Geniza Lab

Letter in the hand of Efrayim b. Shemarya, apparently a draft. Contains rhymed praises and addresses, among others, Abraham the teacher. It refers to Akiva b. Yosef in the margin.(Information from CUDL) Join (Moss. VII,136.1 + Mos. VI,208.2) by Roni Shweka, April 3 2019.

Either a short note or the beginning of a letter from the Cordoban (al-Qurṭubī) Mūsā al-Kohen to Binyamin. In Judaeo-Arabic, in a dreadful hand. On verso there is a note that seems to refer to 'the handwriting of my brother's son [Yosef??] Ibn Migash (may God have mercy on him)." If this is indeed a reference to Yosef Ibn Migash, the document dates to some time after 1141 CE. But it is difficult to understand—meeds further examination. (Information in part from CUDL.)

The beginning of a letter from Shelomo b. Elijah the judge to Abū l-Faraj b. Abū l-Ḥasan al-ʿAṭṭār. Five short lines preface the letter, consisting of the sender’s name followed by biblical verses. The address on verso is given both in Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic. (Information from CUDL)

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender seems to be imploring the addressee to resume his correspondence, for "I used to be like a son to you." (Information in part from CUDL)

Beginning of a petition from the wife of Abū ʿAlī al-Sukkarī to an unidentified ḥaver. In Judaeo-Arabic. Written in a crude hand. She says that she is a sick woman and presumably goes on to ask for help, but the continuation is lost. In the upper margin, there is a jotting in Arabic script (a basmala?) and a copy of the first words of the letter, in a different hand and ink. Verso contains a Hebrew blessing. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Small fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Only the opening greetings are preserved. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter from Yefet b. Menashshe to his brother or brothers. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper right corner of recto). He complains about separation and neglect. (Information in part from CUDL)

Opening of a legal document, written in Fusṭāṭ in the year 4[...] of the Creation. It mentions David ha-Nasi ha-Gadol [b.] Daniel ha-Nasi ha-Gadol. (Information from CUDL)

End of a legal document concerning the sale of flax, signed by Ḥayya b. Isaac and Isaac b. Moses. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: part of a letter. Verso: a long list of names, in a different hand, among them Abū l-Faraj, Yeshuʿa b. Joseph, ʿEli b. Shemarya, and Shemarya and Ṣedaqa the sons of Ṣadoq. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Peraḥya b. Yosef to Saadya b. Avraham Ibn al-Amshāṭī. Fragment. The letter is prefaced with three short decorated lines of biblical quotations. Address on verso. (Information from CUDL)

Fragment from the opening of a short letter or note, addressed to Abū l-Munā and speaking about the price of parchment. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Ibn al-Nasr (the son of the eagle?) to Abū l-Maḥāsin al-Tājir, in Alexandria. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer includes a request for medicinal substances. He also urges the addressee to return quickly to his mother, because she has been afflicted lately with 'what cannot be described,' and she would have perished were it not for the solicitude of friends. (Information in part from CUDL.) ASE.

Business agreement from Egypt, concerning raisins. The parties include Raḥamim and Avraham. It is signed by Yosef b. Ṣefanya Kohen. Dated: Monday, 11 [...] [5]305 AM = 1544/45 CE. Conceivably the same people as in T-S 13J7.30, a 16th-century letter in Ladino from Avraham Mayo, also involving a Raḥamim and the raisin trade. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Note from Yosef Tamish (? טמיש) to Namir. In Hebrew. The sender is in prison (שורתיים אלו להודיע לכה איך אני בבית הסוהר) and he has nobody to help him. He asks the addressee to join with Yiṣḥaq al-Ashqar and raise some money on his behalf. Dating: mid-16th century.) Information in part from CUDL)

Letter in the hand of Yefet b. Menashshe to his brother Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in both Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script. Fragment (upper left corner of recto). He confirms receipt of the previous letter which mentioned that Ḥakam had a dabīqī item and its cushions (mikhāddhā) and that he wished to have them cut (? qaṣārathum) — cf. Moss. II,123.1.2. Ḥakam said that he would send something to Dimyāṭ (Damietta). Regards to Abū Manṣūr Ibn Qasāsa. There is a needle piercing at the center of the top of the page. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Letter to Eliyyahu the judge. Fragment (first ~6 lines only). Dating: early 13th century. The sender may be named [Abū l-Ḥa]san. Almost none of the substance is preserved. (Information in part from CUDL.)

The beginning of a letter to David b. Shekhanya (beginning of 11th century), sent from Fusṭāṭ (מן מצר) and mentioning the wife of Abū Naṣr. Prefaced with בשם ייי. Address on verso. (Information from CUDL)

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Describing the sender's unfortunate dealings with a government bureau (דיואן). Apparently Ibn al-Farārījī tried to shake him down for money, claiming that "everything we (=the sender) do is disobedience, i.e., that we let you (=the addressee) build," to which the sender said, "Sir (yā wajīh), you can't take our property on these grounds, and we're not scared of that." It escalated, and the government officer confiscated 6 irdabbs (of wheat). An officer called al-Najīb tried to get the sender to sign for 100 dirhams (an outrageously low compensation for 6 irdabbs), but the sender swore that he wouldn't take any less than 110, which the officers refuse. Someone threatens to go to the amīr and accuse the other side of not cooperating, and ʿIzz al-Dīn intervenes here and tries to mediate a settlement. Some of these details are not very clear. Needs further examination. (Information in part from CUDL.) ASE

Legal document. Agreement between Abū l-ʿIzz Moshe b. Abū l-Barakāt and his newly divorced wife. She agrees to accept 30 instead of 70 dirhams due to her from the ketubba, and in exchange the ex-husband foregoes claims against her concerning 'nafaqa.' Location: Fustat. Dated: Sunday night, 28 Tevet 1579 Seleucid, which is 16 January 1268 CE. On verso there is Genesis 33:19–34:7. (Information from Goitein's index card and from CUDL.)