Geniza Lab

Letter written by a sick man who asks the recipient to buy him a female slave, for "I have no one to give me medicine," and the children are sick (maṭrūḥīn) as well. Someone in the past told him not to buy a female slave, but now this person tells him to buy one. However, he has no way of accessing his money. Abū l-Faḍl has not been helpful in this matter. He urges the recipient (possibly his brother, since he invokes "my master's upbringing" of the recipient) to do his utmost to get hold of the 5 dinars belonging to the writer, and to go to the Rayyis Abū l-Najm and purchase a female slave with the money. At the bottom appears the signaure Shelomo ha-Levi b. Moshe ha-Shishi, but this name is not completely legible and may not belong to the letter. The handwriting of this signature may be consistent with that of Shelomo ha-Levi b. Moshe ha-Sheviʿi, who appears in T-S 16.356, a legal document dated 1120 CE. If the two are the same person (one before and one after his promotion), this letter was composed some time after 1120 CE. Verso contains several of the same phrases from recto. Information in part from Goitein's note card. ASE.

Letter from the schoolmaster Natan b. Shemuel, in a small town, to his brother Abū l-Ḥasan, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in Arabic script. The writer asks for some ophthalmic medicine, some sour-grape kohl, and an unidentified medicine (רישאנא?), because he needs them very much. If his financial situation were not so terrible this winter, he would have sent some money to cover the cost. He describes his extreme hardships, explaining that he had had to pawn garments to cover the costs of the holidays(?). He asks the addressee to meet with their in-law Abū Naṣr and thank him and seek to resolve some family matter. He worries that people are angry at him: "I think that no one likes a beggar." He then asks for the addressee's indulgence for what he had previously written. He was not himself, because of his great preoccupation upon the death of the khaṭīb of his town, who had been a great support to him. He goes on to allude to a dispute between himself and his cousin (ibn ʿamm), about whom he has many harsh words (incl. "Smoother than cream were the speeches of his mouth, but his heart was war" (Psalms 55:22); "may God save me from his evil"). He conveys greetings to various people, including R. Yeḥiel (active 1224–33). In a first postscript, he reports that Qaḍīb is severely ill with pleurisy (dhāt al-janb). He is out of his mind with worry and asks for his sister Saʿāda to be sent urgently. "May I not live to see her day [of death]." In a second postscript, he reports that actually Qaḍīb is doing much better now, thank God. (Information in part from Mediterranean Society, IV, pp. 185, 413; V, pp. 242, 573, 600-601.) ASE

Letter from Abū ʿAlī to his father Abū l-ʿIzz. In Judaeo-Arabic. He reports that his mother and Yūsuf arrived safely after four days of travel by boat. He has sent his father a fulled maqṭaʿ cloth worth 49 dirhams and wishes to have for its price 150 jars with unnamed contents. If that sum were not sufficient, he would deliver the balance to the carrier. He alludes to his illness in passing by way of explaining why he has not done something (line 21). (Information from Mediterranean Society, IV, p. 446.) ASE

Letter to a Gaon, according to Goitein, perhaps from the time of Nethanel Gaon (1160), congratulating him on his son's recovery from illness, and complaining about the cessation of correspondence. It is also a letter of recommendation for the bearer. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, pp. 294, 295, and from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Avraham Ibn Miṣbāḥ, in Alexandria to Eliyyahu the Judge, in Fustat. Written in the hand of Avraham ha-Melammed b. Yefet. "I arrived in Alexandria with Manṣūr b. Simḥa ha-Kohen and found all the {orphan} children sick (marḍā tālifīn). They had taken on my account one dinar (?), and Manṣūr paid me 5 dinars." For some reason the money for the orphans has come out of the writer's account. The writer himself is in difficult straits; a judge wept when he heard the tale. He brought with him a letter of recommendation to show to Abū Surūr al-Kohen and somebody else, but they did not give him a response to the letter. Avraham reports that the orphans are praying on behalf of Eliyyahu that he will be rewarded for his good deeds with them. He does not have anything left of the 5 dinars, because he bought two thawbs and a blanket and the rest went to syrups (probably for the sick orphans). Eliyyahu is his patron; he repeatedly praises his generosity and reports how he praised him to various people in Alexandria. The writer has been waiting around in Alexandria for various officials to help him, and in the interim receives bread from the public distribution. He wants Eliyyahu to read this very letter to somebody else who will hopefully come to his aid. Some parts of the letter are quite difficult; merits further examination. Join: Oded Zinger. ASE.

Letter from Yisrael b. Natan (Isrā'īl b. Sahlūn), in Jerusalem, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 31 December 1061 CE, according to Gil. Yisrael mentions letters intended for the Maghrib that he had previously sent, in particular one for a certain Labrāṭ. He asks Nahray to send him the garment that arrived from Tripoli and the medicines (ʿaqāqīr) and the bitumen (qifār) with Abū ʿAlī Ismāʿīl b. Ruʿbūb. Umm Sha'ul, the wife of Nahray, is in Jerusalem, and Yisrael conveys news of her and other contacts. There is a famine in Jerusalem. Yisrael conveys the good news that Abūn b. Ṣadaqa and his daughter have recovered from illness—but Yisrael is sick of Abūn. ASE

Letter from Yūsuf b. Faraḥ al-Qābisī, in Alexandria, to his nephew Abū l-Surūr Faraḥ b. Ismāʿīl b. Faraḥ, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: September 6, 1056 CE, based on Gil's assessment. The letter contains a wide array of news and business matters. Yūsuf describes an attack by Ibn al-Thumna's soldiers on merchant ships and the requisitioning of merchandise (r10–12). He passes on the news (r14–15) that the addressee's uncle (ʿamm) Sulaymān was seriously ill in Sūsa but recovered (פק, to be read fāq); that Yaḥyā b. Mūsā al-Majjānī died (r16–17); that the writer's own cousin (ibn khālat{ī}) Abū l-Faḍl is critically ill (ʿalā khuṭṭa) in al-Mahdiyya (r17–18); that the customs tax (ʿushr) has become more stringent (r18); and that Yosef b. Shabbetay al-Ḥazzān converted to Islam in Palermo, a grievous day (r19–20). Amidst the bad news, and a business partner's complaint that his goods never reached him, Yūsuf complains, "My boy, by God, before this trip I was very strong, but now it is the opposite, by God, my spirit is weaker than a thread of silk" (r21–22). He continues with news of Qayrawān, al-Mahdiyya, and Sfax (v1–4); instructions regarding the purchase of flax in Būṣīr (v8–11); and information on the movements of ships. (Information in part from Gil.) ASE.

Letter from Mardūk b. Mūsā, in Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: ca. 1060 CE, based on Gil's assessment. The letter was written by Mūsā b. Abī l-Ḥayy, and it switches to his voice from line v1 onward. Mardūk reports that he has recovered from his illness: he entered the baths and ate pullets (r4–5), but some of his family members are still sick (r16). The rest of the letter is entirely business matters. (Information in part from Gil.) ASE.

Letter from Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, in Qalyub, to family members in Fustat. He inquires briefly about commercial dealings before insisting that there is no need for his mother to trouble herself with coming to visit. If she wishes to give him the fabric, they can simply send it with Safi, and if she wishes to tell him in person about the illness of his sister, then she should simply write the news in a letter: “There is no shame in that; people are accustomed to writing the secrets of people in letters and sending them.” He mentions that the Amir Sajja‘a al-Din has arrived in Qalyub and is asking about Moshe’s brother Abu l-Ḥasan. In a postscript, he apologizes for the many errors. ASE.

Letter in Arabic script. The Arabic document is the first page of a letter. The formulaic greetings extend to three lines from the bottom, where the writer begins to excuse himself for not appearing in person to kiss the addressee's feet. What prevented him was his illness and the fact that Cairo is "qalīlat al-khāṭir (or ḥāẓir?)"—a somewhat cryptic statement. ASE

Letter from Mevasser b. David, in Tinnīs, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 22 Elul (25 August [1068 — Gil's inference]), with plentiful blessings for the Jewish new year. Mevasser inquires about previous letters and asks Nahray to pass on any news from Ifrīqiyya. It is rumored that ʿAbdallāh Ibn al-Baʿbāʿ, who became the (last) Muslim ruler of Sicily the following year, arrived in Alexandria in a ghurāb (river boat) and may have escaped. Probably this refers to his flight from the ruler of Ifrīqiyya, Tamīm b. Muʿizz. In the margin of recto, Mevasser offers an apology having to do with his correspondence, because he has an illness (tawajjuʿ), and his son and wife are sick as well, and his entire household, "may God deliver them. What will become of a small baby and his mother—may God exempt you—who do not have anyone to go in for them (from context, perhaps this should be read yadkhul rather than Gil's yattakil) or go out? Every person is occupied with himself (mashghūl bi-rūḥihi)." Gil understands Mevasser's sick family members to be not in Tinnīs with him but in al-Mahdiyya, which is currently under siege, with no ships coming and going (connecting recto, right margin, lines 4–5, with verso, lines 10–11). (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, # 695 and Goitein notes linked below.) ASE.

Letter from Yeshuʿa b. Ismāʿīl, in Fustat, to Khallūf b. Mūsā, in Palermo. In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in both Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script. Dating: 8 April 1052 CE. The writer complains about Abū Yūsuf Yaʿaqov b. Azhar, who owes him money. Also concerning various commercial issues. Yeshuʿa opens with an allusion to his many illnesses this winter, but reports that he is now doing well (r3–5). There are also many lines of Arabic script (apart from the address), some superimposed on the Judaeo-Arabic text. There are also some brief accounts in Judaeo-Arabic in a different hand than the letter. (Information in part from Gil.)

Letter from Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, Qalyub, to a family member in Fustat, dealing with sundry small business matters. He orders walnuts, sugar, and Sinnārī cheese (this last to be sent with Salāma). Ibn al-Nuʿmān is to be paid 42 dirhams. Ibn al-Dajānī will receive some as well. Moshe refers to the pressing of the grapes. He is anxious to know about the capitation tax and how much remains to be paid so that he can send some money to help. Abū Khalaf is mentioned in the margin. Verso is more faded and difficult to understand. He writes that Farruj's name is Furrayj b. Ishaq (?), and the agent's name is Ma'ani b. Abu l-Khayr. He asks for medicine and/or medical advice regarding the boy who was circumcised on Friday and who 'chafed' his 'leg' and has a bit of blood at the opening. In a postscript Moshe says he has sent with the bearer a copper vessel (qumqum) that is either filled with or to be filled with rose water. Mentioned in Ashtor, Histoire des prix, 1969, p. 136. ASE.

Letter sent from Alexandria by a father to his son, who had run away to the army, trying to bring him back. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from a certain Simḥa, who was in charge of a building. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: ca. 1200 CE. He reports that the upper floor (the one adjacent to the house of some Christians in a Jewish communal building) was restored for a cost of 30 dinars, while the ground floor beneath it was completely occupied, bringing revenue. He briefly reports on somebody who was housebound with a sickness, but who returned to week this week (v17–18). Information in part from Med Soc, IV, pp. 101, 375)

Letter from an unidentified writer to Eliyyahu the Judge. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer conveys condolences for a death in the family of Eliyyahu (r6–9). He says that the blow is even harder to bear than his own trials with the sick woman (al-ṣaghīra) in his household. The rest of the letter is about this woman. (Motzkin identifies her with Eliyyahu's daughter-in-law Sitt Ghazāl, but he does not explain why.) The writer asks Eliyyahu to obtain a medical consultation with the Rayyis (Avraham Maimonides?) concerning the patient. The writer provides a detailed, albeit cryptic, account of her problems (r15–v1). First she withdrew from mingling with people (inʿazalat ʿan al-khalṭa—unless this refers to a khilṭ/humor) and remained either silent (sākita) or with some altered mental status (sābita). Those around her attributed this to the wakham (bad air/epidemic) and to her pregnancy. But in the fifth month of her pregnancy, she was afflicted with "dullness of mind (balādat khāṭir), irritability (ḍajar), confusion (taḥayyur), and disorientation (taghayyub)." The family members refrained from giving her any medicine to drink on account of the pregnancy. Finally, God had mercy and she gave birth. (Motzkin understood this as a miscarriage, but the letter does not. She could just as well have carried the fetus to term and given birth to a live child.) But, the writer continues, her situation is still unstable, and they anxiously await Eliyyahu's response with the Rayyis's advice. ASE

Business letter by a young Spanish merchant writing from Fez to his father in Almeria, Spain, revealing that he preferred not to use his father's house in Fez but to stay with friends instead in order to be able to declare his merchandise as destined for a local merchant. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, pp. 61-62 and Goitein's translation, attached.) After he was forced to pay the governor (qā'id) and customs inspector (mutawalli al-ʿushūr) and sundry others, "I was sick for three days out of anger and sorrow. Had I possessed here the same courage as I usually have in Almeria, I would have escaped with less than this. But I consoled myself with the solace of one who has no choice."

Letter from a woman, probably in Alexandria, to her paternal uncle. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: ca. 1030 CE. The writer's family, a family of merchants that had emigrated from the Maghreb, has been left without any males (l. 9) after the death of both the writer’s father (l. 3) and grandfather (l. 4). The writer describes the wretched state of the family. She fears that her mother will fall sick from severe grief: "she has no eye or body left," and she is either literally or practically fainting from her excessive weeping (ll. 6–7). They are worried that their property will be confiscated when the government finds out that there is no man in the family. She appeals to the uncle to help them. Despite the difficulties, she also mentions that the family has received a shipment of merchandise. On verso there is incidentally a note in Judaeo-Arabic about the hafara for Ha'azinu (but no address or continuation of the letter on recto). (Information in part from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #227.) VMR. ASE.

Letter from Jalāl al-Dawla, in Cairo, to Shelomo b. Yishai the Mosul Nasi, in Bilbays. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Ca. 1240 CE. The writer had sent a pair of red woolen children's shoes with Muʿammar al-Dimashqī intended for the addressee's son Yishai. He devotes much of the letter to a vivid description of his illnesses. “As for my state, I inform the masters that I came down with diarrhea, and I endured it. When it increased and multiplied, it became an illness. A physician was treating me, al-Rayyis Sulaymān al-Ḥakīm al-Fāḍil of the family of Rabbenu Menaḥem (ZL). They concocted the medicine in the house of Rabbenu (ZL): every day, roasted seeds and the like, and a pullet, and he visited me frequently. And R. Eliyya the Judge was also generous. When I recovered after some days… [I came down] with what was worse than it… ophthalmia in my eye on the night of Shabbat Shoftim… a painful scream, against my will, all night…. May God afflict my enemies [with what I was afflicted with]. The illness became public. What I suffered cannot be [described].” In the continuation, he sends regards to the judge Peraḥya and praises him as the most learned and powerful judge in the country. He concludes, "As for my eye, fog and darkness were upon it." There is a postscript in the same hand but in the third person (perhaps meaning that a secretary wrote this letter for Jalāl al-Dawla or that somebody later copied it): "After he wrote this letter, he entered the bathhouse (meaning, he was fully recovered) on the 26th of Elul, so be glad of heart." ASE

Detailed business and personal letter from Alexandria to Fustat. The letter narrates the difficult situation in Alexandria during a siege, probably al-Afdal's siege of 1094, when Nizar took refuge in Alexandria after the death of the caliph al-Mustansir. The writer was very sick for six months and bed-bound for four months. He describes the regimen he was prescribed, and says that people had given up on him. Frenkel suggests that the writer describes an epidemic, which is known from other letters, but here there seems to be no sign of an epidemic (the reading of the last word of line 7 as al-nās is tentative and does not completely fit the context). He reports that no pepper, cinnamon or ginger were available in Alexandria, and asks the recipient to keep these commodities for the Byzantines, saying that all Byzantines are set to leave for Fustat as soon as two ships from Constantinople arrive. Information from Frenkel and from Goitein, Med. Soc. 1:44 and 5:104. ASE.