Geniza Lab

Recto: Letter in the handwriting of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, probably from Qalyub to his father in Fustat, consisting almost in its entirely of good wishes for Tabernacles. He mentions that the turban (raddah) arrived. He mentions the wife of his paternal uncle, but the context is ambiguous. He then admits that he has no money even to buy bread, but all will end well. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, pp. 87, 351.) Verso: Either the response or the initial letter, probably from Levi (Abu Sahl) to his son Moshe. Everyone in the family is well. The addressee's brother Abu l-Ḥasan is doing well, in spite of all that he suffers. He mentions something that the wife of the addressee's paternal uncle said, but it is not clear what. There is an abrupt change of topic (unless this topic is what the wife of the uncle was talking about) to a certain Shelomo. "They said that this is something that pleases neither God nor man, that a woman should be married and her husband does not see her plucking or combing or putting on earrings or dressing up or going about." The letter is torn here. The gossip about this wife resembles the situation of Sitt Ghazal in her marriage to Shelomo b. Eliyyahu (see T-S 13J8.23), but that marriage took place in 1228 CE, and Moshe b. Levi, the presumed addressee of this letter, died in 1212. ASE.

See join.

Recto and part of verso: Letter from Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, Qalyub, to his father in Fustat. He is concerned about how they will pay the capitation tax. He is very irritated that he has not been informed about the following things: how much money they got for selling the kerchief that he sent them last week; how much they have already payed on his behalf (for his own capitation tax); how much remains to be paid; whether the dirhams that he sent with Bu l-Khayr arrived; whether the dirhams that he sent with his paternal uncle 'Imran arrived. They have sent him no letter at all; they only sent back the 'muthallath' (referring to a 'triple' weave?) coat with instructions to sell it in Qalyub, but why would he have sent it to Fustat in the first place if he wanted to sell it in Qalyub? So he is sending it back with Safi and wants them to sell it for 17 dirhams, and if they can't get that much, they should have the fuller work on it. In the continuation (T-S AS 145.195), there isn't much more of substance, but he mentions al-Shaykh al-Yesod on recto, and then again in a postscript: "please go to al-Yesod [and apologize for me] from him and tell him that I am only hiding because of [the capitation tax?]." Join: Alan Elbaum.

Recto: Letter from Abū Sahl Levi to his son Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi. He has sent: parchments (ruqūq), scissors (miqaṣṣ), a belt (zunnār), a razor (mūs), and a hook (? khaṭfa). He blames ʿUthmān for the delay: he spends every day looking around trying to find him. Mentions Ṣāfī and Khalaf. Verso: Letter from Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, presumably to his father Abū Sahl Levi. He asks for news of three different women (perhaps related to BL OR 12186.12, in which his father offers him the choice of several brides?). These identifications are based on handwriting and typical content and phrases. ASE

Two interesting spells for binding demons to obey you. The handwriting is similar to that of the cantor Abu Sahl (Levi), father of Yedutun and Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi (click on the "Abu Sahl Levi" tag for other documents for comparison). Recto: A spell for binding demons by the power of the seal of Solomon. Specific ones conjured include the Cloudy Maymun, the Black Persian Maymun, Shamhorash, and 'Abd al-Rahman. It continues, "O tribe of the Jinn... residents of the wind and the valleys and the deserts and the graves...." Verso: A spell for "tahayyuj." It is to be written Thursday morning in saffron on the parchment of a gazelle and hung up in the wind. "I bind you, o tribe of the Jinn, the Shaytan, the Iblis, the Faqtash, the Zawba'ah... from East and W[e]st and South (Qibliyyan) and North (Bahriyyan)... or from the earth...." Needs further examination together with the join. There is at least one missing line between the two fragments (T-S AS 145.71 + T-S Ar.30.81), but the subject matter of recto and verso are exact matches. Join: Alan Elbaum.

Letter addressed to Levi b. Avraham ha-Levi, the cantor of the Palestinian synagogue. This is a well known figure mentioned in documents from ca. 1180–91; see tag for more documents. He died in 1211 CE. Nothing is preserved of the present letter except for the address. AA. ASE.

Letter in the handwriting of Abū Sahl Levi (d. 1211), in Fustat, to his son Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi (d. 1212), in Qalyūb. In Judaeo-Arabic. Abū Sahl has sent with 'the Rayyis' 3 pounds of Sinnārī cheese and 5 (pounds?) of white (cheese?) from Abū l-Majd al-Parnas. He asks for the price of something - a mantle (burda)? - because the garment mender (al-raffāʾ) has been demanding the money. Moshe's brother Abū Isḥāq is well. Abū Sahl plans to send the qandīl and marāwiḥ with Ṣāfī or with one of Moshe's brothers. On verso there is the completion of the letter and jottings of Greek/Coptic numerals. ASE

Letter in the hand of the cantor Abū Sahl Levi b. al-Ahuv, to one of his sons, probably Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi in Qalyūb. On recto, he answers a question about whether havdala is recited over a candle on Saturday night—probably the issue is that Tisha b'Av falls on Sunday. He writes that there is no havdala at all on Saturday night, but only Maʿariv and qinnot. Then, on Sunday night, one does havdala with wine and spices "if available; if not, no matter," and one recites the blessing over the candle, bore me'orei ha-esh, and the final blessing, ha-mavdil through ha-mavdil bein qodesh le-hol. He concludes the letter here, but must have subsequently decided to write more on verso. From the damaged top of verso it is only possible to tell that everyone is worried about the addressee. Then: "If you hear anything, come to us quickly, do not delay (אל תתמ{ה}מה). In sum, reliance is on God." Then he tells the addressee not to worry about the writer and his family, "because we do not go out." He concludes by saying, "If something difficult happens, stay where you are, do not endanger yourself." ASE.

Elegy by Yedutun ha-Levi for his father Abu Sahl Levi, ed. Elizur.

Part of a letter (bottom of recto, top of verso) likely by the cantor Abu Sahl Levi. The remaining contents have to do with an apartment, money, and unseemly behavior. ASE.

Letter in the hand of Abū Sahl Levi, in Fustat, probably to his son Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, in Qalyūb. This is a brief, informal note, which contains nothing more than an exhortation to remember to write to his parents. "Do not ask what is on our hearts from the fact that you have not written us a letter. You know the heart of your mother and our heart. . . ." ASE.