Geniza Lab

Informal note in Judaeo-Arabic. The writer is aggravated that the addressee has allowed "the two of them" to sit idle all day long, and demands that he put them to work studying the Qānūn, and if not, fa-lā ikrāh fī l-dīn (Quran 2:256, but unclear what it means here). Verso: Unidentified document in Arabic script. Fiscal accounting?

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. The sender is in Fustat, writing with four days remaining in the month of Tamuz. Dating: Likely 12th or early 13th century. The first 13 lines are formulaic greetings. He then informs the addressee that Abū l-Faraj Hibatallāh has started to study Mishna and Talmud with him. He effusively praises Abū l-Faraj's intelligence, diligence, and desire for knowledge ("which has filled my heart with joy"). The sender wants the addressee to help this young man "gain learning in a state of purity." He cites a talmudic saying, but the letter is damaged here. When the text resumes, he is discussing the rabbis' commentary on Jeremiah 29:6 (וְאֶת בְּנוֹתֵיכֶם תְּנוּ לַאֲנָשִׁים) and urging the addressee to fulfill this commandment—so maybe this is a letter on behalf of Abu l-Faraj seeking the addressee's daughter's hand in marriage. He then mentions the love between himself and Ibn al-Kuttābī. He concludes with greetings, including from his son Abū Saʿd. The lack of address combined with the fact that this was written in Fustat suggests that it was never sent. AA. ASE.

Fragment of a learned opinion on different subjects. The last section, preserved here and transcribed by Goitein, is against the 'direct method' in teaching children reading, Fustat, early twelfth century.

Legal document written under the authority of Nathaniel ha-Levi concernning payment of fees for an orphan preparing himself for the profession of his late father, Manṣūr b. Khalaf (known as Ibn al-Muṭrī). His mother Mulūk, widow of Khalaf the cantor, wants Manṣūr to be taught Torah by Abū Saʿd Saʿadya the cantor (known as Ibn al-Muʿallima, ‘the son of the female teacher’) b. Avraham. Fustat, Adar 1471/February-March 1160.

Recto: Letter from an unknown busybody in Minyat Zifta to the Nagid Avraham (II?) in Fustat/Cairo. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. The purpose of the letter is to relate various improprieties ("matters proceeding not as they should," r13–14) of a muqaddam (perhaps of Minyat Ghamr?), al-Shaykh al-Sadīd. The first episode (r17–32): The local schoolteacher had to go to Cairo to pay his capitation tax (jizya) because he was originally from the Levant. When the teacher was delayed in returning, the community began talking about hiring a new teacher. Al-Sadīd caught wind of this and vetoed the proposal, fearing that a new teacher would be a nuisance (tashwīsh) to him, and he insisted that he teach the children himself. They responded that he was far too busy with his medical practice and serving as muqaddam, not to mention his business dealings. He persisted, and they said, "But you don't even live here!" He said that he would come live there until the original teacher came back. The teacher came back, and al-Sadīd was so enthusiastic about the additional income that he refused to let the children return to the original teacher, and he had made their parents vow to that effect. The community felt pity on the original teacher because of his poverty. The second episode (r32–45): During the same period of al-Sadīd teaching the children, someone fell sick in Minyat Zifta. A group of people, including another physician named al-Shaykh al-Muhadhdhab, came to visit the patient and found al-Sadīd attending him. Al-Sadīd rudely ignored al-Muhadhdhab. After everyone had sat around the patient, al-Muhadhdhab said, "Are you angry at me? I have been courteous to you, just like the community. I don't know what you want from me. I left you the synagogue and didn't attend today." Al-Sadīd (saracastically): "Thank God you found people to support you (against me?)." The writer of the letter editorializes: There were many people present who also don't attend the synagogue, but not because they were supporting al-Muhadhdhab, rather because they heard about how al-Sadīd had disparaged them. Back to the story: Al-Sadīd sighed and said: "How I hold back from complaining about my travails!" The writer: He didn't hold back at all. The third episode (r45–end): A certain judge (qāḍī al-ḥukm) was seriously ill (marīḍ bi-maraḍ shadīd), and al-Muhadhdhab was attending him "[against] his will and not for his good." This is unclear: was al-Muhadhdhab treating the judge incompetently, or was al-Muhadhdhab the one somehow coerced into this job? Meanwhile, al-Sadīd had been angling to get a connection to this judge. The judge had a slave with jaundice (khadīm bihi yaraqān). This too is unclear: is the slave acutely ill, or is this simply a description of his chronic state? Al-Sadīd came and spoke to the slave, and then came back with something to give to the slave—and the story ends here, unless the join is found. This document is possibly related to Bodl. MS heb. a 3/15, a letter from Avraham (I) Maimonides ordering a territorial muqaddam in Minyat Zifta/Minyat Ghamr to share his duties with his cousin al-Shaykh al-Muhadhdhab. (Information in part from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 189, 560.) Verso: Mysterious page of notes in Judaeo-Arabic in at least two different hands. The items on this page include two recipes for staining (or dying? or removing stains? the word is tulaṭṭakh/laṭkh); Judaeo-Arabic poetry; a riddle or two; and an extended grammatical discussion of case endings after 'kāna and her sisters' and related topics. ASE.

Letter from Yosef b. Yaʿaqov b. ʿEli ha-Bavli Rosh ha-Seder to his brothers ʿEli and Yiṣḥaq. Mainly in Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 1476 Seleucid, which is 1164/65 CE. The sender gives his name in several short lines at the top of the leaf, followed by a quotation from Psalms 121:2. Identification of the sender was made by Amir Ashur and Mordechai Akiva Friedman, who add that he signs with his motto/ʿalāma (the same as that of Shemuʾel b. ʿEli, whose disciple he was): הא̇ לא̇ למו̇ (Psalms 68:21). In the letter, Yosef reports that he has sent the requested book in his handwriting. As for what one of them said about his mother missing him, he misses her even more. The next part is the upbringing and education of Yiṣḥaq (evidently the younger brother). ʿEli had complained about how Yiṣḥaq constantly disobeys him. Yosef gives an instruction that may be about corporal punishment and which involves the word "al-muqallib." Then: "You must exert authority over him (tusalṭin bih) and remind him of what the Torah says, 'Honor thy father and thy mother....' As for what you said about him cursing you—his teacher!—I cannot believe that about him." He then cites a couple more biblical verses and tells ʿEli to try to forgive Yiṣḥaq. As for Sameaḥ(?) al-Qaṭṭān and his reneging on a (legal?) agreement and not giving the addressee anything—the addressee must go to him and demand an explanation. The sender is pained that the addressee has not told him what he and Abū l-Barakāt have been reading, nor about his livelihood, nor about "how much gold you have gathered for me." Yosef mentions a letter he received from their father and how he responded to both the addressee's and the father's letter in a single letter. He then rebukes the addressee for his bad handwriting (kawn khaṭṭik manḥūs) and how he botched the 5 quires (apparently homework) that he copied. He must do it again, and also also supervise Yiṣḥaq in this task. Yosef gives further instructions about the Torah portions that they must copy. There follow numerous greetings, including for: Abū l-Faraj al-Baghdādī, Moshe Rosh ha-Qahal, Yosef's mother, ʿEzra the judge, and Binyamin ha-Ḥaver. There is a postscript written with a different pen expressing happiness at the news that Yiṣḥaq recovered from his illness. The letter keeps going on verso with additional greetings. As for the instructions Yosef received to purchase a niqāb and large miqnaʿa (scarf or veil) for his mother in Erbil (ארבל)—it is too late, he has already left Erbil. ASE

Letter from Yeshuʿa ha-Melammed b. Avraham, in Minyat Zifta, to Eliyyahu the Judge, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 1236 CE (Iyyar 4800+196 = 4996 AM, line 16). The writer reports that the income from the ‘quppa’ was used as a school fee for poor children. Goitein also makes note of the greeting for an old man in precarious health in a high position: "May God not wound Israel through him" (line 4), i.e., may God not wound Israel by causing him illness or death. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 2:105-6, 515, 544.) EMS. ASE.

Recto: Letter in which a teacher complains about an unruly pupil. "Whenever I beat him, I do so excessively; but as soon as I begin, the mistress rushes along and, after having hit him four or five times, releases him. Had it not been for his illness, I would have killed him with beating, although as a poorly clothed newcomer, he is entitled to some consideration." The teacher wants the pupil's family to discipline him in the same manner at home. Verso: Reply of a family member to the teacher's letter on recto. The writer thanks the teacher for his efforts and emphasizes that they spare no pains in trying to educate the boy. He encourages the teacher to keep writing, as perhaps the notes will scare the boy into behaving well. ASE.

Note from a teacher (Shelomo b. Eliyyahu?) to (his brother?) Abū Zikrī, complaining, "The master promised to talk to our lord Ḥananel and tell him that I specialize in teaching neglected children (mustahmalīn) to read, but the master has not done a thing.” (Information from Goitein's index card.) EMS. NB: The transcription listed below for verso must belong to a different shelfmark.

Short note from a father to the teacher of his son. Only if the boy memorizes biblical passages which he will be able to chant in public will he be prepared to learn. Information from Goitein's note card.

Letter in Arabic in which a teacher reports to "my lord the Kohen" that the boy Mūsā had come to school after having absented himself for some days. However when he was asked to revise the Bible reading he swore he would never read more than one time and when the teacher asked him to repeat, he ran away. The teacher ran after and shouted at him, but he would not return. The teacher now asks the addressee's help. "If he does not revise it four or five times, he will not memorize it." Information from Goitein's note card.

Verso: Short letter from a teacher to a father. In Judaeo-Arabic. "This is to inform you my lord, the elder, may God make your honored position permanent, that Abū l-Ḥasan, after his transfer to my school, showed great zeal for study. His great misfortune was that Abū l-Ḥasan b. Wuhayb broke his board with the knowledge of the other boys. And peace." (Goitein's translation.)

Letter from Eliyyahu the Judge. He is prepared to give a refresher course in the reading of the Torah to Abū l-ʿAlā ha-Kohen and his father the Segan (ha-Kohanim) and is prepared to come to his house if he is ashamed to attend classes at Eliyyahu's place. Information from Goitein's note card. Verso: 2 lists of contributions, see PGPID 4594.

Letter from a father to his son. "I heard that you are diligent with your teacher and honoring your mother... My son, you are no longer small. Others of your age are already married. All that I ask of you is to look after your siblings...." He mentions 5 dinars. Greetings to the son's mother, brothers, and sister, and to the teacher who is a ḥaver. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Family letter in Arabic, in Arabic script. There are a handful of Hebrew words, also in Arabic script. Dating: Likely 11th century, based on the reference to the Tustaris. After the opening greetings, the sender reports on somebody who was sick with fever (ḥummā) and chills (bard) for 40 days but who then improved. Mentioned next: a house, rent, a banker (al-Ṣayrafī), 2.5 dinars paid in nuqra every year, and renovations (tarammum/tarammama). In the upper margin of recto, mentions a woman planning to travel; also mentions the Tustaris (al-Dasātira) and Umm Abū l-Khayr(?). On verso the sender is talking about another woman (Umm ʿAzzūz?) and says more about the house — cleaning it and its roof (naẓẓafnā al-dār kullhā... al-saṭḥ...). There is a line that contains the Hebrew word "dreams' (الحلوموث). The letter concludes with a report on the children, who are all well. One of the female family members wishes to travel. She has been studying a tafsīr but has finished (qad faraghat). Sittūna (a female name) is studying the book of Kings. Abū Manṣu{r?} is studying the book of Samuel. Someone is studying the Torah with Shelomo Ibn al-[...]. This letter offers a rare glimpse into the religious education of girls, perhaps upper-class Qaraite girls, based on the casual reference to the Tustaris. Merits further examination. ASE

Autograph order in the hand of Avraham Maimonides. Abū l-Majd is to give the bearer 30 dirhams from the waqf of al-Muhadhdhab for somebody for teaching poor and orphaned children. The late R. Yeshuʿa is somehow involved. T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 420-421, App. A 48-92; pp. 449-450, App. B 39b [dated 1210-1225]; Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, pp. 218-220)

Note from a parent to a teacher. In Judaeo-Arabic. The text is quite clear, but it's difficult to figure out what the sender is trying to say. He might be reprimanding the teacher or making a proposal. There is also one line in Arabic script at 180 degrees and on verso some text from the Haggada. Needs examination.

T-S K5, 16-40. Exercises of children, representing leters in various combinations and copies of the beginnings of the third and the first books of Moses. (Information from Goitein's note cards) Part of a children’s Hebrew textbook, consisting of the alphabet vocalised with the various Tiberian vowels on leaf 2; further alphabetical exercises on f. 1v; passage from Leviticus 1:15-17 with standard Tiberian vocalisation. (Information from CUDL)

T-S K5, 16-40. Exercises of children, representing leters in various combinations and copies of the beginnings of the third and the first books of Moses. (Information from Goitein's note cards) 1r-2v: Children's writing exercises, alphabetical, and jottings between the lines and in the margins. F. 2r: Passage from Psalms 3 and a draft or jottings from a Judaeo-Arabic letter mentioning Abū l-Faraj. (Information from CUDL)

T-S K5, 16-40. Exercises of children, representing leters in various combinations and copies of the beginnings of the third and the first books of Moses. (Information from Goitein's note cards) Recto: Children's writing exercise, consisting of the alphabet with the various Tiberian vowels. Verso: Inexpertly written copy of the beginning of a letter, blessing a dignitary. (Information from CUDL)