Geniza Lab

Medical recipes for dental hygiene. Medical text regarding the importation and trade of miswāk sticks to be used as toothbrushes, of honey, ginger, pepper, zatar (wild oregano) and other spices that are related to the treatment of mouth and tooth. The text preserves some indication for the preparation of the aforementioned ingredients, including their baking; other instructions deal with the dipping of the miswāk in a medical preparation. Mention is made of glass from Syria and of Salt Andarānī, which is believed to be the same as the salt of Sodom mentioned in the Talmud and to derive from the Syrian town of Andara. Information from CUDL.

Petition from Ṣāliḥ al-Khaybārī, a Jew from the community of Baghdad, to the Fatimid amīr Tāj al-Dawla. In Arabic script. Ṣāliḥ petitions regarding a miserable situation into which he fell after a pledge made to Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn b. Ḥasan. As a consequence, Ṣāliḥ was imprisoned for six months and is still in debt for 300 dinars. In order to repay his debt he was given the task of producing a tunic out of two pieces of Persian fabric, one yellow and one white. This task has not yet been completed, and Ṣāliḥ seems to be seeking the amīr’s understanding and support in this delay. Dating: ca. 11th century. On recto and between the lines and in the margins of verso, there is a Judaeo-Arabic commentary on passages from Genesis, including the days of the creation, the creation of men and the incident of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Information from CUDL and Khan.)

Declaration of receipt of a quantity of barley. In Arabic script. Hiba b. Buqṭur b. […], companion of the amīr Dhakhīrat al-Dawla Ḥaydara b. Muḥammad b. ʿAdnān (appears also in T-S 13J26.13, twenty years and a promotion later), acknowledges the receipt of 1124 irdabbs of barley from Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. Judayd. The barley has been ‘conveyed to the coast with the lighthouse’. Dated: 25 Shawwāl 422 AH, which is 15 October 1031 CE. (A previous description gave 438 AH and 1047 CE). The document was subsequently folded to create a bifolio. On the top of recto and on one page of verso, there is a Judaeo-Arabic formulary for legal documents. On the last page, in a different hand, there is a draft of a legal document in Hebrew. Location: Alexandria. Dated: Thursday, 20 Kislev 4815 AM, which is 1054/55 CE. The name Sahl b. Mevasser appears underneath. (Information in part from CUDL and Khan.)

List of books compiled by Joseph b. Jacob ha-Bavli as part of the introduction to the commentary on Saʿadya Gaʾon’s Siddur. Mentions works and commentaries by a large number of Jewish scholars. (Information from CUDL)

Book list in the hand of Shelomo ha-Levi, mentioning, among other items, Mishna tractates and their gemara (occasionally specifying the type of script), a commentary on Jeremiah, the Sefer Pitronot ha-Ḥalomot, the megillot, biblical books, a treatise on the leap-year, Arabic books, a commentary on the Prophets, and a commentary on Esther in Hebrew. (Information from CUDL)

List of various books, among which are biblical books, a commentary on Psalms mentioning various proper names (eg. Abū l-Majd ibn Bishr, Abū Saʿīd ibn al-Shomer, Yūsuf ibn al-Qadūrī). The Arabic marginalia mention other proper names. (Information from CUDL)

List of books in the hand of Meʾir b. Hillel b. Ṣadoq divided into three parts: gemarot, perushim, and sheʾelot. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document recording the sale of biblical books including codices of the Torah and of a targum to the Prophets, mentioning their prices in dirhams (90 dirhams, 120 dirhams). The parties are Elʿazar ha-Parnas ha-Shammash b. Hillel and Joseph b. Yefet (Information from CUDL)

List of Talmudic quotations, mainly from Bava Qamma. (Information from CUDL)

Formulary for legal deeds, with quotations from responsa (frequent quotations of Binyamin Zeʾev - 16th century) followed by or with full description of the deed. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: list of the first lines of piyyuṭim. Verso: draft of the beginning of a letter with blessings and wishes for good luck and prosperity. (Information from CUDL)

List with quotations from Jeremiah and Ezekiel (in the righthand columns) and references to the rabbinical works that discuss them (in the left-hand columns). (Information from CUDL)

Verso: Book list in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu (identification by Frenkel), written on the back of a letter addressed to his father Eliyyahu the Judge. Dating: early 13th century (Allony speculated 11th century, since none of the books are later than that). The book list mentions a translation of Deuteronomy, commentaries to biblical books (e.g. Psalms, Genesis, the Megillot), and a copy of Saʿadya’s Siddur on verso(?). (Information from CUDL.) NB: Allony et al. edited this manuscript under the name "T-S K23.27," which was either a mistake or the shelfmarks have changed. Also, there is no fragment at T-S K3.25.

List of books in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu mentioning many halakhic works, including chapters 4 to 6 of the Ṭumaʾ ve-Tohara by Saʿadya Gaʾon, Ḥovot ha-Din by Shemuʾel b. Ḥofni, three halakhic treatises, Sefer ben Sira (אבן סירא), and Geʾonic commentaries on Ṭohorot. The fragment also mentions some biblical books and their commentaries. (Information from CUDL.) NB: Allony et al. edited this manuscript under the name "T-S K23.25–26," which was either a mistake or the shelfmarks have changed. Note also that T-S K23.25 either doesn't exist any more or has not been digitized.

List of rabbinic works (talmudic tractates and midrashim). (Information from CUDL)

Recto: accounts in Arabic and Hebrew script, mentioning Abū ʿAbdallā ibn al-Farakhī (אלפרכי). Verso: Coptic numerals. (Information from CUDL)

Numbered list of halakhot, probably for a book’s table of contents. (Information from CUDL)

List of legal works, including Saʿadya’s Sefer ha-ʿEdot ve-ha-Sheṭarot. The verso probably has part of the name of the author or the owner of the list, […] Hillel nin […]. (Information from CUDL)

List of books, mostly with rabbinical content, mentioning talmudic tractates and several midrashim, including a midrash on Ruth and Midrash Tanḥuma. (Information from CUDL)

List of books, mostly rabbinical, mentioning talmudic tractates and several midrashim. (Information from CUDL)