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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 |
T-S 12.21
Letter from Abū Saʿīd, in Alexandria, to his father in Fusṭāṭ (to the shop of Barakāt). In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in both Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script. Dating: Likely 12th century, based on the typical hand and layout. Begins, "Your letters arrived, and my spirit was calm after being fearful, and my eyes rested after their insomnia, and I thanked the exalted Creator for His beneficence to you, for you and those with you are healthy. . . that man whom you know has not changed his ways. . . he says, 'I fed my mother and father until they died, when I had (money?), and today I have not even a penny. . . ." Mentions poppy anemones (shaqāʾiq al-nuʿmān) and the winter. The sender has previously sent four letters: to 'the rayyis,' to Avraham and Ḥasan, and to Sayyid al-Ahl. The wife of Mūsā arrived the eve of Yom Kippur. Greetings to the sender's mother, brother, sister, and a woman and her husband. Greetings to Sayyid al-Ahl, Abū l-Faraj and his brothers, Mīkhāʾīl and Abū Sahl(?), Rabīʿ, the teacher Isḥāq. Greetings from: Sahlān and his brothers, Mūsā b. Ḥassūn and his brother. The sender's paternal aunt is healthy, but elderly and frail and misses the addressee (her brother) greatly. (Information in part from CUDL.)
Library: CUL
Type: Letter
