Note: This database is re-populated every day at midnight, Eastern Standard Time. Information in this database may become unavalable for approximately 10 minutes while this process completes.
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
CUL Or.1080 J209
Letter fragment, probably. The last two lines and three signatures survive. The format looks like a legal document, but it ends "from those who wish you peace/health," suggesting that it is rather a letter. Dated Heshvan 5358 AM (שנת משיח), which is 1597 CE. There is a postscript (or response?) underneath, regarding the sum of money that must have been the subject of the letter.
