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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 1822a.1
Recto/verso: recto and verso
Recto with the address on verso: Letter from a man whose name is too faded to read, near al-Mahdiyya, to his 'brother' ʿArūs b. Yosef, probably in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender is certainly a family member but may not be an actual brother (it looks like his father's name might be [Hi]lāl or [Bi]lāl rather than Yosef). The sender complains about his difficult circumstances and poverty and old age and presumably goes on to ask for money, but the specifics of his request are quite faded. "If you saw me you would not know me (cf. T-S 12.261 and T-S 6J6.19) on account of old age and lack of resources, and how I have to go up to al-Mahdiyya twice a day and the husband of [...] paternal uncle and my maternal aunt and my mother are (burdens) on my neck, and I have no strength but through God. I am worn down: even the prosperous are worn down in al-Mahdiyya, how much the more an old man without property or someone to take pity on me (? ḥanīn). By the truth of this letter, I do not take from the Muslim with whom I am staying any more than 2 gold qirats, and if it is enough for weekdays, there remains Shabbat and holidays and clothing. The qinṭār of flax has arrived with Ibn al-Futūrī, may God reward all of you and preserve your son for you." He goes on to swear "by the bread and salt that is between us" not to neglect his request. (Information in part from Goitein's index card.)
Library: JTS
Type: Letter
