Geniza Lab

Letter in which Shelomo b. Semah, Ramla, describes the earthquake, probably to Efrayim b. Shemarya, or to the community of Fustat, December 1033. The letter details the terrible effects of the earthquake and its aftershocks on the inhabitants of Ramla and remarking on how many more would have died had the earthquake happened during the night. The initial earthquake is said to have taken place on Thursday, 12th Ṭevet (= December, 1033 CE). The reaction of the victims was to fast and cry out to God for mercy and the writer comments how the mercy of God was demonstrated in that there were survivors. The survivors are still living outside the city in difficult conditions. (Information from CUDL)

Congratulation letter from Eli Ha-Kohen b. Ezekiel, Jerusalem, to Avraham Ha-Kohen b, Yiṣḥaq b. Furat, Cairo, approximately 1055.

Letter from Moshe b. Yiṣḥaq, a Jerusalemite Karaite, to the brothers Yiṣḥaq and Benjamin b. Yosef in Warjalan, July 1039.

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to Avraham b. Shelomo Ha-Paqid, Fustat, approximately 1050.

Letter from Avraham, son of the Gaon, to David b. Aharon, Fustat, probably fall 1025. Avraham gives brief details of a recent visit to Damascus, explaining that he had already written to the recipient during the feast (probably of Tabernacles), but that the letter had been delayed due to local disturbances. He mentions the arrival of Ṣedaqa b. Menakhem, from Fustat, who praises the recipient for his kindness towards him. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to Nethanel Ha-Levi b. Ḥalfon, Fustat, 1045 C.E.

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to Efrayim b. Shemarya, probably summer 1029.

Writ of agency, probably written in Acre, probably the first half of the eleventh century.

Poem on the occasion of a marriage, followed by a letter from Shelah b. Nahoum, probably from Tyre, to Abu al-Khair Efrayim ca. 1085, which continues on verso. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Baruch b. Yiṣḥaq to Yosef b. Shemuel, at Fustat, Misr. Baruch asks about events in Egypt and supplies information about his own community and activities, describing his devotion to the study of the Torah. 1094 A.D.

Legal query addressed to the Gaon and Nasi Daniel b. ʿAzarya in Jerusalem with regard to the goods of an Egyptian merchant, which had been requested by the Jewish court of Tripoli, Libya, after the carrier, his Sicilian ? had died on the sea. Dated: January 5, 1059 CE. There is a document quoted that is dated 23 February 1058 CE. See also T-S NS J161 + T-S 12.5 and Bodl. MS heb. a 3/9 (also known as Oxford a3 (2873), f.9, and published by Asaf, Responsa Geonica, 1942, 125–26). On verso there is poetry.

Court record in the hand of David b. Daniʾel and Hillel b. Eli (draft). This is the testimony of Yefet b. Menashshe, acting as power of attorney for his wife Banat, daughter of Abu al-Rida. Abu al-Rida died in a shipwreck on his way from Mahdiyya to Spain, and has left two daughters. Banat claims her father’s share of what remains (700 dinars) from his partnership with Musfir b. Shemuel, but Musfir insists the two were not in partnership when Abu el-Rida died. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, vol. 4, pp. 667-669, #824, and CUDL). VMR. ENA 4010.31 and T-S 20.162 are from the same case.

Court record of an excommunication ban pronounced against Sulayman the blacksmith after he insulted the court when it failed to take his side in a court case between him and Salman b. Shabib over the sum of 40 dinars. The court appointed Yefet ha-Levi b. Toviyya as Sulayman the blacksmith’s representative. Fustat, August or September 1031.

Account of the Qodesh: list of arrears in rent owed by different tenants in the synagogue compound, from December 1042 CE to April 1043 CE. The rent was collected and the document written by the scribe Yefet the cantor b. David b. Shekanya. He then lists the current payments for one month, Jumada'l-ula; some apartments are said to have been vacant. The list is large in size, written in big characters, and was probably intended for public display. (Information from CUDL and Gil, Documents, pp. 193 #22)

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 Shelomo b. Yehuda to David b. Aharon, ca. 1040, concerning an inheritance that was left by a person from Ramla (Mevaser) who had three sons. Zabga b. Yehoshua ha-Ḥaver has been requested to represent the two younger sons but has not fulfilled his role. David b. Aharon is requested to solve the problem. (Information from Gil, Palestine, vol. 2 p. 226-227, #125). VMR

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to Efrayim b. Shemarya. Dating: ca. 1030. In Hebrew, with the address in Arabic.

Letter from Elijah (probably in Salonika) to his brother, a scholar (probably in Fusṭāṭ), written in the 11th-century. The letter mentions Elijah’s compatriot, Abū ʿAlī, who had visited Fusṭāṭ and brought back letters from Elijah's brother, and letters for a community leader, Elijah b. Shabbetay, dealing with the case of a Jewish man in prison. Elijah’s brother had sent him a gift of a scroll of Esther on vellum, and in return Elijah sent his brother a collection of piyyuṭim. Elijah describes friction between the Karaites and Rabbanites in Byzantium and requests his brother’s help in championing the Karaite cause. (Information from CUDL)

Letter of questions and demands that was sent by R. Elhanan b. Shemarya to R. Sherira and to R. Hai, ca. 1001 CE. Elḥanan seeks clarification on various Talmudic quotations and asks that they copy and send him a full commentary on the tractates ‘Vows’ and ‘Idolatry’, as he has lost his own copy. Elḥanan’s signature is surrounded by his motto. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Barhun b. Ishaq Tahirti (Mahdiyya) to Nahray b. Nissim (Fustat) June, 1047.