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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 |
Bodl. MS heb. d 66/45
Letter addressed to Abū Sahl ha-Levi (the cantor of the Palestinian synagogue in Fustat, who died in 1211), with greetings also to his brothers Moshe and Abū ʿImrān. The identity of the writer is not clear. S. M. Stern identified this as an autograph of Maimonides, but it is not a perfect match The remainder of the writer's name might appear at the upper left of recto: possibly B[ū Zi]kr[ī]? The ductus and the overall appearance is similar to several letters of the physician Abū Zikrī b. Eliyyahu, but again, the handwriting is not a perfect match. The writer excuses his failure to write on account of an illness, and a little later, "As for your failure to write to me: I had an excuse, but you have no excuse!" There is not a great deal of content to this letter beyond the good wishes and urging a response. It is valuable, though, for the clear identification of Abū Sahl's brothers as Moshe and Abū ʿImrān. ASE
Library: Bodl.
Type: Letter
