Geniza Lab

Letter from Yosef b. Peraḥya Yijū, in Mazara, writing to an important merchant, also in Sicily., ca. 1154. Yosef states that his sins are the source of his misfortunes. These misfortunes include a swelling (waram) in the finger of his eldest son Peraḥya who assisted him as schoolteacher. They have been looking for an effective medicine for some time without success. ASE.

Letter from Moshe b. Yaʿaqov, Jerusalem, to his wife's brother Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Dating: June 1053 CE. The letter is mainly about arrangements for the long-deferred pilgrimage of Mūsā b. Barhūn al-Tāhirtī to Jerusalem. On verso, amidst family greetings and business matters, Moshe conveys his wife's urgent request for myrobalan for her to drink. There are no details about why she needs it, but presumably it is as medicine for an illness.The block of text containing the order set off from the previous block. At least four letters from Moshe to Nahray survive: see also T-S 13J13.5 (from March), T-S 13J17.18 (from July), and Halper 411 (May 1054 CE).

Verso: Letter in the handwriting of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi. He has arrived safely (presumably from Fustat to Qalyub). He tells the addressee to take the coat (shuqqa) from the house of Ibn Tāj al-Maʿānī and give it to Rabbenu Shelomo, and to give other goods to Abū ʿAlī. He was saddened to leave (Fustat) when a woman in the family (al-kabīra) was sick (mutawajjiʿa). Note that Moshe cut up ENA 2558.18 + T-S 13J7.12, a legal document dated 1194 CE, and reused the versos of both fragments for letters. The transcription for this document is temporarily located on the record for the join (PGPID 1187). EMS. ASE.

Letter from a certain Yaʿqūb to Abū l-Faḍā'il b. Abū l-Saʿīd known as al-Yatīm. In Judaeo-Arabic. The addressee's mother has been sick. The addressee has been trying to sell her (or his wife's?) house, but he can't find a Jewish buyer and he does not have the proper documentation (tathbīt) to sell it to Muslims. The sender gives him advice about this. EMS. ASE.

Letter from an unknown writer, in Alexandria, to Maṣliaḥ Gaon, in Fustat. Dating: 1127–38 CE. In Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew. The purpose of the letter is to beseech Maṣliaḥ to investigate the matter of the death of a family member of the writer, a case with which Maṣliaḥ was clearly somewhat familiar already. It seems that the legal proceedings in Alexandria had not gone in the writer's favor, and he blames a group of evildoers not only for this but also for the death of the family member in the first place. The writer opens with the rabbinic dictum (Bava Meṣiʿa 58b) that verbal oppression is graver than monetary oppression, because the latter can be restituted but the former cannot. This is all the more true, he adds, when frauds or conspiracies (ghabā'in) have been perpetrated on somebody. He continues by saying that a physician who has personal experience of illness and treatment is all the more effective in treating others; that Maṣliaḥ himself has been the victim of conspiracy of rank (? ḥāl) and money (māl), but God in his mercy restored to each person what they deserved; thus, Maṣliaḥ will be the most suitable person to take up the case the writer is about to present, which is one of conspiracy of rank and money and family and connections (? wasā'iṭ) and witnesses. Indeed, there is a group of well-known evildoers in Alexandria who seek to pervert justice and corrupt the judges, and make it appear as if their victims are the ones at fault. As for the dead man (l. 20f), and how he lost his mind and perished after drinking the medicine—what truly killed him, according to the writer, was the fact that he had been slandered by others who complained about him to Maṣliaḥ, when in fact the dead man was the one who was wronged and ought to have been the one complaining. The writer's only desire is for Maṣliaḥ to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. The writer prefers this to the entire inheritance, for which he has no need. He then cites a (sadly faded) saying of certain physicians about the delirium (hadhayān) that certain illnesses produce; all the more so for someone (the dead man) who suffered multiple illnesses, of mind, of body, and a conspiracy (ghabīna) against him. He concludes with formulaic praises and pleas, and finally writes, cryptically, "Ben Zoma is still outside" (Ḥagiga 15a). ASE.

Letter from Shimʿon b. Shaʾul b. Yisraʾel ha-Ṭulayṭulī, in Jerusalem, to his sister Ballūṭa in Toledo. The writer (a Rabbanite) relays two years of news about Qaraites and fellow Andalusians in Jerusalem, as well as family news. He conveys the distress he felt upon hearing of the epidemic (wabā') and unrest (tashwīsh) in the environs of Toledo. One theme of the letter is their father's health. "Our father is in a state that one would wish only for one's enemies. He has become paralyzed (mabṭūl), blind (aʿmā), and feeble-minded (madkhūl al-dhihn), and suffers much (mumtaḥin). The bearers of this letter will tell you about him and about my care for him. He does not lack a thing, for he is well served (makhdūm) and cared for (maḥfūẓ). I do not rely on anyone else to concern themselves with him. My bed adjoins his; I get up several times every night to cover him and to turn him, since he is not able to do any of these things alone (idh lā yamlik min nafsihi shay'). May God, the exalted, reward him for his sufferings." Med Soc III, p. 241. Later in the letter, Shimʿon tells Ballūṭa that she need not concern herself with sending the turban that had been requested, "for, woe is me, he no longer has the wherewithal to leave the door of the house. He used to devote himself (wādhāb should be read as wāẓāb) to the Mount of Olives and to God's Temple for as long as he was able and [the strength] was in him, may God reward him." (Gil's translation diverges significantly from this.) A second theme of the letter is the story of a fellow Toledan, Ibrāhīm b. Fadānj, and his wife, who arrived two years earlier after having been taken captive in Byzantium and redeemed in Ramle. For a detailed analysis of their case—involving multiple changes of allegiance between the Qaraite and Rabbanite communities, and the writer's role in aiding them—see Rustow, "Karaites Real and Imagined" (2007), 43–47.

Letter from Yūsuf b. Mūsā al-Tahirtī, in al-Mahdiyya, to Yeshuʿa b. Ismāʿīl al-Makhmūrī, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: August 3, 1063, based on Gil's assessment. The letter contains details about shipments of goods and about the route of ships from and to al-Mahdiyya, as well as a price list. It also mentions a lawsuit filed against Yeshuʿa by one of his Sicilian partners. Yūsuf opens with several lines of sympathy for Yeshuʿa's health problems. First, he was happy to learn of Yeshuʿa's recovery. Then, two letters came with news that he had gotten worse (mā intahā ilayhi ḥālak). Then, Yeshuʿa's own letters came with news of his recovery. (Information from Gil, vol. 3, p. 245, and from Ben-Sasson, p. 393.) ASE

Letter from Nissim b. Yiṣḥaq al-Tāhartī, in Sūsa, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. Dating: ca. 1052 CE. The letter mentions the connections that Nahray has with the Tāhirtī family as well as business matters with two Muslims, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and his son Abū ʿAbdallāh (Ibn al-Baʿbāʿ,
s s
I. 39 and margin). It mentions also Nissim b. Ya'aqov, who leads a center of learning in Qayrawān. The writer respects Nahray and will try to get him the books that he wants. Nissim opens the letter by conveying his concern for Nahray's eye disease, and his happiness that Nahray's condition is better now than "when the doctors frightened you regarding it" (r4–6). Later, in the context of Nissim's troubles this winter, he conveys the news of a woman (identity unclear) who is very sick (recto, right margin). (Information in part from Gil, Kingdom, 3, pp. 319–24, #389)

Letter from Labrāṭ b. Moshe b. Sughmār, in al-Mahdiyya, to his brother Yehuda, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: January 9 (12 Shevat), 1058 CE (Gil) or 1061 CE (Ben-Sasson). Labrāṭ congratulates Yehuda on the birth of his firstborn son. There may be a prayer for God to protect the infant from the evil eye (r11–12; the first letter of the word is smudged; Gil reads al-ḍaw' rather than al-sū'; neither one is strictly grammatical). Labrāṭ heard from Zakkār that the infant was a girl and was only reassured when Yehuda's letter arrived with the news that it was a boy. Labrāṭ keeps the blessed letter with him and kisses it and puts it before his eyes; he gave it to his sister this week but made her promise to return it (r4–18). Labrāṭ continues with business affairs. There is an elaborate response to what Yehuda said about the pain Labrāṭ caused him by rebuking him about a business decision taken by Yehuda. Labrāṭ only wrote anything because it concerned somebody else's merchandise. As for what is owed to him by Yehuda, what are 20 dinars next to their relationship, which is worth the whole world? If Yehuda was agitated by Labrāṭ's rebuke, Labrāṭ is now agitated by Yehuda's response. Furthermore, this sum is nothing compared to what they already lost in Qayrawān. As the proverb goes, "If nothing is left of your provisions except a single cake, you might as well throw it into the sea" (r18–32). The letter continues with matters of trade between Ifrīqiyya, Sicily, and Egypt. Numerous people are mentioned: the Nagid, Nissim, Abū Hārūn, Ḥayyim b. ʿAmmār, the boy of Ḥassūn, Ḥassūn b. Mūsā, Yehuda b. Mūsā, Abū ʿAbd Allāh, the notables of Qayrawān and al-Mahdiyya, Isḥāq b. Bar[hūn?], and Yosef b. Eli al-Kohen. People who came from Palermo said that Zakkār was sick but then recovered (r33–57). Labrāṭ is delighted to hear that Yehuda has been studying Torah, Mishna, and Talmud with 'the Rav' (r58 and margin). Verso consists mainly of greetings. Labrāṭ is surprised at Yehuda's rebuke for Nissim's failure to send him letters. (Gil identifies this man with Nissim b. Moshe ha-Shelishi.) Nissim hasn't even written to Labrāṭ, who is two hours away from him. "He is dying, and he should write you a letter?" (v11–13). Nissim redeemed a Bible codex which belongs to Labrāṭ and Yehuda, and which had been plundered in one of the wars of Ifrīqiyya. Labrāṭ now wishes to make arrangements to reimburse Nissim and get it back (v13–17, 23–24). Labrāṭ concludes with the bad news of Ifrīqiyya, Sicily, and al-Andalus (v35–40). The price of wheat has skyrocketed this summer; Qayrawān is a ruin; the Bedouins are waging war on each other; people are worried about Sicily this year, for the Franks have attacked with a great army; they ('Franks') have also invaded al-Andalus this year and destroyed many of its villages, killed many people, and imposed taxes on all the areas they conquered. (Information in part from Gil, vol. 4, p. 36; Ben-Sasson, p. 36.) ASE.

Letter from the lepers of Tiberias to Shemuel b. Ezra (Jerusalem?), approximately 1030.

Letter to Efrayim b. Shemarya on behalf of the lepers of Tiberias, approximately 1050. People with skin ailments were drawn to the hot springs of Tiberias and those without means to support themselves were sent with letters appealing to the generosity of communities such as Fustat by describing their sufferings in graphic terms. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from an Alexandrian judge. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: ca. 1180. Full of interesting details about the tensions in the community during the early years of Saladin's reign and interactions with governmental authorities and various amīrs. The writer's opponent, the president of the congregation, threatened to discontinue the payment of his salary and instead have twenty persons deliver to him their weekly contributions to the quppa. The writer also reports on a legal case (upper margin of verso) involving a man who forced his wife to live in the same house with him and his mother, while he was sick. Before this, the mother-in-law had sworn that her son had no ailment, but now that he has turned out to be sick, the wife is scared that her entire dowry will be lost (spent on medical expenses?). (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 62, 105)

Letter from Surūr, in Bilbays, to his widowed mother, in Cairo, who lives with her two other sons Faraj Allāh and Rashīd. The letter deals with a case to be brought before the Nagid Yehoshua Maimonides (1310–55) b. Avraham II (1245–1313) b. David (1222–1300) b. Avraham (1186–1237) b. Moshe (1135–1204), containing circumstantial evidence (amāra) and details sustaining it. The first part of the letter (r1–17) includes lengthy apologies for failing to visit when he heard that his mother was sick. He was unable to come because of the expense of renting an animal, the danger of the journey, and because he was suffering from ophthalmia ('but now, thank God, I am better'). In the next part of the letter (r18–v1), he informs his mother that he remarried four months earlier, to a beautiful virgin who shares all of his mother's good traits and who is the fulfillment of his mother's prayers for him. His wife is distressed on behalf of her mother-in-law's illness and wishes to come to visit. Goitein suggests that the key to why Surūr neglected to tell his mother or ask her permission prior to the marriage lies in his neglect to mention his wife's name or that she comes from a good family. Most likely, she did not come from a good family, and his mother would have disapproved. In the third part of the letter (v1–27), he gets to the main purpose of writing: he had loaned a siddur to a pilgrim to Palestine named Fakhr against a security of 6.5 nuqra dirhams (containing three times as much silver as regular dirhams). Now that Fakhr has returned to Cairo, he has heard that family members already returned the silver, but Fakhr refused to return the siddur. The writer wishes Fakhr to be pressured to return the siddur. He suggests first that his family tell Sulaymān al-ʿAṭṭār, who mediated the original loan/security, "So-and-so [Surūr] says such-and-such to you with the following signs." He then recounts the story of how Sulaymān and Fakhr stayed in the khān in Bilbays with six other pilgrims (al-Shaykh Muwaffaq the cantor, Saʿīd b. al-Kātib, Nāṣir b. Ṭayyib, Yehoshua b. al-Ghāriq, Mūsā b. Mardūk, and Ibn Abū Saʿd al-Khādim), and how they were stranded there over Shabbat when the caravan left. If Sulaymān's intervention doesn't work, Surūr's brother Faraj Allāh should approach the Nagid Yehoshua. He then gives "signs" to remind the Nagid of his case: how, when he visited Bilbays, he spoke with Surūr about the copy of a Bible belonging to Yaʿqūb the brother of the teacher; how the Nagid was involved in Surūr's divorce from his first wife; and how the Nagid went to see the head of police (wālī) of Bilbays, who directed him to the Qadi, who was not available. If this doesn't work, he suggests that his brother go to Yaʿqūb the brother of the teacher and solicit his help. Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 337, 601 and from Goitein's Tarbiz article on Yehoshua Maimonides. ASE.

Letter from a husband, probably a merchant belonging to the elite, to his wife of a second marriage. In Judaeo-Arabic. He expresses his yearning and describes his depressed state in great detail, seeking to refute her assumption that he is remaining away because life is good for him. He alludes to his "many illnesses and sundry pains" but doesn't go into them to spare her. He received her letter about her "sickness of heart which brings the sickness of the body," but chides her for writing about such things, because he is not the kind of man who needs to be aroused to "tenderness and compassion." ASE

Letter from Safed, Palestine, written by a man from Cairo to his cousin (ibn ʿamm). He had traveled to Safed, mainly, it seems, to settle a family affair. The writer is concerned with the problem of suicide and tries to solve it both by traditional belief and rational proof. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, p. 245.) He mentions his lack of health among the host of reasons, including poverty and distance from loved ones, for why he would kill himself, were it not for his certain belief in the Truth and for the additional sin that he would incur by becoming a topic of gossip all the family members. "I send every letter and read every letter with tears in my eyes." Interesting that this is not stated much more strongly than the usual convention for expressing longing. He urges his sister to come visit from Fusṭāṭ. He is contemplating going to Jerusalem. ASE

Letter from a son to his mother describing the events of his journey from Alexandria to Fustat and mentioning the illness of his uncle. Much damaged. The travelers stayed with Yusuf in Fuwwa Manṣūra, who is infirm and weak of sight ("May God establish his health and illuminate his sight" etc.). Somebody in the party had an earache, but recovered ("entered the bath") in Fuwwa. On the torn portion at the bottom, the writer cryptically mentions walking barefoot and that his "liver was in the red fire... after the shaking and the weariness...." (Information from Goitein's note card) ASE

Letter from Alexandria from the 21st of October 1219, a short time before the crusaders' assault on Damietta. A man who had to flee Cairo to Alexandria due to debts writes to his sister, who still resided in Cairo, to ask for her help. The letter reflects the difficult situation in Alexandria. The Jewish community cannot manage to support all those in need, since it has only recently paid a large sum to the ruling authorities, a kind of a war tax (tabarru' and ju‘l). (Information from Frenkel). See additional information in Goitein, Med. Soc. 1:98-99 and the detailed discussion in V:55-56. Goitein adds that the letter was sent from Alexandria by a former official of the imperial mint of Fustat to his rich sister. The writer describes how he had lost his post, his house and all his possessions. He hired out his boy to a tailor who paid him half a dirham per week. He lists ten reasons why he cannot possibly come to Cairo; the tenth and "most stringent reason for not making the trip to Cairo was the certainty that his enemies seeing him in such a state of humiliation would rejoice over his misfortune." "Despite the careful enumeration of all his afflictions he forgot one, possibly the worst of all, which he added as a postscript ot his long letter: 'Because of my worries I got dry pimples and my skin peeled off my bones.' Of all concerns, bad health is most apt to move hardhearted relatives" (Med Soc V:56). See also T-S 8J20.26.

Letter dated 15 Sivan 1208 from Yehuda b. Aharon b. al-'Ammani (Alexandria) to Abu l-Majd Meir b. Yakhin (Fustat). The first part (r.6-17) deals with exchanges of piyyutim between the two cantors. “You mention that the dirges have arrived and that you have everything. That is impossible. Had you said 'I have one out of ten,' all right; but that you have all of them is impossible, for some of them were composed [meaning recently] by my uncle Zadok—may his Rock keep him" (Med Soc V, 179, 556). Yehuda also conveys the news that Abu l-Majd's brother Sa'id was very ill but has now recovered, while Abu l-Majd's mother and his brother Hilal are well. The remainder of the original letter (r.18-v.12) is a recommendation for the bearer, the Maghrebi Moshe b. Khalifa who arrived in Alexandria at least a year and a half prior and who was blinded by an eye disease and a failed operation. For two months after the operation, he suffered elevated pulse (? צרבאן) and "saw dreadful things in his soul" (? אבצר אלעטאים פי רוחה), and today he remains like a dumb stone. He has dependents including a wife, a virgin daughter, and a 6-month old son. The community has supported them for a year and a half, but the pesiqah no longer suffices, and his own relatives in Alexandria are unable to provide for him. Moshe carries another letter with signatures from "the Judge"; Sadoq the cantor; Bu Sa'id b. Alqash; Bu 'Umar al-Levi b. al-Baghdadi; Yehuda himself; Bu 'Imran b. Ghulayb; R. Simha ha-Kohen; and Eliyyahu the Judge. There is a postscript (v.16-20) written two days after the original letter, when Yehuda heard that Abu l-Majd's wife is dangerously ill. He prays that he will hear of her recovery soon. There is a second postscript (v.21-24) noting that Moshe cannot travel at the present moment because he would be required to pay the capitation tax twice, but that Abu l-Majd should take care of him whenever he does arrive. Ashtor misread the date as 1400+168 by the Seleucid calendar (1257 CE), while it is in fact 4800+168=4968 since Creation (1208 CE). The same is true for T-S 13J21.25 which Yehuda wrote one week after this letter. Information in part from Goitein's note card. ASE.

Letter by Yosef Yiju, in Mazara, to his sons Perahya and Moshe, in Fustat or Alexandria. In Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew. Dating: Fall or Summer, 1156 CE. India Book III, 49. "Contents: A. Complaint that the longing for the addressees was 'killing' their parents, who, in addition, suffered from all kinds or privations and illnesses (lines 1-9). B. The writer had hoped that Peraḥya would soon come back as a married man, for he wanted to participate in the education of his niece and future daughter-in-law (lines 9-17). C. The 'master' had refused to pen this letter (lines 17-26). D. The writer thanked God that his son Moses was rescued from the pirates and did not care about the loss of the goods (lines 26-37). E. The boys should have informed their father what merchandise and of what value they had sent with Ḥajjāj; cf. III, 44. The man had sent ninety rubāʿīs only a year after his arrival and another ninety some time later (lines 37-49). F. Admonition to bear the losses with submission to God's will (line 50 and margin). G. The religious importance of marrying one's cousin (verso, lines 1-10). H. Hope to see his sons again, despite present hardship (verso, lines 10-15). 1. Request that the Head of the Jews in Egypt write letters to the Muslim commanders of Mazara and Messina and to Jewish notables in Sicily to arrange for the travel of the Yiju family to Egypt (verso, lines 15-27). J. Greetings (verso, lines 28-36). K. Address of sixteen lines." Description based on India Traders (attached).

Letter. The hand and style resemble those of Abū Zikrī the son of Eliyyahu the Judge. In Judaeo-Arabic, high register, rhymed prose. The contents are very difficult and need further examination. The writer seems to be defending himself against a rebuke he received from the addressee. He mentions his mother several times as well as a woman in labor, but the latter might be proverbial ("I hear that a woman in labor (makhīḍa) when nothing happens becomes enraged (maghīẓa).") He conveys good wishes for the addressee's recovery from an illness (r23–25). ASE.