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Regular expressions
The Princeton Geniza Project database allows for search expressions containing certain 'regular expressions'. Regular expressions are codes that can be inserted in search queries to match patterns of text.
^string | Matches the text at the beginning of the string |
string$ | Matches the text at the end of the string |
. | Matches any single character (including special characters) |
a* | Matches the sequence of zero or more of the specified character |
a+ | Matches the sequence of one or more of the specified character |
a? | Matches zero or one occurrence of the specified character |
abc|def | Matches either one of the specified strings |
[abc] | Matches any one of the specified characters |
Boolean Search
The Princeton Geniza Project database uses a boolean full-text search. This type of search allows users to combine keywords with operators to refine searches. Possible operators and examples of their use:
מולאנא מולאי | Search for rows that contain either of two words by simply typing them consecutively. In this case, the search will find documents that contain either מולאי or מולאנא. |
כתאבי +מולאי+ | Use a + sign before word to search for rows that contain all of them (in this case the words כתאבי and מולאי) |
כתאבי AND מולאי כתאבי OR מולאי | The keyword AND indicates that both search terms must be present in the results. OR matches either search term. |
כתאב –כתאבה | Use a - sign to exclude a term from your results (in this case, the search will include כתאב but exclude כתאבה) |
*כתאב ?כתאב |
Use an asterisk or a question mark as a wildcard. An asterix matches any number of characters. A question mark matches any single character |
ENA NS I.56
"The first document is a letter (lacking, however, a few lines at the end) that was sent by an anonymous merchant to R. David Ibn Zamiro (alias Zimra).It seems that the writer was the fattore (commercial agent) of the addressee R. David Ibn Abi Zimra (1480–1573), who resided in Cairo for more than forty years, before he moved to Jerusalem in 1553. He is considered to have been the greatest rabbinical authority among the Spanish Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. In his letter, the writer describes the difficulties, which he had in marketing the feathers: על ענין הנוצה, ואע"פ שכבר הודעתי [ל]מעל[תך] עם ר' שמואל כיחלאדו, כי לפניו פתחתי אותה הראיתי אותה לכמה סוחרים, ולא מצאנו שום מכירה [...] הראיתי הנוצה לסוחרים על מאמר מתיו, ולא רצו לעשות שום דבר. 'Concerning the feathers, although I already informed you know through R. Samuel Kichlado that I opened [the parcel] in his presence, I showed them [i.e. the feathers] to some merchants. As we did not find [an opportunity] for selling [them], [...] I showed the feathers to the merchants following the advice of Matteo (Matthew), but they were not inclined to do anything.' The Italian merchants, with whom he negotiated without success, apparently were not interested in buying the feathers. And of Matteo, the one mentioned by name here, we know that at that time he was in jail in Egypt." Avraham David, Jewish Involvement in Ostrich Feathers Trade, 86–87. In addition to Matteo, a Christian merchant named Piero del [?] is discussed.
Library: JTS
Type: Letter