Geniza Lab

Probably a court record, in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. It mentions the names Abū ʿImrān and Abū l-Ḥusayn. (Information from CUDL)

Probably part of a letter, with unorthodox orthography. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document written and signed by Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Also signed by Yiṣḥaq b. Shemuel ha-Sefaradi. Dating: 1127–38 CE. The case involves Abū l-Faḍāʾil b. Shemuel and [Saʿadya] b. Shelomo ha-Kohen, known as Salāma b. [...] and the rental value of a property. (Information in part from CUDL)

A fragmentary list of names. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: Legal document in Arabic script. Verso: Legal document(s) or draft documents in Judaeo-Arabic. Written in two different sections, with a gap in between. The lower section mentions Efrayim, a power of attorney, and half a house. (Information in part from CUDL)

Legal document in Hebrew. Dated: Monday, 8 Adar I [5293 AM] = 3 February 1533 CE. The specific case was identified by אביחיל מנצורה on FGP in December 2021 as a famous case from the responsa of the time, "the girl from Tripoli." The following summary is based entirely on Shlomo Zalman Havlin, תשובת ר׳ שמואל ב״ר משה הלוי בן חכים / בן חקאן, Yeshurun 31 (2014), 41f. Yāqūta bt. Sulaymān Būza of Tripoli (Libya) was married at the age of 9 to her cousin Pinḥas b. Baʿdās Būza in 1510 CE, a few months before Tripoli was conquered by Spanish forces (who remained there until 1530). Pinḥas was taken captive, and Yāqūta remained an ʿaguna for 12 years. In the meantime, it was rumored that Pinḥas had converted. Yāqūta and some of her family immigrated to Egypt. Around 1522 CE, they approached the court in Cairo and sought to annul her marriage by bringing witnesses to testify that she was married as a minor without the consent of her father. On the basis of these testimonies, R. Moshe al-Ashqar, R. David Ibn Abi Zimra, and R. Shemuel ha-Levi Ḥaqqan/Ḥakim annulled her marriage to Pinḥas, and she remarried and had children over the following years. In 1525, R. Shemuel Ibn Sid obtained new testimonies from Tripolitans who claimed that the marriage had taken place with her father's consent, and therefore her second marriage was invalid. R. Moshe al-Ashqar claimed that Ibn Sid's receipt of testimony was invalid (it was received at night, Yāqūta was not present, there was no cross-examination, the judges were relatives, and the judges were boors and made an error in writing the date)—so he upheld the second marriage. In 1530/31, Yaʿaqov Beirav obtained further testimonies in Gaza and Jerusalem from Tripolitans and held (no later than 1533) that despite the flaws in Ibn Sid's testimonies, indeed there was no coercion in the first marriage, and her second marriage was invalid and her children illegitimate. R. Shemuel Haqqan and R. Moshe al-Ashqar countered this responsum, and Yaʿaqov Beirav countered their counter-responsum. In 1533, R. Moshe al-Ashqar traveled to Jerusalem and obtained additional testimonies from Yaʿaqov Beirav's new witnesses, together with R. Levi Ibn Habib. They were warned in the strongest possible terms to testify truthfully—and they retracted their earlier testimonies. Al-Ashqar returned to Egypt and declared victory, and Yaquta's second marriage was upheld. R. Eliyyahu b. Binyamin ha-Levi of Istanbul also wrote a responsum on the same issue (in support of Yaquta and her second marriage) and sent it to Moshe al-Ashqar. The Geniza fragment preserves only the lower right corner of the document and two signatures, but the details match perfectly: "... on the night of the wedding, that the elder Avraham took her out.... and married her to the aforementioned Pinḥas, on the night of the wedding, against the will of... and it was all against the will of her father and not... and we signed on Monday, the 8th of Adar I...." Based on the calendar date and the day of the week, the year can only be 5293 AM / 1533 CE, which means that this testimony belongs to the final phase of the controversy. It is signed by none other than Moshe Ibn al-Ashqar and Shemuel (Haqqan/Hakim?) ha-Levi. See also T-S NS 180.17, published by Shmuel Glick, Seride Teshuvot of the Ottoman Empire Sages, vol. 3, doc. #8. (Information mainly from Avihayil Mansura, Shlomo Zalman Havlin, Liran Yadgar, and CUDL.) ASE

Part of a lease. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: part of an official Arabic document, in very large script. On verso there is a list of piyyutim. (Information from CUDL)

Responsa on the writing of legal documents and forbidden wine (יין נסך). (Information from CUDL)

A responsum dealing with partnerships. (Information from CUDL)

List of Mishna tractates and chapters, together with pen exercises. (Information from CUDL)

Responsum dealing with the collection of debts, the marriage contract and dowry. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: betrothal deed between R. Efrayim ha-Talmid b. Meshullam and Yeshuʿa ha-Levi b. Ṣedaqa al-Ramlī for his daughter Sitt al-Fakhr. The advanced gift is 15 dinars, the delayed gift 50 dinars (though 60 is written above the line). Verso: part of an Arabic document, probably from the Fatimid chancery. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document, שטר פצוי (indemnity), in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. The principals are Shemuʾel and Elʿazar. (Information from CUDL)

Thin strip from a court record. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: draft of a will for Abū l-Surūr Peraḥya b. ʿAdiya, mentioning Ibn Maṭrūḥ. Verso: jottings in Arabic and Hebrew script. (Information from CUDL)

A small fragment from a ketubba. (Information from CUDL)

Small fragment from the opening of a legal document; ‘[...] the dear elder’ and his wife are mentioned. (Information from CUDL)

Verso: List in Arabic script. Unclear if/how this is related to recto. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe (Date: 1100-1138). In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender has sent the two documents (kitābayn) concerning the consignment of musk as well as the document attesting that Abū l-Barakāt owes 250 dinars, all with the orphan (al-yetom) who is with him. The sender asks for money relating to a business arrangement, referring to a promise made by the addressee earlier. The letter concludes with the motto ישע רב, ‘a great salvation’. (Information in part from CUDL)