Geniza Lab

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, 1128. Sefaradi-influenced hand. See Hebrew description below.

Letter from Yiṣḥaq Ibn ʿEzra to Ḥalfon b. Netanel. In Judaeo-Arabic. Location: Spain. Dating: Perhaps the end of summer, 1138 CE. Dealing with the return of a defective mithqāl. Together with his business partner Yiṣḥaq b. ʿOvadya (who is incidentally sick), the writer has sent Ḥalfon a large shipment of 500 sheets of paper. Ḥalfon had business relationships with both parties, and the price of the paper will be credited toward Yiṣḥaq b. ʿOvadya's account with Ḥalfon. Ibn ʿEzra writes that he plans to visit Ḥalfon the following week, and he passes on regards from two Muslim viziers: Abū Muḥammad b. Abū Rajā and Abū Isḥāq b. Wāziʿ. Description based on India Book. [NB volume number in shelfmark is roman numeral I, not Arabic numeral 1.] ASE

Autograph letter from Yehuda ha-Levi, in Spain, to Ḥalfon b. Netanel ha-Levi. Dating: 1139 CE. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions the Kuzari and his intentions to travel east. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV; Hebrew description below.)

Letter from Yiṣḥaq Ibn Ezra, in Spain, to Ḥalfon b. Netanel. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: before Nisan, probably of 1139 CE (Goitein and Friedman), or less likely 1128 CE (Gil). Mentions someone known as "the Elephant," who also appears in T-S 13J18.19. Much of the letter is written in coded language. The sender refers to 'nonsense' caused by 'the man you know' (perhaps Ibn Barukh) and warns Ḥalfon about him (חַכִּימָא בִּרְמִיזָא). Further on, he says that a person codenamed "the elephant" (also mentioned three times in IV, 55) did not want to give "the nūn." But according to IV, 55, Ibn ʿEzra did eventually manage to take "the letter nūn" from him. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV; Hebrew description below.)

Court record attesting that Ḥalfon b. Netanel repaid the debt of his late brother Abū ʿAlī Yeḥezqel. Location: Alexandria. Dated: Iyyar 1457 Seleucid, which is April/May 1146 CE. This document was written after the payment of the debt that is the subject of CUL Or.1080 J284 (ח88), a letter from Abū ʿUmar Saʿdān b. Thābit Levi Baghdādī (Seʿadya ha-Levi b. Yakhin) to Ḥalfon, in which he asked Ḥalfon not to travel to Damascus without repaying the debt of his (still-living) brother Abū ʿAlī Yeḥezqel, a sum of 45 3/4 dinars. Ḥalfon had previously given a collateral of silk to Saʿdān. The present document deals with the sale of the silk, part of whose proceeds (43 2/3 dinars) paid off part of the debt (25 dinars), which means that Ḥalfon must have paid the remaining balance of 20 3/4 dinars from his own money. Between the writing of the previous document and this one, Abū ʿAlī Yeḥezqel died. Ḥalfon's nephew Abū Naṣr Shemuel b. Yiṣḥaq ha-Levi was the agent for the sons of Yeḥezqel (his cousins) with regard to selling the silk and paying off the debt. Here the creditor is given his Hebrew name: (Abū ʿUmar) Seʿadya ha-Levi b. Yakhin. The witnesses describe in detail the price that Shemuel received for the silk, both for the bulk of it and for the portion that was of a higher quality. Following the creditor's acknowledgement of having received the balance of the debt, the witnesses state that Shemuel received an excellent price for the silk, at least 1 dinar/raṭl more than a broker would have fetched. Information from India Book.

Small fragment of a letter from Yosef b. Avraham, a merchant of Aden, to a certain Abū Saʿīd (likely Abū Saʿīd Ḥalfon b. Netanel ha-Levi). Only the poetic opening (in Hebrew) and the address (in Arabic) are preserved. The wording of the address is similar to those of other letters sent from Yemen to India, so plausibly this letter could have been sent to Ḥalfon during his time there. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV; Hebrew description below.)

Letter from Yiṣḥaq b. Aharon al-Sijilmāsī, in Dahlak, to Ḥalfon b. Netanel. Dated: 8 Tammuz, apparently of 1140 CE. Yiṣḥaq continues to report to Ḥalfon on his travel from Egypt to Aden. He is writing 6 weeks after his previous letter, which he sent from ʿAydhāb. This is the second letter he has sent Ḥalfon from Dahlak. He describes his travel by sea south from ʿAydhāb, first to Sawākin, and then to Dahlak. The merchants left ʿAydhāb in two ships belonging to al-Sharīf, one large and one small. Most of the merchants in the small ship had to disembark in Sawākin, as it was overloaded and water was coming in. They later found out that the small ship sank. The sender gives the names of the Jewish traders who died and who survived, including (among those who died) Ibn al-Shumūs (whose drowning is also mentioned in doc. 76). Also mentions: Abū l-Khayr al-Najjār (‘the carpenter’), David, Ibn Zughmār (Ṣughmār), Ibn al-Raqqāṣa, Abū Naṣr, Abū l-Faraj, and Abū l-Barakāt. (Information from CUDL and from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV.)

Recto, with the address on verso: Business letter addressed to Ḥalfon b. Netanel ha-Levi. In Arabic script. Dating: Before the beginning of 1136 CE. Concerning business in goods such as sal ammoniac and turpeth, and mentions a public auction (ḥalqa) several times. (Information in part from Aodeh; see also Hebrew description from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV) Ḥalfon reused verso for a draft of a legal document (see separate record).

Verso: Draft of a legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Netanel ha-Levi. Partnership agreement. In this unsigned and undated draft, an unnamed active partner receives 200 dinars from Sibāʿ, with which he is to travel to Alexandria and transact in unnamed commodities. Sibāʿ agrees to share equally in all losses to the partnership as a whole (e.g. losses due to work stoppage or broken merchandise). Lines 12-16 indicate that if commodities may end up traveling for sale in Alexandria escorted by someone other than the active partner, the active partner should inform Sibāʿ. The risk of loss is wholly carried by Sibāʿ. The active partner’s testimony concerning profits and losses does not require the support of witness testimony. The active partner seems to be entitled to all profits except for the maintenance of Sibāʿ(excluding Sibāʿ's rent and education costs for his son). Sibāʿ's share of the profits – a fixed amount unrelated to the success of partnership assets – might contravene the rabbinic prohibition of usury, but he does bear responsibility for losses. The use of the first person throughout the document suggests that it was prepared and notarized for the active partner, as with powers of attorney. The active partner could then present it as supporting documentation in the event of a dispute concerning distribution of partnership profits. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 97–98.) See also Hebrew description from India Book IV, below. On recto there is a business letter in Arabic script; see PGPID 9140.

Letter from Abū Naṣr b. Avraham, in Alexandria, to Ḥalfon b. Netanʾel ha-Levi, probably in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 12 Elul 1451 Seleucid = August 27, 1140. In the letter there are various items of news. The first and certainly the one for which he wrote the letter is the arrival of a Genoese ship that was in the same convoy of ships as the ship of the Sultan, which had not yet arrived. This caused anxiety among the people, because they probably already knew that Yehuda ha-Levi had to arrive on that ship. The letter also contains information about silk prices and the priority of the government authorities in buying the goods that arrived. Abū Naṣr hopes that Ḥalfon’s mood has improved and that he has no further reason to complain about him (Abū Naṣr). At the end, greetings from family members and those close to Ḥalfon (such as Abū l-Najm and Abū Mūsā Hārūn), to Ḥalfon, his family, and to people in Fustat. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, IB IV; Hebrew description below.)

Letter from Mūsā b. al-Lukhtūsh, Granada, to Ḥalfon b. Netanel, 1120s (?). Mentions among other things that he has sent him a copy of a poem (muwashshaḥa) by Yehuda ha-Levi. Probably from Granada; Maybe from the 20s of the 12th century

In the long Hebrew preface to his letter, in which he also included quotations in Aramaic from the Jerusalem Talmud, the writer, Avraham Ṣiqillī (a man from Sicily) b. Moshe, praised Ḥalfon for his wisdom and virtues. The style is not smooth and the decoding and translation (of the Arabic) is not certain in many places. The writer has already sent a letter to Ḥalfon from Syria/Palestine (al-Sham). He tells Ḥalfon to send him pepper instead of the pepper that was delayed in Tilimsān. It turns out that Ṣiqillī wrote the letter from somewhere in Spain. Ḥalfon must have stayed in Almeria, and the writer requests that he speak with Ibn Baruch about the delay in raising funds for the redemption of a captive, which Ṣiqillī was supposed to send to him, and also find out from him if he heard anything about ordering the book 'Aruch', the Talmudic dictionary of Rabbi Natan b. Yeḥiʾel, a Roman, that you ordered also discussed in certificate ח34. The letter was written on 'Yom Isru Chag', which may allude to one of the days of the Sukkot festival of 1138. At the end of the letter, the writer sent a holiday greeting to Ḥalfon and b. Barukh and his children. Greetings were also sent to Yiṣḥaq ha-Kohen al-Ishbīlī (אלאִשְׁבִּילִי).

Toledo; Probably August-September 1138 In this short letter of Yehuda ha-Levi to Ḥalfon, there are three issues. The first, and it is the main one, is the completion of the balance of the money needed to redeem the 'prisoner'. The reference is probably to the same 'captivity' that the poet Ḥalfon wrote about in document ח35. Here Yehuda ha-Levi turned to Ḥalfon and asked him to write 'persuasions and requests' to two, one called צהרי נעמתך׳׳” (my in-laws/relatives who depend on your grace) and one called ‘צאחב אלשרטה ' ('Chief of the Police') Abū Ibrāhīm b. Barūn, so that they would hasten b. al-Jiyani to pay off the money he promised to redeem the captive. The second matter is a request from Ḥalfon to help the subject of the letter, a Jew who lost his property, lost his health, and his eyesight, and distanced himself from his family and country. The third matter was added casually in the paper, but it is of great interest. Yehuda Halevi asked for Halfon's help in obtaining for him from Rabbi b. Migash the answer to the question asked by the Jews of Toledo, where the poet probably lived. Hence, at that time Ḥalfon was living in Lucena, the rabbi's seat. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV)

Letter from a member of the Ibn Muhājir family, probably in Seville, to Ḥalfon b. Netanel. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: ca. 1128 CE. There are many expressions of longing. The substance of the letter deals with business matters. Ḥalfon had sent a letter with Yiṣḥaq b. ʿOvadya and asked the addressee to hand over the money which Avraham al-Qalʿī (apparently also of Seville) owed to Ḥalfon. Ibn Muhājir reports that he fulfilled the request and handed over 10 'ṭari' mithqāls. The sender excuses his delay by explaining that he had to go to Labla (=Niebla) and apparently obtain some of the money owed from there. (Information from India Book IV; Hebrew description below.)

Letter from Ḥalfon ha-Levi b. Netanʾel to Ibn Barukh, Almeria. Asks him to handle a shipment that the judge Elʿazar al-Qaṣabī has sent from Fustat to his brother in al-Yusāna. Similar to a letter on the same matter to another dignitary (see India Book 4 doc. 62). (Information from Goitein and Friedman) Maybe Alexandria; End of 1139 - Middle of 1140

Letter from Khalaf b. Yiṣḥaq in Aden to Ḥalfon b. Netanel. Dated: 1452 of the Seleucid era (= 1140 CE). (Information from CUDL) Aden; Marcheshvan 1452; October 14 - November 11, 1140

Alexandria; 11 of Kislev; November 12, 1141 This is a short and complete letter written by Abū Naṣr b. Avraham to Ḥalfon, who is probably living in Fustat. After the routine opening, the writer apologized for the fact that an illness, which he and his family had contracted, prevented him from writing earlier and fulfilling Ḥalfon’s instructions regarding the delivery of certain fabrics and other goods to his proxy. In the body of the letter, Abū Naṣr is required to note that Ḥalfon made a comment in his letter about a turban and תַוְבּ that belonged to the late Yehuda ha-Levi, which Abū Naṣr still had in his possession, and which Ḥalfon asked that he give them to one Abū al-Maʿālī. According to Abū Naṣr, when Yehuda ha-Levi was already on the ship preparing to sail to the Land of Israel, six months earlier, and he learned from a letter that Abū Naṣr brought him that the boy Yehuda b. Ezra intended to travel from Spain to Egypt, the poet gave him the turban so that Yehuda would sell it and thereby finance his journey from Egypt to the land of Israel. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV)

Letter from Yeḥezqel b. Netanel, in Qalyūb, to his brother Ḥalfon b. Netanel, in Alexandria. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: Monday, 3 Iyyar [4900 AM], which is 22 April 1140 CE. Written on a reused state document in Arabic script. (Information from India Book 4. Hebrew description below. Qalyūb

Recto and verso: Draft of a commentary on a Talmudic passage, which Ḥalfon b. Netanel wrote during his time in Spain. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book 4.) Spain

Recto: Letter from Yosef al-ʿAdanī al-Mamsawī (i.e., originally from Aden and now a resident of Mamsa, Morocco) to Ḥalfon b. Netanel. In Judaeo-Arabic, with some Hebrew and some Arabic script. Containing a request for charity. This letter was sent to Ḥalfon during his stay in Spain or North Africa. The sender was a prosperous trader who lost all his possessions after a shipwreck. There is some question whether Yosef al-ʿAdanī wrote this letter in his own hand, as the script is sefaradi. Goitein at one time believed that Yiṣḥaq Ibn ʿEzra wrote the letter on his behalf, and Gil and Fleischer agreed; but Goitein evidently rejected this identification later on, and Friedman rejects it in strong terms. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book 4.)