Geniza Lab

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic of a man to his social superior mentioning that a Nasi asked the writer's father to travel with him to Alexandria. The writer is very sick and is afraid he wil soon die. Also his mother is sick, as is his wife, so he asks the recipent to talk to the Nasi that he will not make such a great request upon the father. On the back is what remains of the address: "your slave Shelomo be-Rabbi Eliyyah." There is also a piyyut and 5 lines of a legal document dealing with the house of Ibn Qurra and mentioning the Iraqi synagogue. ASE.

Letter written to "my brother," apparently from Qus, dealing primarily with family members' medical issues. There are many eccentric spellings. Recto 4-12: The writer has sent several letters before this one asking the recipient for help. Recto 12-15: Yusuf (apparently the writer's son) has been sick for 6 months with tertian fever; his mother (apparently the writer's wife) has been sick for 8 months with ophthalmia, "like a piece of flesh" (the same phrase is used for women in wretched states in CUL Or.1080 J24 and T-S 12.575). The little boy's eyes are even worse than hers: his ophthalmia has progressed to trachoma (reading ואגראבו as a creative spelling of وأجربوا). For the relationship between these terms, see Ali b. Isa's Tadhkirat al-Kaḥḥālīn, translated into English by Casey Wood as Memorandum Book of a Tenth-Century Oculist (1936). Trachoma (jarab), pp. 85-89. Ophthalmia (ramad), pp. 126-135. Progression from ophthalmia to trachoma, p. 133. Recto 16 - Verso 5: The writer tells the recipient to pawn a table for 5 dirhams and to bring the money for a consultation with Abu l-Ma'ruf b. al-Taffal; the writer has also written Abu l-Ma'ruf a letter describing the wife's ophthalmia. The recipient is to obtain the ophthalmic medicines and send them urgently to Qus with a trustworthy messenger, to Abu l-Mansur b. al-Meshorer. Abu l-Ma'ruf should label each ophthalmic with its name, and he should also send dry kohl (antimony) for the wife and for the son. Verso 5-13: The recipient is to go to Abu l-Makarim from the well known Ibn Nufay' family (a man of the same name in Alexandria is mentioned in T-S 13J21.36) and have him expose the leaves of the codices (? מצאחף) to the air and turn them, so that they do not decay. The recipient is to go to Abu l-Surur (b. Al-Kaf?) and give him the same instruction, both for the codices that are with him and the garments, because they contain high-quality silk and must not be allowed to rot even a little bit. Verso 17-19: The writer gives instruction regarding the ground floor or courtyard of his home. ASE.

Letter. From a woman (see lines 13–15), possibly in Bilbays, to the Nasi Shelomo b. Yishay. Dating: ca. 1240 CE. This letter was likely dictated. The hand and format is the same as that of T-S 13J21.24 and perhaps ENA 2592.3. The writer excuses herself for not coming to the addressee's location in person. Her "temperament is scattered" (mushattā al-mizāj) due to a hidden illness (maraḍ bāṭin), which has made it impossible for her to ride. Instead, she insists that the addressee come to spend the holiday with her. At the end of the letter, the excuse is repeated. "Sharaf al-Nasab (a man, perhaps the bearer) will inform the master her excuse, that she was unable to ride and that otherwise she would have come to serve him." ASE.

Letter from Yiṣḥaq Ibn ʿEzra to Ḥalfon b. Netanel. In Judaeo-Arabic. Location: Spain. Dating: Perhaps the end of summer, 1138 CE. Dealing with the return of a defective mithqāl. Together with his business partner Yiṣḥaq b. ʿOvadya (who is incidentally sick), the writer has sent Ḥalfon a large shipment of 500 sheets of paper. Ḥalfon had business relationships with both parties, and the price of the paper will be credited toward Yiṣḥaq b. ʿOvadya's account with Ḥalfon. Ibn ʿEzra writes that he plans to visit Ḥalfon the following week, and he passes on regards from two Muslim viziers: Abū Muḥammad b. Abū Rajā and Abū Isḥāq b. Wāziʿ. Description based on India Book. [NB volume number in shelfmark is roman numeral I, not Arabic numeral 1.] ASE

Upper part of a letter by Berakhot b. Shemuel mentioning his being cut off from the recipent on account of his illnesses, including ophthalmia at the present time. The word in the penultimate line that looks like "sultan" (Muslim government) is כלט אן, referring to an acute attack of a humor. On the back is a query about litigants in a dispute involving Muslim courts.

Letter from Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār, in Alexandria, to Abū Bishr Azhar b. Manṣūr (aka Avraham), in Fustat, ca. 1075. Mentions a shipment of silk to Fustat that got wet. The writer cannot come to Fustat, and he asks the addressee to handle some business and money matters for him. The reason for this is that he has numerous illnesses (amrāḍ shattā), the least of which is the jarab (probably trachoma, but the word can also refer to skin diseases), and so he cannot sit or ride. Furthermore, factoring in travel expenses, he does not think the gains will outweigh the losses in his money and his health. But if the addressee thinks it is absolutely necessary, he will bear the 'fasting and difficulty' and make the trip. Meanwhile, a rumor spread in Fustat about Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār, somehow involving Abū l-Faraj Dā'ūd b. Shaʿyā and the ruler Sayf al-Islam (=Badr al-Jamālī?). However, the person who was said to have been the source of the rumour publicly denied it in the synagogue, swearing truthfulness on pain of excommunication. A court decision denying the rumour was also issued. (Information from Gil.) ASE.

Letter from Saʿīd, in Alexandria, to his brother Bū l-Majd Meir b. Yakhin the cantor, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Rudimentary hand and phonetic spellings throughout, including the use of the alif-lam ligature as a lam-alif. Dating: First quarter of the 13th century. Saʿīd complains about the lack of letters from Meir and reminds him that their mother is critically ill (marīḍa ʿalā khuṭṭa), and that she is only sick on account of the fact that she will not see Meir before she dies (mā maraḍhā illā sababak alladhī mā tarāk min qabl an tamūt). Saʿīd inquires about the clay vessel (burniyya) he had sent containing medicines (or ink for the inkwell? this part requires further decipherment). He has heard that Meir's daughter's daughter has died, and he sends his wishes that she be replaced with a boy. He continues, insensitively, "My wife has given birth to a daughter." Then, "Do not ask about my illness, which you know about." The economy is bad in Alexandria and prices are high (bread is five dirhams). Bū Saʿīd the son of the Qa[ḍī?] has died, and Ibn Ghulayb is likewise ill. Saʿīd sends his regards to Meir's wife. Their other brother (Hilāl), Maʿānī, and Maḥāsin and his son Abū l-Najm all send their regards. ASE.

Letter from Abūn b. Ṣadaqa, in Jerusalem, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: August 28 (Elul 24), 1065 CE, based on Gil's assessment. Abūn conveys blessings for male sons to Nahray. "Al-Kabīra" and Nahray's wife are in Jerusalem, and it is possible that their visit is connected to this matter, that is to say, that they came to pray for a male son. The letter contains various details about the Maghrebis who are in Jerusalem. People are worried about a drought, and the price of wheat is rising. Abūn also mentions his books, which he brought from the West and left with Yeshuʿa ha-Kohen b. Yosef in Alexandria. Abūn reports that he has sold most of the quarter dinars which are mentioned in the other letters, and thus it is possible to deduce the year of this letter. Abūn reports that R. Yiṣḥaq has recovered from his illness (v3–4) and that Nahray's paternal uncle Ibn Sahlān is sick and isolated (v9–10). Information from Gil.

Letter from Avraham b. Abī l-Ḥayy, Alexandria, to his brother Mūsā, Fusṭāṭ, around 1075 CE. The writer, whose livelihood depends on payments from the addressee, asks to receive the payments early (r6–9). The letter also discusses the upcoming wedding of their sister Gharba (r21–27) and the family house which is to be sold (rm16–um13). Abū l-Ḥayy, their father, is sick with dry skin (nashāf badn, yubs) and lesions (ḥabba) from his hip to his foot, and Mūsā is to obtain a prescription for him from Sar ha-Sarim, i.e., Mevorakh b. Saadya, the brother of the Nagid Yehuda b. Saadya (v7–10). He concludes with the issue of his debts and the capitation tax (v10–15). Information mostly from Gil. ASE

Letter from a man in Egypt to his brother or brother-in-law, an India trader in Aden. In Judaeo-Arabic. Frenkel identifies the writer's location as Alexandria, the addressee as Ismāʿīl al-Fāṣid, and the date as 1176 CE, but does not seem to explain her reasoning. The letter recounts an interesting family saga. The addressee's maternal uncle passed away while traveling with the addressee to India. The addressee took care of him before his death. The family has taken great pains to conceal the news of the uncle's death until they receive a detailed account of his will. This long letter repeatedly describes everyone's anxiety waiting for news of the addressee's health and the will. His mother, when she heard of the death of her brother and the news of the addressee's difficulties at sea, fell sick and fasted until news came of the addressee's health. His father stays up all night praying for him. "If you knew how much reward (in Heaven) you receive from every letter you write us, you would do nothing but write us letters." The family congratulates the addressee on his purchase of a male slave (ghulām). Finally, the reason for the anxiety about the will comes to light at the end. The uncle knew or thought that his wife was pregnant when he departed, however, they counted 9 months, and there was no baby. They counted another 9 months, and she had a baby boy. The family evidently wishes to ensure that none of the uncle's inheritance ends up with his wife or son. Even the Muslims say, "We have never heard anything like what this Jewish woman has done. She deserves nothing but hellfire." The widow was able to round up some allies from among the Byzantine Jews, and they managed to gather 10 Jews for the circumcision, but with no cantor or judge present. In the midst of sending everyone's regards in the margin of verso, the writer reports sarcastically that the newborn infant also sends his. Information in part from Frenkel and from Goitein's attached notes. ASE.

Informal note from the cantor Abū Sahl Levi to his son Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi (identification based on handwriting and typical content). In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Prior to 1211 CE. The writer gives repeated assurances that Moshe's brother Abū l-Ḥasan (Yedutun) is doing well. Abū l-Ḥasan even asked to write this letter in his own hand, but the writer feared this would tax him and make him weak. Abū l-Ḥasan is administering his own medicine. Another note on the same topic: ENA NS 32.14, in which the recipient is identified as Moshe and Abū l-Ḥasan is identified his brother. ASE.

Letter from Salāma b. Mūsā of Sfax, in Mazar, Sicily, to his partner Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. The longest letter in the Geniza. Dating: Early 1060s according to Ben-Sasson, based on the military disruptions mentioned. 7 September 1064 according to Gil, based on his identification of the battle discussed as that between the Qā'id of Sfax and the Zīrid ruler Tamīm b. Muʿizz on that date. Many details about a wide variety of commodities are mentioned, as well as financial transactions. "In essence, this long letter had a single purpose: to convince Yehuda b. Sughmār, Salāma's partner, not to dissolve the relationship between them." Salāma in fact agrees to the dissolution of the formal partnership (ṣuḥba), "I got your letters this year, and you swore that you wanted to dissolve. I want this to happen even more than you do. If the partnership continues there will be discord. . . . Now we no longer feel as we used to, when we relied on each other" (v4–5, 30). Despite this, Salāma suggests other ways of continuing their relationship, including Yehuda's mentoring of Nissim, a new junior associate Salāma is sending to him, and Yehuda's sending Salāma some goods in agency. Jessica Goldberg, Trade and Institutions, pp. 296–99 ("Salāma b. Mūsā's Disastrous Year"). Salāma opens with his shock and dismay at the letters full of blame that he had received from Yehuda. "I had expected you to congratulate me on my survival in al-Mahdiyya, my deliverance from destruction, and the terrible ordeal (al-mawqif al-ʿaẓīm, also mentioned in r23) that I would not wish on anyone. I was bound (kutiftu) and almost killed (or executed, ʿuriḍtu ʿalā l-sayf) four times (or five—the ink is flaked here). Even if there were no partnership (sharika), love, (mawadda), or association (ṣuḥba) between us, this would have been incumbent on you. Now, more than one year later, the terror has not subsided, rather the fright remains in my heart. My greatest trial in al-Mahdiyya was my concern for your business. . . ." Interestingly, when Salāma mentions Yehuda's illnesses of last year (mā laḥaqak tilk al-sana min al-ḍuʿf wa-l-tawajjuʿ, r75), there is not a word of the usual sympathy or congratulations on his recovery. Gil understands Halper 414 to be a follow-up from this letter; Goldberg believes that Halper 414, a small sheet, was inserted into Halper 389, which seems to agree with Goitein, who calls it a "continuation" of Halper 389 (see Goitein notes linked to PGPID 35364). Information from Goldberg, Ben-Sasson, and Gil. ASE; MR

Letter from ʿAmram b. Yosef to Mūsā b. Abī l-Ḥayy, Alexandria. Dating: 1094–97 CE. "The addressee Moses, mostly referred to as Mūsā, was active in communal affairs and was honored, because of his generosity, with the title Segullat (ha-'Yeshiva), 'Treasure' (of the Academy).l He was a native of Tunisia, who had settled in Alexandria and was temporarily in Fustat. Lines 1-32, and margin. Expressions of friendship, complaints about the bad times, personal misfortune, and an eye disease, which made it impossible for Amram to come to Fustat in person.2 Verso, lines 1-7. Letters from Yosef b. Abū Kathīr Ibn Yahboy,3 sent, it seems, from 'Aydhab,4 contained, according to hearsay, news about Abū l-Faraj Nissim and the camphor. The addressee is advised to question the Jewish merchants arriving from there. Lines 7-20. In his dire circumstances ʿAmram had given some of his books to the schoolteacher Yiṣḥaq al-Nafūsī (also a Maghrebi) to sell, but this man had moved to Fustat and nothing was heard from him. Mūsā is asked to remind him of his duties as a pious person and gentleman.5 {See the introduction to II, 3, for the dating.}" Description from India Book, English edition

Letter from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to an unidentified benefactor. Shelomo asks him to help him out with the payment of the capitation tax, as he had been ill and had to spend all the money he could save from school fees paid to him on medicine and chicken. (Information from Halper Catalogue and from Goitein's notes in margin)

Letter from an unknown man, unknown location (not Fustat or Alexandria), to his mother Umm Mufaḍḍal, in Alexandria. Written in Judaeo-Arabic with the address in Arabic script. He briefly expresses concern for his mother's health, because he heard that she has been ill for one year. He then gets to the purpose of the letter, which is to solicit his mother's help in obtaining the divorce he has been wishing to obtain for a year, for he has been prevented from remarrying (presumably by the local authorities wherever he is, because they learned that he was still married to a woman in Fustat). He sent the bill of divorce with the bearer of the present letter, a man from Iraq. He asks his mother to receive the messenger richly. If the wife is still in Fustat, the messenger should continue on his way to complete the mission. If the wife has come to Alexandria, the mother should deliver the bill of divorce directly. He also asks her to send something to Ibrāhīm and to send her response with Ibn Abū l-Najm, "because we have two capitation taxes (we still have to pay)." Information in part from Zinger's dissertation, 246–47.

Letter from Labrāṭ b. Moshe b. Sughmār, the chief judge in al-Mahdiyya, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. Dating: Ca. 3 August 1057 CE (Gil) or 1061 CE (Goitein). Goitein explains, "Our letter was written after 1057, the date of the ruin of Qayrawān, when R. Nissim (b. Yaʿaqov) and other inhabitants of that city had found refuge in Sūsa, a seaport on the Tunisian coast north of al-Mahdiyya. R. Nissim died in 1062.The reference to the Sicilian city whose male inhabitants were put to sword by the conquering Normans fits the fall of Messina in 1061." Labrāṭ extols the great rabbinical authority R. Nissim b. Yaʿaqov, and his pupil the enigmatic "Rav" of Egypt. At the time of the writing of this letter, R. Nissim lived in Sūsa. There he supervised the copying of his writings, which was done for the Qayrawān scholar, Nahray b. Nissim, who then lived in Egypt. The letter relates how R. Nissim's writings were transferred to Egypt, an important detail, which sheds light on the value of the Geniza fragments of these writings, which have been published by Sheraga Abramson. Labrāṭ reports on the progress of the court case that Nahray b. Natan brought against his brother Yisrael b. Natan (both of them the cousins of Nahray b. Nissim) regarding the inheritance of their father's estate. The letter hails the zeal and progress made in Jewish learning by a son of R. Natan b. Avraham, Av ha-Yeshiva, the sometime Gaon of the Palestinian academy. The letter concludes with a report of the conquests made by the Normans in Sicily. The reference is to their taking of Messina by assault, and the losses suffered by Jews and, in particular, by Muslims. The writer expresses apprehensions with regard to the import of grain from Sicily, since Tunisia itself, a primarily agricultural country, had been laid waste by the invasion of the Arab tribes. Labrāṭ opens the letter with copious well wishes to Nahray because of his eye disease (wajaʿ ʿayn and ḍuʿf ʿayn) and conveys well wishes to Nahray on behalf of R. Nissim (r4–11). Goitein cites this letter as an excellent example of the convention of expressing preoccupation for a sick correspondent and conveying congratulations upon his recovery: "After having read the bad tidings in Nahray's missives, [Labrāṭ] had become disquieted and frightened, and passed his sleepless nights in asking God to accept himself as Nahray's ransom and to heal him. He had also passed the news on to "the Light of the World" (the spiritual leader of the Tunisian Jews), who was also very worried about it; his prayer for Nahray, Labrāṭ is confident, would be accepted. Finally, the merchants arriving from Egypt reported that Nahray was well and his eyes restored, whereupon Labrat praised and thanked God. He would be set at rest, however, only by a personal letter from Nahray confirming this happy turn of events" (Goitein, Med Soc V, p. 111). Labrāṭ goes on to describe the serious illness of R. Nissim himself (r14–18). All had despaired, "but God looked upon us and did not afflict us and blind our eyes." R. Nissim recovered, but the remnants of the illness did not leave him for a long time. Information from Goitein and Gil. There are photostats and an edition in Goitein's notes (to be uploaded). ASE.

Letter from Yehuda Ibn al-ʿAmmānī, in Alexandria, to Eliyyahu the Judge, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 23 Nisan 1532 Seleucid, which is 1221 CE. There is a lengthy opening with expressions of longing and pleasantries. The addressee is asked to convey a legal query (fatwā) to Avraham Maimonides. Yehuda reports on the death of Hilāl b. Thābit b. Munīr, the brother of the cantor Bū l-Majd (Meʾir b. Yakhin). “[Hilāl] went to rest in the evening and did not awake in the morning. It was the first day of the holiday, and he was buried on the same day; he left a fine boy of sixteen, who studies with me" (trans. Goitein, Med Soc II, 220 and V, 155.) There are photostats and an edition in Goitein's notes (to be uploaded).

Letter addressed to Abū Saʿd. In Arabic script. The sender begs for an urgent loan of 5 dirhams, because he is sick. He will try to repay it when he can leave the house (and get back to work). The bottom is damaged, and the end may be missing. Verso is blank. (Information in part from JRL catalogue.)

Letter of recommendation sent from Ramla, presumably to Fustat. In Hebrew. On behalf of Moshe b. Shemuel. His father Shemuel died this winter, as there was a great epidemic (dever) in Ramla this winter, in which many died 'of our Jewish brethren.' Shemuel left a widow, his son Moshe, and a 7-year-old daughter.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. The writer is recovering from illnesses and is in difficult financial straits. He asks for a loan of 62 dirhams.