Geniza Lab

Letter in Arabic script from a father to his son Abū l-Majd. "The fire was in our hearts because of you, how you spent shabbat over bread and cheese (i.e., without meat). If it weren't for Yaʿīsh and how he asked the Rayyis to 'send them something to eat,' we wouldn't have found anyone to bring you anything.... If every shabbat you get up and come on Friday, spend shabbat with us, and travel back on Sunday, the way is long...." On verso he mentions that he has managed to send a sweet (ḥalāwa, v2) and possibly peaches (khawkh, v3). "I want to come to you, but I don't know the way." He has also sent something which he wants the son to work on very carefully (wa-ʿaqlak bi-l-ghalaṭ) for Abū l-Faraj Ibn al-Dujājī, evidently for Abū l-Faraj's son, since he then writes that "his son's name is—"; he then switches into Hebrew for the blessing for a son (ha-malʾakh ha-goʾel) and reveals the name to be Shelomo b. Yeshuʿa ha-Levi.

Letter from Abū Sahl Levi, in Fustat, to his son Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, in Qalyūb. In Judaeo-Arabic. "As for the news of your paternal uncle, your brother Abū l-Ḥasan (Yedutun) is looking after him, and thank God, he has turned the corner and is recovering, and there is no longer cause for fear. As for traveling, the bible codex was consulted and it came out good/auspicious for you, and I too saw for you that it would be good. But as you know, no one knows the unknown except God the almighty and exalted. My son, you know that if you stay in Qalyūb, you would earn money ("a dinar") in the same time that you would be traveling, and I would lead a good life, hearing your news every hour. But if you travel, you know that the traveler has no control over his own fate, and we fear that the winter will come, and you will be delayed longer than you intended. May God guide you to the best choice. Your siblings and mother and I send our greetings." On verso he offers an excuse for why Moshe's brother (presumably Yedutun) has not come to visit (Abū Khalaf told him not to travel ṭarīq al-khawḍ(??)). Then, "As for news of Abū Zikrī (=possibly the Gaʾon Sar Shalom ha-Levi), he met with me but did not tell me anything. If you have need of anything when your brother comes out, let me know." ASE

Letter from the merchant Abū l-Riḍā ha-Kohen in Tiberias to his brother Seʿadya, in Jerusalem. In Judaeo-Arabic with the address mainly in Arabic script on verso. Abū l-Riḍā had traveled from Jerusalem to Tiberias via Nablus and Beisan (Beit Shean). Dating: ca. 11th century (unclear on what basis). Verso: Arabic letter mentioning sums of money. On verso there are several different text blocks in Arabic script. One is a formal letter with wide space between the lines, which probably was the earliest writing on this fragment. Another is an order of payment for Abū l-Riḍā to give the bearer 5.5 dinars. Needs further examination.

Letter from Yefet b. Menashshe probably to his brother Abū l-Surūr Peraḥya b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic. (We know the addressee has to be Peraḥya, because Yefet talks about their brother Abū Saʿīd Ḥalfon in the third person.) Yefet complains about his isolation and urges the addressee(s) to come quickly. He reports that the mummy (אלמומיא) has sold for 6 dinars and 45 dirhams. The term mūmiyāʾ referred to three different medicinal substances in this period—bitumen, pissasphalt, and a substance extracted from mummified corpses—and it is hard to know which of these is most likely in this letter. (For a review of the evolving meanings of mumiyāʾ, see Karl Dannenfeldt, "Egyptian Mumia: The Sixteenth Century Experience and Debate," The Sixteenth Century Journal 16 no. 2 (1985), 163–80.) Yefet has spoken to Ibn Salma and to Efrayim about something. There follows advice or exhortations about travel, but these are tricky to understand (". . . if you wanted to travel every two months, you would, and others are not cleverer(?) than you. Rent from Fustat to Alexandria. . . the time of the departure of the ships, may God guide them. . . ." Greetings to Ḥalfon and "those with him" (man ʿindahū). Greetings from their mother and sisters. It seems the letter initially ended here. Yefet continues with a reminder for Ḥalfon to obtain a letter or document from the judge "concerning the thing I asked him about." Yefet wants the addressee to bring tutty and other medicinal ingredients, since they have been prescribed for his eyes and they tell him that nothing else will work. Greetings to Sitt Naʿīm and to Ibrāhīm (who should come together with the addressee). Joins: Oded Zinger. ASE