Geniza Lab

Recto: Letter from a woman to her son Abū l-Faḍā'il al-Yahūdī al-Bawāridī ('the maker of cooling or cold vegetables') in al-Qamra, Alexandria. She describes a dangerous journey on the Nile ("we nearly drowned three times, but the end was good. God willed that we meet with the Shaykh Abū l-Makārim, and I stayed with Umm Hiba.") She advises her son to redeem the copper lamp that had been pawned for 3 1/8 (dirhams?). "Do not ask about my state and my illness, about which you know. I left with the fire in my heart on account of Futūḥ and his illness. Do not ask what weighs on Makārim's heart on your account. By God and by the breast which nursed you, do not neglect your son Sulaymān." She sends regards to Ḥasab (?) and his children, to her brother, and to Umm ʿAzīza. Verso: Apart from the address, there is a postscript in a different hand (with rudimentary script and spelling), from another family member who had traveled with the mother from Alexandria. This writer says that everyone is fed up with Karīm. The qumāsh which they brought with them from Alexandria has now been pawned for 40 dirhams. Karīm has not paid a penny of his capitation tax. He even pulled a trick to make his brother have to pay his debt. He is not working. Sulaymān (probably his brother) is working instead, and the writer was forced to accept public charity (kashaft wajhī) to pay off the debt. The next couple lines are tricky. Maybe: 'After all this, he regards me as idle. I do not even have enough water to drink because of him." Then: I regret leaving Alexandria. Regards to you and your family. Send us news of Umm Maʿānī quickly. Information in part from Goitein's note card and Med Soc, I, p. 424; III, pp. 246, 480. ASE.

Business letter from Seʿadya b. Avraham b. Sasson of Alexandria to his relative Ṣedaqa b. Ṣemaḥ of Fustat, a maker of Sūsiyāt textiles. Seʿadya opens by inquiring about Ṣedaqa's ill health. "I was tranquil when I received frequent letters from you, and when they ceased, I became distressed due to imagining (? tajwīzī) an illness or something else. May God protect us from what we fear. Then my cousin (ibn ʿammatī) arrived and informed me that you had become ill, and that you had begun to recover, and I and those with me rejoiced and thanked God for that." Saadya also Ṣedaqa if he wants to secure passage on the Byzantine ship that had just arrived. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, p. 31; V, p. 103; and Goitein's index cards.) ASE.

Letter from Natan ha-Kohen b. Yosef to Yiṣḥaq ha-Kohen b. Yaʿaqov the judge, whom he calls his son. He writes about some small business matters and asks about his sick wife (wajaʿ al-bayt, r8–9). (Information from Goitein, Mediterranean Society, III, p. 160, and Goitein's index cards.) Alternate description: Letter to ‘my son’ Isaac ha-Kohen b. Jacob the judge from ‘his father’ Nathan ha-Kohen b. Joseph (obviously not father and son in the strict biological sense, as he also sends greetings to Jacob the judge, the actual father), concerned with business matters, for example the trade of indigo. Mentions people including Abū l-Riḍā, Abū l-Ḥasan, Judah, Aaron and ‘my son’ (Abū l-)Wafā. (Information from CUDL.)

Letter from Shabbetay b. Moshe to Peraḥya b. Sasson 'ḥemdat ha-yeshiva'. Mainly in Hebrew, with a few phrases in Judaeo-Arabic and part of the address in Arabic script. The reports on the shipment of linen and asks for a shipment of glass. He cites his illness to excuse his tardiness (margin, ll. 1–5). (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Yeḥezqel b. Netanel, in Qalyūb or Fustat/Cairo, to his brother Ḥalfon b. Netanel, probably in Alexandria. Dating: November 17, 1140 CE. In Judaeo-Arabic. Probably written after Ḥalfon traveled to Alexandria to meet Yehuda ha-Levi. Yeḥezqel writes about the fear that gripped him when Ḥalfon left and boarded the boat, while ill and without any companion. The body of the letter deals with business matters, especially recounting disputes with others regarding debts. Yeḥezqel was helpled by Abū l-Waḥsh Sibāʿ. One of these disputes was with the 'youths' (ṣibyān) who owed money to Yeḥezqel. These youths recruited their Muslim neighbors against Yeḥezqel and threatened that their mother would appeal to the state authorities (al-sulṭān) to exempt them from repaying the debt until ('God forbid!' interjects Yeḥezqel) they recover from their illness. Yeḥezqel had already involved two trustees of the court and the Nagid himself, but the youths too appealed to the Nagid. Yeḥezqel continues with the matter of a certain aristocrat named Razīn al-Dawla, who is angry because he had given Yeḥezqel to purchase a garment for the winter, and the order had not been fulfilled. Yeḥezqel asks Ḥalfon to make haste in obtaining the garment, which should be in a beautiful yellow. It may be sent to Yeḥezqel in Qalyūb or to 'the Jew' (the tax farmer) in Shaṭnūf, which is the iqṭāʿ of Razīn al-Dawla. Yeḥezqel asks for news of Ḥalfon's arrival in Alexandria and asks him to convey an apology to Yehuda ha-Levi for not having written to him or come to Alexandria to greet him in person. Information from Goitein and Friedman. ASE. Probably Qalyūb; Sunday, 5 of Kislev; November 17, 1140

Page from a letter sent by Abū Naṣr b. Avraham from Alexandria to Ḥalfon b. Netanel in Cairo on the 23 of October 1140. The letter includes a report on the social uproar caused by Yehuda ha-Levi’s visit in Alexandria when everybody was eager to invite him. The letter contains a request for Ḥalfon to come to Alexandria to settle the disputes caused by Yehuda ha-Levi’s presence in the city. The letter also refers to business matters arising from the India trade, in which both the addressee and the writer were involved. Abū Naṣr complains about his eye illness: "I only wrote these few letters as I was housebound with a flare of ophthalmia that came over me." At the end of recto and beginning of verso, this proves relevant: "The account is in the shop and I am at home, so I do not have the precise details to inform you." Finally, in the last few lines, "Please extend forgiveness, God knows that I wrote this with the kerchief (khirqa) draped (musabala) over my eyes." The use of a dark kerchief to protect the inflamed eyes from light was part of the standard treatment for ophthalmia (see the tag "khirqa" and the chapter on ramad in Tadhkirat al-Kaḥḥālīn). (Information in part from Frenkel, The Compassionate and Benevolent, p. 523; Goitein, Friedman, India Book 4, p. 417). ASE Alexandria; 10 of Marcheshvan; October 23, 1140

Form of a recommendation letter to the emissaries of the lepers of Tiberias, probably 1025.

Letter from Amram b. Yiṣḥaq in Alexandria to Ḥalfon b. Nethanel in Fustat. The letter was written in the 5th of April 1142. The letter contains details on the illness of Amram's wife (who is "dead on the face of the earth"; this is the third and final known letter of ʿAmram on the matter), his deplorable family situation, a request to borrow a book (tafasir Isaiah 'Commentary on the Book of Isaiah') and matters of an estate that Amram has dealt with. (Information from Frenkel).

Letter from ʿEli b. Hillel to his brother-in-law Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer opens with expressions of mourning for the death of a woman. Goitein suggests it is his own wife, but perhaps it is a woman from Ḥalfon's side of the family. ʿEli writes, "I could hardly eat bread due to crediting it (? li-ṣidqihi)," and the last phrase seems like it would be out of place for one's own wife. ʿEli then conveys his preoccupation and relief on account of his sister Sitt al-Fakhr, who was sick but recovered. He then mentions some notebooks (karārīs) and a segment of the Torah (juz' Torah), which Ḥalfon probably copied for him. (Information from Goitein's index cards.) ASE.

Letter from the Jerusalemite Yosef b. Moshe ha-Levi to Yefet ha-Neʾeman b. Elʿazar, the representative of the community of al-Maḥalla. Dating: Late 11th or early 12th century, as the same Yefet b. Elʿazar appears in T-S 6J2.25 (a legal document in the hand of Hillel b. ʿEli). Yosef reports that he stopped in (New) Cairo, planning to continue to Jerusalem via Alexandria. He was sick (wajiʿ) when he entered Cairo. The Nasi in Cairo honored him by letting him lead the congregation in prayer—"may God answer my prayers in my illness (ḍuʿfī) for the whole congregation, small and great." See e.g. ENA NS 6.24 for the notion that it is good for a sick man to lead prayers. Yosef sends greetings to a very large number of people by name, then apologizes, "As I write this, I am in a different world (?). Please forgive me for not being able to name everyone." (Information in part from Goitein's index cards.) ASE.

Letter from an unknown writer to Abu Zikri Yehuda ha-Kohen b. Yosef. The main purpose of the letter is to ask Abū Zikrī to send 50 dinars to the writer, "because my lack of employment has killed me" (ll.12–22). The writer prefaces this request with describing how he was saddened to hear from Abū l-Ḥasan al-Dimashqī that Abū Zikrī had been ill (mutakassil) and how he rejoiced to hear that Abū Zikrī had recovered (ll.6–12). There seems to be an epidemic in Abū Zikrī's location. "May God protect you from this year and these illneses and protect your children for your sake" (ll.11–12). Goitein interpreted Abū Zikrī's illness as dysentery, reading "mutarassil" (index card 27123), but see T-S 13J22.28 and ENA 1822a.12 for similar instances of "mutakassil" (the exact meaning of which is not clear). ASE.

Letter from Tamīm to his two brothers. In Judaeo-Arabic (for the body) and Hebrew (for the learned blessings). Dating: Unknown. Goitein identifies the handwriting with that of Tamīm b. Yosef, who gave a legal testimony in Qalyūb in 1231 CE (GW Plate XII corresponds to the current shelfmark F 1908.44H). He also wrote a letter addressed to Maimonides, TS Misc. 28.98 (See Ashur, 'A new letter to Maimonides', Fragment of the Month October 2010 Cambridge University Library) . In this letter, Tamīm informs his brothers of his terrible misfortune this winter. The family had amassed a substantial store of wheat from the earnings of Tamīm's wife, which they had chosen to buy in lieu of warm clothing, saying, "this will be a support behind us." They then hosted foreigners in their upper room (ghurfa) despite the fact that Tamīm, his wife, and their little children were seriously ill. When he began to recover, he found that all the wheat stored in the upper room had been stolen except for 3.5 waybas and two qadaḥs, along with their sleeping carpet (waṭa'). "I emerged from the ranks of the sick as a beggar." On top of all this, he still has to pay the capitation tax. He asks his brother to urgently send him 'Qedoshim' (the tractate?) and to inform him of when sixty days have passed from the autumnal equinox ('ha-tequfa') so that he knows when to begin saying 've-ten ṭal u-maṭar.' Information in part from Goitein's index cards. See also Med Soc IV, p. 370, n. 164. ASE.

Letter from Yaʿaqov b. Isḥāq to his son Isḥāq describing in detail his severe illness, but emphasizing that he had recovered. He sends holiday greetings to Isḥāq and their relatives, and he urges Isḥāq to take care of his old mother if worse should happen to the author. (Information from Goitein's index cards.) Goitein's partial translation: "I need not describe to you my present state after the grave illness experienced by me, so that I despaired of life. My body became completely bloated, then the disease eased a bit; then the blisters covered me even more malignantly than before, and became permanent. I had to lie down, unable to sit up when I wished so. I hated life. Then the Creator chose to grant me health, and a complete turn occurred. Then the pockmarks became apparent on me so that the improvement was not beneficial. But you [plural] should not think that I am already dead. Do not give me up. So, if the Creator chooses to grant me health, you will see me. Otherwise, nothing can be done." Med Soc V, p. 107.

Letter from Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, in Qalyub, to Gaon Sar Shalom ha-Levi, in Fustat. In Hebrew. After a poem in praise in the Gaon and lengthy salutations, Moshe tells the story of a certain Yefet b. Shelomo the physician, known as Ibn al-Ṭaffāl (“son of the fuller”), who arrived in Qalyub bearing a letter from Sar Shalom supposedly appointing him as the exclusive mohel for “all the villages.” Moshe could not find Sar Shalom’s distinctive mark in the letter, so he announced that the letter was counterfeit. The poor man Ma‘ani’s son was circumcised by Yefet ha-Qatzar instead, pro bono. Moshe now gets to the point of the letter: he has heard that Ibn al-Ṭaffāl slandered him to Sar Shalom, claiming that he said things against the Gaon that he never said. Moshe concludes by begging for mercy: he insists that has not done anything wrong, Sar Shalom must not believe anything without witnesses and proofs, and, finally, who is he that Sar Shalom should be angry at him? “After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea” (1 Samuel 24:14). On verso, he apologizes for the poor quality of the paper, stating that it was the best he could find, and for the poor quality of his writing. He would have presented himself in person, but it was all he could do to even write a letter. He wrote it lying down, prostrated by illness of his intestines and eyes. See S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 2:232, 573; 3:503; 4:407. EMS. ASE.

Letter from a tax farmer in the Fayyum, who was cheated of his share by his partners, was unable to pay his debts, and was therefore taken into custody. He has been in prison for four days. He is sick with ophthalmia and his dependents are perishing. He asks help getting released before the Sabbath. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 35, 362 and from Goitein's index cards )

Letter from Ḥalfon b. Menashshe's wife, in Fustat, to her brother Abū l-Ḥasan ʿEli b. Hillel, probably in Bahnasa (based on T-S 13J21.18). In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 1121–25 CE. She reports that the young son of Sitt al-Jamāl died immediately after ʿEli departed. They buried him in the 'desert' early on Friday, and when they returned, they found Sitt al-Jamāl's son Abū l-Mufaḍḍal sick as well, and he remains in a difficult condition (r6–11). She reports that later the same day, Abū l-Faḍl b. al-Ne'eman was fired from his post by the vizier al-Ma'mūn (1121–25) and was commanded to leave Cairo and take up residence in Fustat. Abū l-Faḍl cannot show his face now, and the rest cannot be explained in a letter (r11–14). "These things came to me upon emptiness of heart (farāgh qalb)" (cf. Quran 28:10)—perhaps she means that she could spare no attention for this matter, because she was so preoccupied on account of her children, who are still sick, as the addressee knows. "My heart became split, rising and falling, and if it weren't for your rebuke, I wouldn't have written you a single letter of all this" (r14–16). Abū ʿImrān is in the same state (probably of illness) that the addressee knows about (r16–17). She here describes the weaving of a shuqqa cloth and a complex deal involving al-Qazzāz and the addressee and money to be sent (r19–25). Goitein writes that the letter contains information about wages for silk weaving. (Information in part from Goitein's index cards; also Mediterranean Society, I, pp. 90, 404, 412; II, pp. 183, 345, 558; V, pp. 243, 574.) ASE.

Letter from Natan b. Nahray, Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Dating: Ca. 1062 CE (Gil). Topics: trade in oil, cumin, paper, books; the serious illness of ʿIwāḍ b. Ḥananel; and the dire situation in al-Mahdiyya. Nahray was very worried about ʿIwāḍ, but he ended up improving (lines 6–7). Cf. T-S 10J10.27, from 1060 CE, in which ʿIwāḍ himself writes to Nahray about his intestinal bloating and how he is scared and does not know what will happen.

Letter from Moshe Yiju, [after leaving] Tyre, to his brother Perahya, in Fustat. Dating: 14 April 1155 CE. When Moshe sent his previous letters from Tyre, he was terribly ill, and people had despaired. On the 5th day, God acted for the sake of His name, and Moshe was cured. See 2 Kings 20:5 ("on the third day I will cure you"). India Book III, 46.

Letter sent by a son to his father in a silk shop in Minyat al-Qa'id. He inquires about the eye disease of the addressee and advises him to not remain in the premises occupied by the family. He mentions an ill-famed young carpenter living nearby and asks for a robe (thawb) and an underwear (ghilalah). He tells the recipient to ask the writer's brother Abu l-Ḥasan about the news of the grape pressing. A blue robe was sent with the bearer of the letter. (Information from Goitein index cards)

Letter, draft, from Shelomo to Avraham ha-Sar, Ner ha-Maʿaravi, in childish script. He is unable to come because his father is ill. Information from Goitein's note card.