Geniza Lab

Account. Revenue of the qodesh from rent, ca. 1230. A small strip of paper, of which the upper part is missing, written on both sides. The part which is preserved lists 13 tenants. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 443 #133)

Accounts of community of revenue from houses rent, Ca. 1250. Contains, listed in two columns, several current entries of revenue and expenditures. Both Hebrew letters and Coptic numerals are used. In addition, both sides of the leaf have various scribblings, mainly names of Hebrew months, written in another hand. These are unconnected with the document and may be writing exercises. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp.476 #143)

Account for building operations, ca. 1155-56. Very damaged fragment of a leaf, in which several entries in an accounting of building operations are preserved. An otherwise known compound, Dar al-Kaziruni, is mentioned. Data about plastering, building, and carpentry work are included. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 285 #58)

Accounting for five months, ca. 1230. Two leaves, the first of which has writing on both sides. The first part is an estimate of the expected monthly revenue from rent. A comparison of the sum expected for five months with the actual revenue follows. Then there are three columns of details concerning the sums paid and owed by different tenants. The order in which the columns are to be read is not the usual one. The estimated budget is divided into six main sections, according to the location of the apartments: The lane of the synagogue, the funduq, its vicinity, the "great bazaar," the Khabisa lane, and the Tujib quarter. There are 36 tenants in all. The arrearss come to baout 11.5% of the panned revenue (162 as against 1337 dir.). (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 444-445 #134)

Accounting of the qodesh, ca. 1240. A double leaf, torn into two parts, this document contains a main record of current revenues from rent, but some expenditures and other pecuniary operations are also listed. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 460 #138)

Account of the Qodesh: building expenditures, ca. 1040. List of expenses, beautifully written by Yefet b. David b. Shekhanya. Materials for the construction of a ceiling are being prepared. Work on a "wind catcher," plastering, supplies of clay, and sewage work are also among the items listed. Clay is paid for after having been weighed by "the Christian," obviously a Copt, the Copts being much involved in building work. Mentions a wind catcher (bādhanj). (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 187 #18)

Letter from Avraham b. Natan Av, judge in Cairo, to al-Mumhe, i.e. "the specialist," meaning a permanent member of the court, whose name is not preserved, and who was apparently in charge of the money of the qodesh, ca. 1100. Report concerning money of the qodesh after the death of its holder. A certain parnas, Musafir, has donated five dinars to the heqdesh of the synagogue of Cairo. Sa'id, "the head of the congregations," who was given the money in order to bring timber from Alexandria for this sum, died before he could go to Alexandria and the money was left with his widow. An inquiry (carried out by the court) into the matter has shown that the qodesh still owes the widow money and the writer asks that the balance be paid to her. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 220 #35)

List of expenditures of the Qodesh ca. 1169-70. An accounting written in the hand of Judge Shemuel b. Saadya ha-Levi, on both parts of a leaf from a notebook, mentioning several houses of the qodesh. Most items refer to building operations, but there are also sums spent on nightwatch and gifts to Muslim officials. The Synagogue of the Babylonians is one of the main beneficiaries in this accounting. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 309 #72)

Accounts of what Hārūn al-Jābī has collected. In Judaeo-Arabic.

Accounting of the Qodesh. Ca. 1222-23.

Account (draft) of the Qodesh ca. 1222-23. Record of an accounting in which mainly expenditures are preserved. Listed are expenditures made by the beadle Abu'l-Tahir, both on building operations and on oil for the synagogue. There are a few revenues from rent listed as well. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp.429 #128)

Account: record of payments of the qodesh in Cairo, ca. December 1181. The collector of the qodesh in Cairo, Kohen Abu al-Munajja, surnamed al-Zariz, submits his account to the court. The account refers to expenditures made out of the rent of three months, Elul 1492, and Tishri and Marheshwan 1493 Sel. The money was spent for clothes, for the children of the Nasi, for nightwatch and maintenance. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 366 #95 and Mediterranean Society, II, 423). Written under the authority of Sar Shalom Halevi. A note written by R. Isacc the dayyan is mentioned. Alternate description: Record of payments of the Qodesh in Cairo ca. 1181-82 (Gil). Request from a notable to remit immediately the sum he had pledged for the capitation tax of the poor. These notes and similar ones no doubt emanated from the office of Elhanan b. Shemarya (see S. D. Goitein, "Elhanan b. Shemarya as a Communal Leader," Yehoshuaʿ Finkel Jubilee Volume [New York, 1970]). Information from Goitein, Med. Soc., 2:455. The transcription here is for ENA 4011.29.

Money order of the Qodesh. Ca. 1162-63. The judge Shemuel b. Saadya ha-Levi wrote and signed an order to pay 9.5 dirhams to the children of a certain Hiba, the brother of Abu Ishaq al-Mukari, said to be thier share in the revenue of the "Estate of the Jerusalemites." (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 308 #70)

Verso: Legal document: agreement with the Qodesh. Dating: ca. 1160. An agreement is concluded between a certain Ṣubḥ and his wife, and the qodesh, represented by Abū Naṣr Yeshaʿyahu ha-Levi, the general administrator of the estates of the qodesh. Since the couple own nine qarārīṭ (=3/8) of the house of which the qodesh owns the rest, the repairs needed in the house could not be made without their collaboration. As a pledge for their part of the cost, they temporarily waive the ownership rights over their part as long as Yeshaʿyahu ha-Levi wants it. They also will accept the sum of the expenditures stated by him without question. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 292 #62)

Account of the qodesh, ca. probably 1158. Fragment of an accounting between the qodesh and, apparently, its partner in the ownership of a compound, known as Hiba al-Abzari, one eighth of which belongs to the qodesh. This can be inferred from the fact that the qodesh returns sums previously paid by that man for the ground rent (ḥikr). A former agreement seems to have imposed monthly payments of 10 dinars upon the co-proprietor, to settle his debt. The new computation stretches over a period of nine years, 1149-1158 - years 1461, 1465, 1466 sel. (1149-50, 1154, 1155), and years (5)50, (5)51, (5)52, (5)53 AH (1155-1158 CE). It shows that 50 dinars are still owing to the qodesh. This sum is to be paid on the spot, and the account has the tone of a deed of release, indicating that money was about to be paid. Coptic numerals are used. Written in the hand of Judge Hiyya b. Yitzhak, and signed by him. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 274-276 #56)

Legal document. Record of a deposition in court, Mahdar, dated Sunday, 21st Av, Rabīʿ al-Awwal 442H (12.8.1050). Unsigned draft of a deposition, written by Yefet b. David b. Shekhanya. A fine of 10 dinars will be paid to the qodesh if an accusation is proven to be false. The fine itself is styled "qodesh," and will be dedicated to the poor of Jerusalem. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 211 #31). Parties are Musāfir b. ʿAmram and Saʿīd b. ʿAllūn al-Qudsī.

Verso: Account of the qodesh. Dating: ca. 1215 CE, according to Gil. This document records sums deposited by several collectors of the qodesh with its central administration. Details about 1,010 dirhams and other sums received from rents and delivered by the writer to various communal officials. The writer is apparently one of the judges of the court in Fustat. The account is written on the verso of a bill of sale for an Indian female slave, which was concluded in 1155 CE (see PGPID 11413). (Information from Gil, Documents, p. 409f, doc. #111, and Goitein, Mediterranean Society II, p. 428, App. A, sec. 138.)

List, an account of expenditures, by Abū al-Munajjā al-Zariz, including clothing the poor (140 dirhams), money for the children of the nasi, for payment to the acquaintance of the dayyan. | List or account in which the Kohen Abū al-Munajjā, surnamed al-Zariz, collector for the charitable foundations in New Cairo, turns in 100 dirhams that were used for the distribution of clothing, and an additional 50 that were spent on another approved charity. Dated Tevet 1493/ December 1181. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, 423) Written under the authority of the Nagid Sar Shalom ha-Levi. A note written by R. Isacc the dayyan is mentioned. The transcription here is for ENA NS 28.15.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably late 12th century. Quite detailed. Not immediately clear if mercantile or communal. Probably communal, since the word "jibāya" (collection) appears. Mentions (ENA NS 76.435.1) "the house of al-Maqāniʿiyya... Abū l-Maḥāsin... carpenter in the house of R. Yaʿaqov... ... al-Ṣabbāgh... Ibn Nufayʿ... al-Murjānī (the coral merchant)... (ENA NS 76.435.3) Ṭāhir... the rent of a house... al-Shaykh al-Makīn." ENA NS 76.435.1 and ENA NS 76.435.3 appear to belong to the same account, even though the verso of ENA NS 76.435.3 was reused for an unrelated Hebrew text. Some of the adjacent fragments (including ENA NS 76.435.6, ENA NS 76.435.7, and ENA NS 76.435.8) seem to be different documents but written in the hand of the same scribe: Yosef b. Shemuel b. Seʿadya ha-Levi.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Extensive and well-preserved. Likely pertaining to rents for the qodesh. Dated: '430, probably 1430 Seleucid, which is 1118/19 CE. Needs examination and transcription.