Geniza Lab

Toldot Yeshu, small piece from a leaf referring to R. Yehoshuaʿ, Judas Iscariot (יהודה איסכריוטא), Shimʿon and Benjamin. (Information from CUDL)

Tale in the style of A Thousand and One Nights, told partly in the first person, mentioning a period of seven years, robbers who took all the narrator’s possessions, and a (barren) wife praying to God in the night. (Information from CUDL)

Only a few words in Judaeo-Arabic are legibly preserved, probably from a literary text. (Information in part from CUDL)

Karaite betrothal deed. Bride: Yamān bat David b. Isaiah, of Egypt. Groom: Shela b. ʿAmram al-Qirqisānī, of Tyre. Both the bride and groom are represented by agents. The groom appointed his agent (Shelomo b. ʿAdiya b. Menashshe al-Qazzāz, witnessed by Yefet […] Shelomo b. Abraham and Shemuʾel b. Moses he-Ḥaver) in Tyre in 1050 CE (date given according to the Seleucid erd), and the text of the deed of attorney authorising the agent was incorporated into the deed of the betrothal, and ratified by the Karaite court in Fusṭāṭ (under the jurisdiction of the Karaite nasi David b. Ṣemaḥ). The bride’s agent is Shelomo b. Musāfīr (appointment witnessed by Aaron b. Samīḥ ha-Kohen and Ṣedaqa b. Saʿadya). The betrothal took place in 1051 CE, in Fusṭāṭ (date given accodring the both the Seleucid and AM era). Witnessed by Manṣūr b. Mevasser and Shemuʾel b. […]. (Information from CUDL)

Thin strip of the right-hand side of a legal document, mentioning dinars, different quantities of wares, accounts, lead and olive oil. Probably a legal dispute over business affairs or possibly a partnership agreement. (Information from CUDL)

Beginning of a legal document. In the hand of Yosef b. Shemuel b. Saʿadya ha-Levi. Location: Fustat. Dated: 1505 Seleucid (= 1193/94 CE), under the authority of the Gaʾon Sar Shalom ha-Levi. Involving Abū Naṣr. (Information in part from CUDL)

Fragment (left side) of a Judaeo-Arabic letter. Subject matter is unclear; mentions bad etiquette (sū' al-adab).

Letter sent to ha-Talmid ha-Baḥur Nissim Agostaro (אגושתארו) in Alexandria from his father Shelomo Agostaro, including a warning that he should not come to Cairo before the epidemic has finished, because every day one or two people die. There are greetings to many people, among them Mordechai, Esther, Shabbetay and Shemuʾel. (Information from CUDL)

A letter in stylishly rhyming Judaeo-Arabic addressed to Abu Sahl and his three sons, Abu l-Mansur, Barakat, and the boy Abu l-Fadl. The writer is likely named Abu Zikri (see line 12 of verso), which, along with the handwriting and elevated register, suggests that this is the well-known son of Eliyyahu the Judge. Abu Sahl appears to be his father-in-law, since the writer opens with a detailed update about his wife. Recto 1-5: Greetings to the above mentioned. Recto 5-12: Extended greetings to Shaykh Abu l-Hajjaj Yusuf. Recto 12-24:The writer, his young daughter, and his wife yearn for his mother-in-law, who seems to have visited recently and assisted with childcare. Everyone in the house is also helping his wife, who is in the state that God knows (often a figure of speech for illness). His daughter is starting to recognize everyone in the house, including visitors, and also serves her mother. Recto 22 – Verso 30: Following these pleasant updates, the remainder of the letter is a blistering tirade against Barakat who affects intelligence but whose brain produces only "mucus, delirium, and madness [al-mukhāṭ wa-l-hadhayān wa-l-khubāṭ].” The dispute that led to Barakat’s recent imprudent letter (“ravings long, wide, and thick emerging from a mind that is sick [hadhayān kathīr ṭawīl 'arīḍ ṣadar 'an dhihn marīḍ]") is detailed in lines 5-15 of verso. It had to do with financial arrangements for the trousseau and rent of Barakat’s cousin, the daughter of his maternal aunt. Verso 32-end: Closing greetings. ASE.

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda Gaʾon (in the hand of his son Avraham) to Egypt. Mentions oppressive laws and heavy taxes and punishments and requests aid. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Yehuda b. Sahl, probably in Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat, ca. 1050. Mentions the sale of a house that may have belonged to Nahray. Also mentions flax and the copper trade. Yehuda b. Sahl’s wife (a relative of Nahray?) sends him regards for the holidays and prays all the time for his health. She was sick (tawajjaʿat), then Yehuda became sick, then he got better, then he relapsed, and also their daughter was sick (r14–18). His wife asks Nahray b. Nissim to send them an order of payment (suftaja) for 10 dinars (r22–23). The letter mentions Abū l-Surūr and Abū Iṣḥāq Barhūn. (Information from Gil.) ASE.

Recto: Upper part of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic written in a scribal hand to ha-Nasi ha-Gadol, reporting on the writer's troubles while traveling with Rabbi Avraham. "I hadn't known that his only care is making money. He cares nothing for peace in the community. He has killed me with his [cowardly deeds?]. When I was the muqaddam of al-Maḥalla and slaughtered and circumcised, whenever. . ." Verso: The address of the letter on recto, to Sayyidnā al-Nasi ha-Gadol Yarum Hodo. And, in a different ink and different hand, a formulary of a Hebrew letter of appeal ("I am so-and-so the lowly and despised."). The same person wrote on recto "crown of peace and truth" several times. ASE.

Letter to Efrayim he-Ḥaver (Efrayim b. Shemarya), with marginalia in Judaeo-Arabic; address on verso. Information from FGP

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic from [Yosef?] ha-Kohen b. Yiftaḥ ha-Kohen, in Tinnīs, to Abū l-ʿAlā' Ṣāʿid b. al-Munajja al-Dimashqi (perhaps the same as Abū l-ʿAlā' Ṣāʿid b. Najā who features in T-S 12.591, a 1080 letter). The writer sends holiday wishes and reports that he has already met with Abū ʿImrān as requested, who said that he already sent the addressee letters of his own with what he needs to know. As for the copy of the Targum, the scribe (Abū ʿImrān or a different person?) needs four more dirhams. The writer seems very apologetic about this. He then launches into tales of "the zaqen's" underhanded business dealings. There are a few tricky words, and the specifics need further examination. Apparently the zaqen appointed the writer's uncle as his agent for one dinar. He then claimed that a certain batch of silk was stolen from the tax/customs bureau (? masrūq min al-maks). "This is completely unfounded. If it were true, would we have the receipt (? ḥujjat al-ḍamān)? There is nothing to be done about him, because he is an incorrigible man." The writer has also written to Abū l-Mufaḍḍal about these events, אולי יש תקוה. The writer sends regards to Abū l-Munā and Abū l-Maʿālī. Written the 4th of Adar. ASE

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda and nine other Jerusalemites confirming the receipt of ten dinars from Fustat, approximately 1030.

Letter to Abū Zikrī Yehuda b. Menashshe b. David al-Ṣayrafī. In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender might be Faraḥ b. Yūsuf al-Qābisī (the usual correspondent of Yehuda b. Menashshe). Dating: Second half of the 11th century. Mercantile letter concerning the trade in commodities such as pepper and mentioning Abū Saʿd and traders from al-Andalus. Mentions the geographical area of Jazāʾir al-Qurashī (also mentioned in T-S 16.13) and awaiting a group of people called al-Fīshāniyyīn or al-Fayshāniyyīn (also mentioned in Sassoon 713). At the end, asks for news of a young woman (al-ṣabiyya) and marriage. Needs further examination. Verso: Accounts in Arabic script. Someone apparently owes 900 of something. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Business letter from Aden to ʿAydhāb, mentioning Isaac al-Nafūsī and Hiba b. al-Dabbāgh (‘the tanner’), referring to ships and dinars. (Information from CUDL.) NB: PGP used to list this document as Moss. VI,28.

Letter in Hebrew from the exilarch [ʿAzarya] b. Shelomo b. Yoshiya to [...] b. Ḥusayn. Large space between the lines. Verso contains the address, inverted, along with a great many jottings in large Arabic script. There are also Hebrew pen-trials on both sides. Information from CUDL.

Letter and responsum from Shelomo b. Yehuda to an unidentified person in Fustat (perhaps Avraham ha-Kohen b. Yiṣḥaq). Dated: 19 December 1029 CE. (Information from Goitein’s index card) The date is actually for the previous document (the responsum), and the year is not given, but rather surmised by Gil.

Letter from David b. Binyamin to Pineḥas ha-Kohen he-Ḥasid. In Hebrew. Asking him to conduct the fundraising drive (pesiqa) and give him the funds without delay, so that he can travel. Also mentions the judge Rabbenu Ḥananel (b. Shemuel?).