Geniza Lab

Letter from an anonymous writer in Jerusalem to a certain Elʿazar, probably 16th century. The writer seems to genuinely yearn to travel to the addressee's location (Fustat?). First he was in Damascus, "and they did not let me leave. I do not wish to tell you all the respect they paid me." Due to the difficulty of leaving, he resorted to "a trick" and told them that he wanted to visit all the graves of the righteous in Palestine, so he left and his party traveled the country from Dan to Be'er Sheva. Then he came to Jerusalem, where the Sephardic congregation again refuses to let him leave. "They wish to catch me so that I preach to them every Shabbat. I escaped Damascus for this? And here these other ones are catching me, and I do not wish to stay with them." Summary based on Avraham David's transcription, who, however, reads "I escaped from Damascus for this" as a sincere statement. ASE

Hebrew letter from Yiṣḥaq b. Zeraḥya known as Faryol (?), a physician, to Avraham Talmid (known from other letters, fl. ca.1600). The first part of the letter deals with business matters. The writer mentions that he wished to examine some books, but the bookseller refused to untie them. He then asks the addressee to look after and mentor R. David ha-Kohen who is visiting Damascus with 200 gold pieces to exchange them for other gold and silver. The second part of the letter conveys information for al-Shaykh Ghāzī who left his wife in the hands of the writer to cure her from her illness. Thanks to the medicines sent by the husband and others that the writer gathered, the cure has been successful—her face has completely healed, and her legs, thank God. "Please remind him to send me a suitable gift, something suitable. In truth it has been nine months since I have seen my home (or: wife). Now, for Purim, they have begged me to come, but the sick woman, his wife, did not wish to let me go, and I could not go against her will. Copy out these words for him. . ." Information from Avraham David's edition. ASE.

Late letter in Hebrew, mentioning Avraham Castro (line 5). Needs further examination.

Letter, fragment (lower left corner), from Shalom b. Sīd. In Hebrew. Dating: First half of the 16th century. The writer reports on business progress to his employer or partner. He mentions Yaʿaqov Shānjī in line 6 and a Venetian ship in line 7. Information from Avraham David's edition on FGP.

More accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: Tishrei 5354 AM = Muharram 1002 AH, which is 1593 CE, a few months after the records on recto.

Legal deed In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: Tammuz 5353 AM = Shawāl 1001 AH, which is 1593 CE. It seems to be the copy of a reconciliation agreement between al-Faqīr (the writer?) and Shemeul the son of the late Ḥayyim Turiya(?). Two other names are mentioned. There are accounts underneath, with western Arabic numerals.

Legal deed, fragment. In Hebrew. Only the beginnings of the last few lines are preserved. Dated: 10 Tevet 5325 AM, which is 1564/65 CE. Witnesses: Shemuel b. Yiṣḥaq Barukh(?).

"The first document is a letter (lacking, however, a few lines at the end) that was sent by an anonymous merchant to R. David Ibn Zamiro (alias Zimra).It seems that the writer was the fattore (commercial agent) of the addressee R. David Ibn Abi Zimra (1480–1573), who resided in Cairo for more than forty years, before he moved to Jerusalem in 1553. He is considered to have been the greatest rabbinical authority among the Spanish Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. In his letter, the writer describes the difficulties, which he had in marketing the feathers: על ענין הנוצה, ואע"פ שכבר הודעתי [ל]מעל[תך] עם ר' שמואל כיחלאדו, כי לפניו פתחתי אותה הראיתי אותה לכמה סוחרים, ולא מצאנו שום מכירה [...] הראיתי הנוצה לסוחרים על מאמר מתיו, ולא רצו לעשות שום דבר. 'Concerning the feathers, although I already informed you know through R. Samuel Kichlado that I opened [the parcel] in his presence, I showed them [i.e. the feathers] to some merchants. As we did not find [an opportunity] for selling [them], [...] I showed the feathers to the merchants following the advice of Matteo (Matthew), but they were not inclined to do anything.' The Italian merchants, with whom he negotiated without success, apparently were not interested in buying the feathers. And of Matteo, the one mentioned by name here, we know that at that time he was in jail in Egypt." Avraham David, Jewish Involvement in Ostrich Feathers Trade, 86–87. In addition to Matteo, a Christian merchant named Piero del [?] is discussed.

Letter from Moshe b. Abudarham, probably in Rashid, to an unknown addressee. In Hebrew. Dating: Second half of the 16th century, based on Avraham David's assessment. The writer's son-in-law bought a 'tower' in Alexandria, and the writer plans to move in with him. He wishes to leave Rashid in part because "it is a waystation and people from Fustat are always passing through." Information from Avraham David via FGP.

Notebook of a marriage broker. In Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew with Coptic numerals. Dating: 1511 CE (1823 Seleucid). Enumerates the circumstances attending the marriage of certain persons named, chiefly concerned with invoicing the brides' trousseaus. Gottheil suggests that these are Qaraite documents. Information from Gottheil-Worrell, Fragments from the Cairo Genizah, p. 179.

Business letter from Shelomo to Yosef Ḥalūfī, in Fustat. Dating: Second half of the 16th century, based on Avraham David's assessment. The letter deals with several business matters, especially the sugar trade. Also mentions 1000 Venetian swords.

Letter from Nissim, in Qaṭya, Sinai, to Shelomo Iskandarānī, in Fustat. In Hebrew. Dating: First half of the 16th century, based on Avraham David's assessment. It gives an "account of conditions in the small and turbulent caravan station on the Cairo-Damascus highway. There is much about caravans. Robbers infest the way. The Muslims have demolished a synagogue(?) and a private house of the Jews. It is as hot as the nethermost Sheol, and the writer's pen is broken" (Gottheil-Worrell, Fragments from the Cairo Genizah, p. 229).

Letter from Avraham Castro (the grandson of the well-known minter) to a certain Shelomo. In Hebrew. Dating: Second half of the 16th century. Deals with business matters. The writer wishes the addressee to give employment or credit to a certain Yiṣḥaq Qājījī, "one of the influential men of Palestine," who suffered great financial loss due to bad figs. Ṭodros ha-Kohen adds a note in the margin affirming the veracity fo the letter's contents. Information from Avraham David via FGP, and in part from Gottheil-Worrell, Fragments from the Cairo Genizah, p. 237.

Letter (or rather three letters) from Mustaʿrib sages, in Safed, to the Nagid Yiṣḥaq Sholal, in Fustat. Dating: 1510 CE, based on the assessment of Avraham David. These letters complain of the conduct of a certain R. Moshe, the dayyān of Safed in Galilee. If we are to believe the writers, he was a rather unusually vainglorious, selfish and unscrupulous person, guilty of many acts of tyranny, misappropriation and corruption, and responsible for the perennial Safed Meat Scandal." The paper apparently bears a watermark "of the familiar hand-and-star variety, employed by many manufacturers in France, Switzerland, and Sicily, between 1490 and 1590 CE." Information from Gottheil-Worrell, Fragments from the Cairo Genizah, p. 247.

Upper part of a letter in Hebrew dated 534[.] = 1570s CE. It is addressed to "my brother who is like my soul" and mentions the writer's arrival in Alexandria from Fustat, and, later, "I will pay you when you come to Jerusalem." The document was then reused, recto and verso both, for accounts, perhaps communal donations.

There are several different entries, and each seems to involve rent payments for the qodesh of the Synagogue of the Mustaʿribim. Quite faded, merits further examination. Two of the entries are dated 5349 and 5351 respectively, so the document was produced ca.1590 CE.

Fragment of a letter in Hebrew from the second half of the 16th century, mentioning attempts to prevent a certain edict, in which R. Yosef Karo was involved (he is mentioned twice in this letter). Damascus is also mentioned.

Late letter in Judaeo-Arabic from a certain Reuven [Najjar y Feliz?] to Moshe Najjar y Feliz, probably his brother, dated 4 Settembre '56. It deals primarily with the trade in textiles and clothing. In addition to the recipient, two other business partners are awaiting news and a shipment from the writer: Se. Simḥa (אלס׳ סמחה) and Se. Iro (? אלס׳ אירו). The writer has sent a shipment bearing the the name "Fratelli Najjar" in Italian ("fī-l-talyāno") and bearing the initials FN (which he writes out in Latin script). Another interesting linguistic feature: the recipient seems to be addressed in the second line as "O Mosas" (יא מוזאז). In the second line of the margin, the writer alludes to information that R. Moshe Castro had conveyed to the recipient, suggesting a date of mid-16th-century—so perhaps 4 September, 1556 CE. ASE.

Almost certainly the address of the letter in the previous shelfmark: to Fusṭāṭ, to Fratelli Najjar. Again mentions Moshe Castro in a postscript.

Letter from Moshe b. Binyamin Ashkenazi, probably in Fustat/Cairo, to Avraham Castro, probably in Alexandria or Jerusalem. Dating: 16th century. The sender describes how "from the other week we have been shut in, because the epidemic began (כי החל הנגף). Most of those who were stricken have recovered, "except for 2 or 3 infants," but the epidemic continues in Cairo. (Information from A. David's edition.)