Geniza Lab

Unwitnessed agreement from Fusṭāṭ, dated 5570 (= 1810 CE), between Jacob ha-Levi (known as ʿAkubas) and Moses Ṣevi (known as Ḥakari)š. (Information from CUDL)

Agreement of partnership from Fusṭāṭ, dated 14th Nisan 5576 (= 1816 CE), between Joseph Romano and Nissīm Ḥāmī. Witnessed by Jacob ha-Kohen and Ezekiel Basrī. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from a son to his father with detailed description of his illness and recovery. Same writer and recipient as T-S 13J21.13 (addressed to Minyat al-Qa'id) and T-S 13J21.14 and Stras. 4110/90 (see tag). His fever finally abated yesterday with the onset of diarrhea (or successful purging?), however a woman in the house is still feverish. He relates the details of the treatment that he received at the hands of Ibn Habib, which, as far as can be determined through the lacunae, involves oxymel mixed with hot water, and timing something for the fifth day and the seventh day but not during the crisis. Khatir has not yet arrived from Alexandria, as he was detained by the wedding of a relative. Join: Alan Elbaum. ASE.

Drafts of documents, made by Mevorakh b. Natan b. Shemuel and other scribes. Dating: 1159 CE. Includes a contract of sale of a Muslim female slave, Ṣayd, for 19 and a half dinars, a contract for a partnership between Khalaf b. Samuel and Barakāt b. Mūsā b. Miska, a will of a dying man asking his brother to let his daughter stay with him and take care of her possessions, betrothal deeds, a list of funeral expenses for Mubārak b. Abū l-Munā al-Dimashqī, etc. Mentions Abū l-Surūr the doctor, Sason ha-Levi, Abū ʿAlī, Abū Saʿīd Ḥalfon b. ʿEli ha-Levi the dyer, Mufaḍḍal b. Abū Saʿd, Tamīm b. Abū l-Faraj, Ḥayya b. Isaac, Efrayim b. Mešullam, Abū Naṣr b. Saʿīd, Elʿazar b. ʿAmram b. Abū l-Faraj, ʿImrān b. Mevorakh, Shela b. Yaaqov, Miska Berakhot b. Avraham al-Ḥaver, Makārim al-Parnas, Abū l-Ḥasan Kohen b. Ṣāliḥ, Abū Saʿd (known as Ibn al-[..]ṭ), Yehuda b. Shelomo and Shelomo ha-Levi b. Shemu’el. Information from CUDL. See also Goitein's note cards.

Fragment from a power of attorney mentioning Abraham b. Asher. Probably 19th century, from Fusṭāṭ. No witnesses. (Information from CUDL)

Court record. In Judaeo-Arabic. In a Yemeni hand (Worman's handlist desribes it as "Modern Yemenite.") concerning a debt of 2.5 qirsh between Ṣaliḥ b. Mūsā ʿUmīsī and Ḥasan b. Sālim Mūsā Zanār. Several witnesses: Sālim Ḥadī (חדי), Ḥasan al-Dhīb (אלדיב, wolf), Yaḥyā Hārūn (ṣāḥib al-qumʿa(?)), Mūsā Nissīm, and Menaḥem (?). (Information in part from CUDL)

Halakhic discussion about the responsibility for fire damage, probably from a geonic responsum. The leaf is blank on verso, and, given the layout of the page, this is probably the original responsum rather than a later copy. (Information from CUDL)

Beginning of a draft of a court record in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe (1100–38 CE), mentioning the issuer Abū ʿImrān Moshe b. Yefet ha-Kohen ("Glory of the Community"), and the recipient, his wife, Zayn known as Sitt al-Ḥusn bt. Moshe ha-Kohen ha-Sar (her father is titled Saniyy al-Dawla). Date and signatures are not preserved. (Information in part from CUDL)

Recto: fragment of a document in which the parties are Nabā and Shemuʾel. Verso: part of another document. (Information from CUDL)

Fragment of a legal document from Fusṭāṭ, possibly the acknowledgment of a loan. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. On parchment. Fragment (right side only). Very tantalizing subject matter, possibly written on the occasion of a change of government (tabdīl al-dawla). Mentions communal matters and the sulṭān; sounds like a communal letter or sermon addressed to a group, but then the text in the margin conveys greetings to a single person, mentioning names such as Yosef, Shemuʾel, and Elʿazar. Also mentions a man who lost his two sons in the same year. Reused on verso for a Hebrew poem or liturgical text written in very large letters. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter from a cantor of Mosul. T-S 12.257r is continued in T-S K25.209 and ends in T-S 12.257v. The letter is written in childish script, often omitting letters. The sender cites his eye illness to excuse his bad script. He travelled with a Nasi to Egypt. In Alexandria, he bought something nice for 15 dinars for his wife. Then he had some very dramatic adventures on the way to Cairo including a brush with the army and a companion detained by the (Ayyubid?) military and accused of being a Frankish spy. (Information in part from Goitein's note card and transcription.) In the handwriting of the same scribe: T-S 13J14.22 and T-S 6J5.1. The join with T-S AS 145.278 was identified by Alan Elbaum.

Highly fulsome letter of praise, consisting of 12 lines of praise in Hebrew, followed by 5 lines of Arabic script containing the actual content of the letter, and closing with a further 13 lines of blessings. The whole letter has a heading בשים איל רחום וחנון. On verso the page is covered with Arabic pen trials. (Information from CUDL.) It appears that the Hebrew beginning and ending were prepared by a scribe in advance. Either the same scribe or somebody else later used the template to fill in the 5 lines of Arabic script. It is a a letter of appeal for charity. ASE. ... ويجعلك الله تعالى من المقبولين ويستجيب مني لحضرتك صالح الدعا وقد علم الله تعالى ايش نحن فيه من الضر والعري انا ومن عندي فلنا اليوم عشرة شهور قد علم الله ايش قاسينا فيها من ضيق اليد . . . . ليل ونهار على ما جرى عليا . . . . . . . . من عبدك لك دعوة في هذه الايام فاسل الله ان يستجيب مني لك . . . . . صالح الدعا

Letter, copy, to Yehuda ha-Nasi (possibly the exilarch Yehuda b. David b. Yehuda), consisting solely of extensive praises. (Information from CUDL.)

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 fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions Abū l-Munā al-Rayyis; something that happened with the Rayyis and the Amir [...] al-Ẓāhiriyya(?) at the gate of Alexandria, and everyone rejoiced greatly; and Shemuel ha-Sofer. On verso there is a halakhic discussion of Yom Kippur, possibly in the hand of Nathan b. Samuel, followed by a piyyuṭ. Information in part from CUDL. ASE

Recto: legal document, probably a bill of release, given from Dalāl to Isaac b. Abraham. Verso: accounts in Arabic script (very similar to T-S 12.109 and T-S 12.157). (Information from CUDL)

Recto: letter by the Palestinian Gaʾon Daniel b. ʿAzariah to the head of the Palestinian congregation in Fusṭāṭ , ʿEli b. ʿAmram, concerning ‘what was collected [from the] market’ (i.e., the proceeds of slaughter) from the beginning of Elul to the end of Kislev. Mention is made of Ṣemaḥ ‘our scribe’ (ספרא דילנא). It closes with his ʿalāma, ישועה, and Daniel signs (in a different ink): Daniel ha-Nasi Rosh Yeshivat Geʾon Yaʿaqov. Verso: probably the draft of a sermon, quoting Isaiah 21:12, different hand and ink. (Information from CUDL)

Ketubba for the marriage of Sahlān and his bride. Ca. mid 11th century CE. Written by Yefet b. David. Signed by Yaʿīsh ha-Kohen ha-Parnas b. Abraham, [Sahlān b.] Abraham Alluf he-Ḥaver, Elʿazar b. R. [...], Shelomo b. [...], [Eph]raim he-Ḥaver b. Shem[arya]. (Information from CUDL)

Description from T-S 12.502 (PGPID 7245): Court record. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Dated: Av 1434 Seleucid, which is 1123 CE. Fictive sale of a house, i.e., a debt credited under the deed of a sale of a house. "In a Muslim court a woman sold half her house (l. 6) to a man for 25 dinars (l. 7). The two parties came to terms that if the woman returns the sale money in full to the buyer after 26 months (l. 13), the house would be returned to her; the contract was signed in 1123 (l. 4) and was to expire in 1125 (l. 5). It is also stated that during this time, the buyer agrees not to collect any rent from her (l. 7) and not to charge her any interest (ribbit) (l. 8); only the purchase money invested (raʾsmāl) (l. 13) should be paid back. It was also agreed that the two undertook to be prompt in reversing the deal; i.e., the woman should pay the sum due a week or less before the deadline (l. 10). If the remittance of the mentioned sum is overdue, the man could refuse to return the house to her (l. 11). No signatures are preserved." (Information from Gershon Weiss.) See also Goitein's index card. Description from T-S 12.82 + T-S 12.553 (old PGPID 7264): Legal document. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Ca. 1123 CE, based on the appearance of the same couple as in T-S NS 323.19 and BL OR 12299.12 + T-S 8.123. The husband is Elʿazar/Manṣūr b. Yefet/Ḥasan ha-Kohen, and his wife is Sitthum aka Sitt al-Jamīʿ bt. ʿOvadya. In the present document, Elʿazar's son Hillel is also mentioned. Elʿazar is apparently entrusting his affairs to his wife, and there is a reference to the eventuality of his death (l. 5). Goitein and Gershon Weiss believed T-S 12.553 to be a join with T-S NS 323.19 (which involves the same couple), but this is not certain. (Goitein and Weiss did not know about BL OR 12299.12 + T-S 8.123 or that T-S 12.502 and T-S 12.553 were from the same document.) Joins by Alan Elbaum (T-S 12.82 + T-S 12.553) and Oded Zinger (T-S 12.502 + {T-S 12.82 + T-S 12.553})