Geniza Lab

List of contributors to the pesiqa, headed "Appendix to the pledges." A list of thirty-four names (two unnamed with father and brother), of which eleven are crossed out. Only few are accompanied by numbers. The Nagid (Shemuel b. Ḥananya) gives 3 dirhems, the physician Abū l-Najm contributes 2 for his father and himself, which he pays by transfer, ḥawāla; three other persons also pay by transfer. In the hand of Mevorakh b. Natan, in his early style. The persons to be solicited are mostly grouped according to their professions, al-Ṭibb, the members of the medical profession, forming the largest single group of tardy contributors. Information from Med Soc II, App. C, #113 (p. 502).

Letter addressed to Yosef ha-Sar. In Judaeo-Arabic with an Arabic address. The writer requests that the addressee give the five dirhams nuqra that al-Rayyis Abū l-Ḥasan b. al-Rayyis Abū l-Najm had deposited with him to to the bearer of the letter. Abū l-Ḥasan had already sent to the writer all the dinars owed him and in the accompanying letter mentioned that he had given five dirhams nuqra to the addressee of the present letter. There is then an instruction regarding what to do with the remaining money from the pesiqa. There are a few surviving words in Arabic script, probably the address; the first two appear to read 'bayt al-qāḍī.' Information in part from FGP.

Recto: Note from a certain ʿUzziel. In Judaeo-Arabic. Explaining that the collection of pledges (pesiqa) has been delayed because it was mismanaged from the outset. The sender says he is always trying to expedite it, and he will deal with the matter as soon as he is free. Dating: ca. 12th–13th century. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society 2:544) EMS. Verso: Business accounting in Judaeo-Arabic and in Arabic script. (Information from CUDL)

Petition of a cantor, son of a judge, who is sick and poor, asking God and a Nasi for help (the Nagid Mevorakh per Goitein's identification of the writer). See Oded Zinger, Women, Gender, and Law, 83, 324; S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society 2:109. EMS. "I have become chronically ill. I cannot move from my place more than a span without pains and screams. As God is my witness, I cannot even stand to pray. I have entered serious straits because of my illness and poverty. By Moses and Aaron, I have no silver except what I receive from the synagogue on Mondays. My illness requires a lot of money. I beseech you to aid me and address my situation, like you address the situation of strangers and converts and captives. If you delay, I will perish and die, lost." ASE.

Document (bifolium) giving details of a collection (pesiqa) for the ransom of prisoners, conducted by Abū l-Surūr b. Ṭarīf and Abū l-Maʿālī in the provincial towns (al-Rīf) by order of the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya (1142–59).

Letter from Avraham b. Saadya the Hebronite, (the muqaddam of?) Bilbays, to Yiṣḥaq b. Shemuel the Sefaradi, Fustat, beginning of the twelfth century. Discusses in detail the communal problems that arose around the proposal of tearing down the synagogue and rebuilding it. The Muslm governor said that a synagogue may not be built under the reign of al-Mawla al-Afḍal. Verso has been reused for drafts of Arabic medical writings. CUDL description: Recto: letter in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic from Abraham b. Saʿadya he-Ḥebroni, on behalf of refugees from Hebron that are now in Bilbays. Abraham writes to Isaac b. Shemuʾel ha-Sefaradi (active ca. 1090-1130 CE) in Fusṭāṭ, concerning the building of a new synagogue in Bilbays, replacing an old synagogue that had been torn down. The entire community joined forces to dismantle the synagogue and rebuild the new building. The letter lists the donations given by members of the community, and describes in detail the surrounding properties and their owners. A muslim judge initially objected to the construction of the new synagogue, so the community tactically rebranded their construction as a ‘home’, to which the judge had no objection. Verso: jottings of an Arabic philosophical text. (Information from CUDL)

Letter of appeal. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentioning a pledge-drive (pesiqa) at holiday time.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. The hand may be identifiable. Dating: Probably 12th or 13th century. This fragment (lower half of recto, upper half of verso) begins in medias res: the sender is writing about his time with some community, probably near Minyat Zifta; he describes a circumcision that was done on Shabbat; the sender organized a drive (pesiqa) for "the female captives"; and he found the congregation impoverished (fa-wajadtu l-[qaw]m fī ḥāl ṣaʿb... baqā al-jamāʿa ʿaniyyim marudim) on account of the ḍamān incumbent on them (a guarantee they had undertaken? or payments owed to a tax farmer?). He specifically mentions a loss of 100 dinars. It was resolved to inform Rabbenu about all this, and the Parnas went to do that. The sender awaits (the Parnas's? Rabbenu's?) arrival, and he plans to go to Minyat Zifta. He asks Abū l-Makārim "to obtain a rescript (tawqīʿ) regarding [...]."

Letter from Netanel b. Ḥalfon to Zakkay ha-Dayyan ha-Maskil Nezer ha-Maskilim. In Judaeo-Arabic. Probably the same sender as AIU V.B.48 (dated 1174 CE); this letter was written earlier, because his father was still alive when he wrote this letter. Netanel opens with praises for a great woman who departed. After she left, Musallam al-Muṭarriz (the embroiderer) had a wedding. A collection (ṣīniyya, lit. "tray") was arranged at the wedding and brought 30 dirhams. Since Netanel was not present the money was handed over to the "Pride of the Cantors" (al-Peʾer) who was supposed to deliver it to the addressee. (The sender himself is a cantor, since he asks for a piyyuṭ called Raḥmān to be sent with Musallam.) He goes on to report on the collections at two more weddings, that of Yosef b. MN[...] and that of Yosef Ibn Shahīda and the daughter of Munā b. Abū l-[...]. The letter ends rather abruptly just as he begins to say what happened when Abū l-Faraj al-Jazarī arrived. (Information in part from Goitein's index card and Goitein, Med Soc II, p. 499.) Join: Oded Zinger. ASE.