Geniza Lab

Letter in which a man from Tlemcen, Algeria, who had not heard from his brother in Egypt 'for years,' reports that both the country and the family were flourishing, that he had two sons, and his deceased sister two sons and a grown up daughter. Asks who is the current Head of the yeshiva and says he would like to write him a letter. Dated ca. 1050. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 239). Address, top of the page, straight line, same direction as main text.

Verso: Letter in the hand of Efrayim b. Shemarya. Dating: Ca. 1026 CE. Referring to a speech made by Abū Isḥāq (Avraham b. Sahlān), a member of the Babylonian yeshiva, concerning the eclipse of the exclusive juridical authority of the Palestinian yeshiva (i.e. the authority of Efrayim b. Šemarya). (Information from Gil and CUDL)

Recto: Letter addressed to Shelomo b. Yehuda, the gaon of the Palestinian yeshiva. Dating: 1025–51 CE. This is a fragment containing 12 lines from the beginning of the letter. In the margins of recto and on verso, there is also a will concerning gold for a man's daughter.

Letter from an emissary of the Yeshiva, in Fustat to Yosef ha-Kohen Av Bet Din b. Shelomo Gaon, in Jerusalem. Dating: August 1053 CE. The letter contains sundry reports about the Palestinian and Iraqi synagogues and dealings with the notables of Fustat. Among these, Abū ʿAlī, the caretaker of the Palestinian synagogue, has taken ill, so he has neglected his duties, and the synagogue has fallen into disrepair.

Letter fragment concerning disbursement of funds to members of the Yeshiva.