Geniza Lab

Letter from Eliezer Zussman, in Jerusalem, to his son Avigdor. In Hebrew. It has an unusual form for a letter: there are no greetings and it ends "ne'um Eliezer known as Zussman"—he seems to have written this page mainly in order to document what happened. Dating: probably not very long after 14 January 1546, the date of the earthquake. "Contemporary Hebrew documents provide an additional, independent source of information about the earthquake. From a Hebrew manuscript notice written by Eliezer Sussman ben Rabbi Abraham Carit [or Tsarit?], who arrived in Jerusalem in [November] 1545 two months before the earthquake, we learn that 'In the month of Shvat the Almighty has shown us signs and wonders that none of our forefathers ever witnessed, and on the 11th of that month, on Thursday, about one in the afternoon. . . (because) of the quake many towers fell down, almost the third of their height, and the tower of "A.A." was one of them. About ten gentiles were killed in Jerusalem but none of the Jews, and in the town of Nablus the earthquake was so strong that at least three hundred gentiles, and three or four Jews were killed. There were also further shocks after that, but not so strong, and to this day we are in constant fear of an earthquake all day and night. . . (Braslavski, 1938).' The 11th of Shvat corresponds to 14 January 1546, which was a Thursday. Klein (1939) suggests that the acronym "A.A." stands for "Avraham Avinu", i.e. our Father Abraham, and refers to the tower over Abraham's Tomb in Hebron. This locality is mentioned in Mujir al-Din's sequel as Al-Khalil, the Arabic name used for Hebron because of Abraham's, the Friend of Allah, sanctuary. The disagreement as to when the copy of this document was made and by whom (Braslavski, 1938; Turnianski, 1984), does not detract from the authenticity of its contents. Sussman died about 20 years after the earthquake [see T-S 13J4.19], and the phrasing suggests that he wrote the note shortly after the event." Ambraseys and Karcz, "The Earthquake of 1546 in the Holy Land," Terra Nova 4 (1992), no. 2, 254–63. There are various notes and calculations added in Italian in 1917 on this fragment and the others in the folder.

Recto: Letter from an unknown writer, in Jerusalem, to Moshe Zussman, in Cairo. In Hebrew. Dating: 1566 CE or not long after. The letter concerns the inheritance of Moshe's mother Rachel, who died in early 5327 AM (1566/67 CE). It seems the writer is responsible for disposing of Rachel's estate. He tells Moshe what he will send him to Egypt with two men, one of whom is Yehuda Masʿūd. He also reports on what he has spent in Jerusalem to repay the debts of Rachel. There are quite a few Yiddish letters from Rachel to her son Moshe preserved in the Geniza; see tag. Verso: Book list.

Letter from Moshe Zussman, in Cairo, to his mother Rachel b. Avraham Zussman of Prague, in Jerusalem. In Hebrew and Yiddish.

Power of attorney (שטר הרשאה) from Rachel the widow of Eliezer Zussman to her son Moses Zussman. Dated Friday 2nd Eyar 5324 (= 1564 CE) in Jerusalem, and signed by Moses b. Jeremiah Shemuʾel and Abraham Levi b. Moses the scribe. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from an unknown man to Rachel Zussman. In Yiddish. "The letter is short and touches upon a relative’s illness and minor business matters. Verso contains a note, perhaps in the hand of Moshe, Rachel’s son, whose job it was to forward her letters on to Venice. It is likely, therefore, that this is a reply to Rachel from her correspondent, the Venetian rabbi Jacob Katz. The fact that this letter, Rachel’s note for Rabbi Katz and a letter from Moshe himself were all found in the Genizah, indicates that they probably never reached their destinations. We can only speculate about the reasons for that. But perhaps it is the son’s negligence in these matters that causes Rachel to scold him in another letter: הקב’’ה זול דיר עז מוחל זיין דז דו מיך האשט אוזו מצער גיוועזן (‘may God forgive you that you made me so sad’), before adding a somewhat more enraged איך וויל דיך שטראפן אי איך שטירב (‘I want to punish you before I die’)." Information from Esther-Miriam Wagner, "Vis, liber zun, ikh hob dir vil brif geshribn: Yiddish letters in the Genizah." [Genizah Research Unit, Fragment of the Month, October 2009]. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.55277

See T-S AS 205.53.

See T-S AS 205.53.

Letter sent from Jerusalem from Rachel b. Avraham Zussman of Prague, in Jerusalem, to her son Moshe, a scribe in Cairo. After opening the letter in Hebrew, Rachel switches to Yiddish. She refers to her desperate financial situation as well as a plague that has afflicted both Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem. She also mentions that the situation in Safed (Ṣefat) has improved. Dated 1567 CE. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Yiddish from Rachel b. Avraham of Prague in Jerusalem to her son Moshe in Cairo.

Letter in Yiddish from Rachel b. Avraham of Prague in Jerusalem to her son Moshe in Cairo.

Letter in Yiddish from Rachel b. Avraham of Prague in Jerusalem to her son Moshe in Cairo. Join by Esther-Miriam Wagner, "Vis, liber zun, ikh hob dir vil brif geshribn: Yiddish letters in the Genizah." [Genizah Research Unit, Fragment of the Month, October 2009]. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.55277.