Geniza Lab

Legal document. Dated: 14[..] Seleucid. The day of the month was left blank, so this is presumably a draft. Ṣadaqa ha-Kohen b. David makes a declaration concerning a quarrel (wa-jarā baynanā mushājarāt) over various large sums of money including 500 dinars. There is also a Yosef involved.

Letter from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu, apparently addressed to Makārim, who is probably the same as Abū l-Makārim b. al-Talmid Abū l-Riḍā. In Judaeo-Arabic. The letter opens "may God judge between Barakāt b. al-Dayyān [=me] and Makārim [=you]." He goes on to chastise Makārim for quarrelling with Shelomo's brother Abū Zikrī. Several more people are mentioned, including Shelomo's cousin (ibn khāla) Abū l-ʿIzz, Fayrūz, Ḥananel, and Surūr. ASE

Legal document. Court records made by Abū l-Khayr and Peraḥya about a physical argument between the leader Abū l-Bahā and Abū l-Wafā in front of the Babylonian synagogue in Fusṭāṭ, during which Abū l-Wafā beat Abū l-Bahā repeatedly, tearing his clothes and uncovering his head. Attested by the notary Efrayim b. Meshullam (12th century). (Information from CUDL)

Letter from the schoolmaster Natan b. Shemuel, in a small town, to his brother Abū l-Ḥasan, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in Arabic script. The writer asks for some ophthalmic medicine, some sour-grape kohl, and an unidentified medicine (רישאנא?), because he needs them very much. If his financial situation were not so terrible this winter, he would have sent some money to cover the cost. He describes his extreme hardships, explaining that he had had to pawn garments to cover the costs of the holidays(?). He asks the addressee to meet with their in-law Abū Naṣr and thank him and seek to resolve some family matter. He worries that people are angry at him: "I think that no one likes a beggar." He then asks for the addressee's indulgence for what he had previously written. He was not himself, because of his great preoccupation upon the death of the khaṭīb of his town, who had been a great support to him. He goes on to allude to a dispute between himself and his cousin (ibn ʿamm), about whom he has many harsh words (incl. "Smoother than cream were the speeches of his mouth, but his heart was war" (Psalms 55:22); "may God save me from his evil"). He conveys greetings to various people, including R. Yeḥiel (active 1224–33). In a first postscript, he reports that Qaḍīb is severely ill with pleurisy (dhāt al-janb). He is out of his mind with worry and asks for his sister Saʿāda to be sent urgently. "May I not live to see her day [of death]." In a second postscript, he reports that actually Qaḍīb is doing much better now, thank God. (Information in part from Mediterranean Society, IV, pp. 185, 413; V, pp. 242, 573, 600-601.) ASE