesday, middle third of Ṭevet 1460 Seleucid (=1148/49 CE), under the authority of the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya. It was a lawsuit between Abū l-Faḍāʾil Shela b. Natan, on one side, and Seʿadya b. Yosef and his wife, on the other. Someone's father Natan died, and there is a disagreement about a deposit; the city of Malīj is mentioned. (Information from Goitein's notes.) There are photostats and an edition in Goitein's notes (to be uploaded).

Letter from a son, unidentified location, to his father, in New Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender is anxious for news of Abū l-Majd, and how he fared after leaving Bilbays. The addressee should inquire about him from any caravan that arrives from Syria. This letter should be forwarded to Abū l-Majd if possible. (Information from Goitein's notes.) There are photostats and an edition in Goitein's notes (to be uploaded).

Letter from Labrāṭ b. Moshe b. Sughmār, the chief judge in al-Mahdiyya, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. Dating: Ca. 3 August 1057 CE (Gil) or 1061 CE (Goitein). Goitein explains, "Our letter was written after 1057, the date of the ruin of Qayrawān, when R. Nissim (b. Yaʿaqov) and other inhabitants of that city had found refuge in Sūsa, a seaport on the Tunisian coast north of al-Mahdiyya. R. Nissim died in 1062.The reference to the Sicilian city whose male inhabitants were put to sword by the conquering Normans fits the fall of Messina in 1061." Labrāṭ extols the great rabbinical authority R. Nissim b. Yaʿaqov, and his pupil the enigmatic "Rav" of Egypt. At the time of the writing of this letter, R. Nissim lived in Sūsa. There he supervised the copying of his writings, which was done for the Qayrawān scholar, Nahray b. Nissim, who then lived in Egypt. The letter relates how R. Nissim's writings were transferred to Egypt, an important detail, which sheds light on the value of the Geniza fragments of these writings, which have been published by Sheraga Abramson. Labrāṭ reports on the progress of the court case that Nahray b. Natan brought against his brother Yisrael b. Natan (both of them the cousins of Nahray b. Nissim) regarding the inheritance of their father's estate. The letter hails the zeal and progress made in Jewish learning by a son of R. Natan b. Avraham, Av ha-Yeshiva, the sometime Gaon of the Palestinian academy. The letter concludes with a report of the conquests made by the Normans in Sicily. The reference is to their taking of Messina by assault, and the losses suffered by Jews and, in particular, by Muslims. The writer expresses apprehensions with regard to the import of grain from Sicily, since Tunisia itself, a primarily agricultural country, had been laid waste by the invasion of the Arab tribes. Labrāṭ opens the letter with copious well wishes to Nahray because of his eye disease (wajaʿ ʿayn and ḍuʿf ʿayn) and conveys well wishes to Nahray on behalf of R. Nissim (r4–11). Goitein cites this letter as an excellent example of the convention of expressing preoccupation for a sick correspondent and conveying congratulations upon his recovery: "After having read the bad tidings in Nahray's missives, [Labrāṭ] had become disquieted and frightened, and passed his sleepless nights in asking God to accept himself as Nahray's ransom and to heal him. He had also passed the news on to "the Light of the World" (the spiritual leader of the Tunisian Jews), who was also very worried about it; his prayer for Nahray, Labrāṭ is confident, would be accepted. Finally, the merchants arriving from Egypt reported that Nahray was well and his eyes restored, whereupon Labrat praised and thanked God. He would be set at rest, however, only by a personal letter from Nahray confirming this happy turn of events" (Goitein, Med Soc V, p. 111). Labrāṭ goes on to describe the serious illness of R. Nissim himself (r14–18). All had despaired, "but God looked upon us and did not afflict us and blind our eyes." R. Nissim recovered, but the remnants of the illness did not leave him for a long time. Information from Goitein and Gil. There are photostats and an edition in Goitein's notes (to be uploaded). ASE.

Letter from Salāma b. Mūsā Safāquṣī, probably from Mazara, Sicily, to Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār (Alexandria), ca. 1055. Salāma b. Mūsā intends to buy a house in Mazara. The letter describes the writer’s conflict with local Jews who are plotting against him, and mentions a ban of excommunication declared against them. Salāma b. Mūsā asks for goods to be sent with various people and expresses a wish to renew the partnership agreement with Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, p. 431. See also Goitein notes linked below.) There are photostats and an edition in Goitein's notes (to be uploaded).

Bill of divorce. Husband: Yeshuʿa b. ʿEli ha-Kohen. Wife: Ẓāfira bt. Yefet. (Information from Goitein's index card on T-S 8J29.13, probably the same couple.)

Letter addressed to Eliyyahu the Judge. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions business in fava beans, vetch, cucumbers, and wheat. Mentions Bilbays. Mentions people such as David ha-Dayyan, Bū l-Ḥasan Ibn Nufayʿ, and Mufaḍḍal Ibn al-Maqdisī. "In an eloquent letter a traveler details all he had sent: 6 irdabbs of wheat (making 36 waybas per year, or 3 per month, as so often reported up to now), 4 "gold dinars," and several smaller remittances in silver, totaling 51 dirhams; here one or two lines are lost, no doubt containing the remaining 30 or so dirhams which could make a grand total of 6 dinars, again half a dinar per month. The writer gets very excited. "I should neglect my wife?!" he exclaims, adding: "Has not God said [Proverbs 11:17]: 'He who wrongs his flesh [meaning: wife, Genesis 2:23] is a cruel one?!" and, quoting Proverbs 22:23, he invokes God to punish those who give him a bad reputation." (Translation from Goitein, Med Soc III, p. 194 note 164.) There are photostats and an edition in Goitein's files (to be uploaded).

Letter from Yehuda Ibn al-ʿAmmānī, in Alexandria, to Eliyyahu the Judge, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 23 Nisan 1532 Seleucid, which is 1221 CE. There is a lengthy opening with expressions of longing and pleasantries. The addressee is asked to convey a legal query (fatwā) to Avraham Maimonides. Yehuda reports on the death of Hilāl b. Thābit b. Munīr, the brother of the cantor Bū l-Majd (Meʾir b. Yakhin). “[Hilāl] went to rest in the evening and did not awake in the morning. It was the first day of the holiday, and he was buried on the same day; he left a fine boy of sixteen, who studies with me" (trans. Goitein, Med Soc II, 220 and V, 155.) There are photostats and an edition in Goitein's notes (to be uploaded).

Contract of debt. In the best hand of Natan b. Shemuel he-Ḥaver. Location: Fustat. Dated: Kislev 1452 Seleucid, which is 1140 CE. Sayyid al-Ahl b. ʿEli ha-Kohen he-Ḥazan known as Ibn al-Kāmūkhī receives 14 dinars from the banker Abū l-Bayān b. Abū l-Ḥasan known as Ṣaḥib Shamʿa. He will pay it back in the following month (Ṭevet). Signed by: Yehuda b. Yosef ha-Kohen the descendant of Yehosef Kohen Ṣedeq (=the India trader Abū Zikrī Kohen); Avraham b. Yosef. (Information from Goitein's notes.) There are photostats and an edition in Goitein's notes (to be uploaded).

Legal document. Power of attorney. Dated: 1115. Location: Al-Maḥalla. ʿOvadya b. Efrayim ha-Levi Rosh ha-Qahal empowers 'ḥemdat ha-yeshiva' Avraham b. Natan ha-Sheviʿi to money owed to him ("from a partnership and a claim and a rental") on his behalf. ʿOvadya not only states that he has not retained Avraham only "to advance my cause and not to subvert [it]", but also that he will accept whatever the court rules, in stock halachic phrasing. The agent, Avraham b. Natan, is well-known from Geniza documents (Cohen 1980, pp.130-131) identifies him in the circle of the Head Mevorakh b. Saadya, noting that he acted as a mediator in other business affairs. His role in this document seems to have been settling the matter of the partnership, perhaps in court. Two of the witnesses to the power of attorney, Zakkay b. Shelomo and ʿEli b. Shelomo, may have been brothers. Also signed by Yehuda b. Shemuel and validated by Aharon b. Yeshuʿa ha-Rofe and Avraham b. Yeshuʿa. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 92-93)

Legal document. Partnership agreement. Dated: 18 January 1061. Location: Fustat. This document initiates a partnership in the ritual washing of corpses. Sulaymān b. Ḥusayn and his son Isḥaq take on a third partner, Daʾūd b. Ḥasan (nicknamed Abū Jaʿd, "Curly"), who will receive a quarter of all revenues. The three worked in shifts, with one on duty at any given time, but the other two partners agree to work outside of their regularly scheduled shifts if necessary. Isḥaq’s share in the profits is not stipulated. All funds are to be given to Suleyman, suggesting that Isḥaq and Dāwūd may have been his apprentices. No partnership term is given. The document states explicitly that the terms of the contract are immutable. Signed by: ʿEli b. ʿAmram ha-Levi; Shemuel b. Avraham; and Surūr b. Ḥayyim Ibn Sabra. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 95)

Record of a birth, probably. In Judaeo-Arabic (in two different hands) and Arabic script. The date is given according to multiple calendars, including 13 Iyyar 4909 AM, which is 23 April 1149 CE. Also dated 13 Dhū l-Qiʿda 543 AH (should be Dhū l-Ḥijja, as Goitein comments). There are a photostat and a transcription in Goitein's attached notes (to be uploaded).