Geniza Lab

Document regulating the inheritance of the estate in Sana'a, next to the synagogue, that was left behind by Meri Daud. The house was split and the document details all the different parts of the house. (Information from Goitein, The Yemenites, pp. 152-156). VMR

Document that is a continuation of Sassoon 1055A. Aharon al-Araki, who received a part of a house in Sana'a, sells his part to his brother Salam and his niece Badra for 150 Rial (75 for each); 1667. (Goitein, The Yemenites, 157-158) VMR

A testimony of a person who received 47.5 "Harf" (each of them equal to 40 "Vuksha" silver) for selling his part of the house in Sana'a. Around 1603-1628. (Goitein, The Yemenites, 150-152) VMR

Genealogical list of al-Azar Ha-Kohen b. Shelomo.

No Image. Description from FGP: A bill of partnership between Avraham b. Moshe known as al-Marjani, and Hillel al-Attar b. Avraham known as al-Fuqa'a. AA

Letter from Shelomo Kohen b. Abū Zikrī Yehuda b. Yosef ha-Sijilmasi, in Fustat, to his father, most likely in Aden while on his return journey from India. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: January 1148 CE. Shelomo gives a detailed account of the Almohad invasions and persecutions in the West from 1145 to the present-day (on the day he wrote the letter, a messenger arrived with the news that Bejaia had fallen to the Almohads). He also gives a detailed description of his illness. "As for me, after having opened a shop, a great general depression (kasār) occurred. I was ill for nine months with tertiary fever (al-muthallatha) and fever of the liver (ḥummā l-kabd). Neither I, nor anyone else believed that I would recover from this. In the wake of the illness, difficulties in breathing (ḍīq nafas) befell me, which lasted two months. Had I not made up my mind to leave the business, I would have perished. At present, I do nothing, sitting partly in the qāʿa [workshop or Bible school] of Joseph and partly in the store of the Son of the Scholar. I study a good part of the night with him every night" (Goitein, Med Soc, V, p. 337). Shelomo concludes with a profuse expression of filial dedication: “Please, with the help of the Almighty, may the reply to this my letter be the sight of you, if God wills. Be not enticed by business so that you forget us. For—by my faith in Heaven—every additional day of your absence takes a year from our lives. Consider that the life of the son of man is nothing but light. You are our light. If you are not with us, how can we live?” (Goitein, Med. Soc., viii, C, 2, n. 125; translation slightly altered for clarity). Partial English translation by Goitein, Med Soc V, 59-61 and 107. Discussed in Miriam Frenkel, “Genizah Documents as Literary Products.” ASE.