Geniza Lab

Letter (bottom part) from Alexandria to Fustat, dictated by Abu l-Najm Hilal, written down by Abu l-Muna, and addressed to Abu Ishaq b. Yaʿaqov at funduq al-Mahalli, who is to give it to Abu l-Majd the cantor—the brother of Hilal. The writer sends greeting to the addressee’s wife and the teacher Yiṣḥaq. The silk that Abu l-Majd sent to Mahasin has arrived. The old woman (presumably the mother of Hilal and Abu l-Majd) is frail and no longer able to work, and everyone is distressed, and they wish Abu l-Majd to come before she dies. The Ḥaver and Ibn Daud reached an arrangement to alternate Shabbats (in receiving income?) starting after Passover. Information in part from Goitein's note card. EMS. ASE.

Letter from Ibrāhīm, unknown location, to Ḥayya ha-Kohen the teacher, in Palermo ("al-madīna"), Sicily. The addressee is asked to deliver two tailored woolen mayzar covers, which had been deposited with him, to the bearer of the letter. The writer includes legalistic language appointing the bearer as his agent: qabḍuhu qabḍī wa-taslīmuhu taslīm{ī} wa-anta paṭur min aḥrayutam. The writer is ill this winter (perhaps this is why he needs the woolen covers). The letter also mentions the process of “cutting up” for making and fitting the sleeves of a garment. Address on verso. (S.D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 4:182, 412.)

Letter from Natan b. Shelomo ha-Kohen, Fustat, to his cousin Toviyya b. Eli ha-Kohen, in a smaller town, in which the writer refers to the health of the recipient’s brother’s eyes, stating “I received a note from your brother in which he complained that his eyes were in a very bad state and asked for medicaments. I went to the oculists [in the plural], informed them about his complaints, and they prescribed ointments and powders which I sent to him. However, the doctors said to me that the medicines would be of no avail, as long as he continued to work in sunlight, which his profession forces him to do.” The letter also references a ‘maker of razors’ (mawwas) and mentions Ibn al-Minqar Abu al-Ma’ali. Twelfth century. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 1:421; 2:255, 579; and S. D. Goitein and Mordechai Friedman, India Book, 642) EMS

Letter from Avraham b. Rav Shelomo the Yemeni, in Jerusalem, to Eliyyahu the Judge in Fustat. Avraham lives with Eliyyahu's son, the physician Abu Zikri, and he conveys the good news that Abu Zikri has recovered from his febrile illness and has not relapsed for forty days. Avraham's family recently arrived from Bilbays. On verso are jottings and accounts in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu. Same writer and recipient as T-S 13J21.5, which was written not long after this one (Goitein's note cards suggest ca. 1214). Alan Elbaum.

Letter addressed to Abu Sahl b. Moshe, the cantor, in which the writer requests aid in a mixture of Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic. In a post-scripted note, the petitioner also requests some food should the addressee have a Jewish celebration. (Mark Cohen, Voice of the Poor in the Middle Ages, Princeton University Press: 2005, 57-8). "By constant fasting and hunger my eyesight has become faint and my heart blotted out, so that I do not know what I am writing" (Goitein, Med Soc V:87). EMS.

Letter from an unknown writer, probably in Hebron, to his wife (addressed as al-Sitt al-Jalīla), probably in Fustat. Addressed to al-Shaykh al-Muhadhdhab al-Khayyāṭ (the tailor), possibly the wife's father. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer reports that he developed a serious illness (ḍuʿf ṣaʿb) in Hebron. He is sustained only by her prayers and his knowledge of her righteousness. He departed on this journey because business had ground to a halt and he needed to gain a living. (Information in part from Goitein’s note cards.) EMS. ASE.

Letter from Perahya b. Yosef Yiju to his brother Shemuel in Fustat, complaining of his failure to procure a responsum. Perahya also includes brief remarks on their mother’s illness and his apology for being unable to visit, a request for Shemuel’s assistance in collecting a debt and in paying the capitation tax, and a one-line inquiry about whether his brother has made a bible amulet or ankle for his son, to protect him. Probably sent from Mahalla, late twelfth century. (S. D. Goitein and Mordechai Friedman, India Book, 790-1)

Letter from Bū l-Faraj to Umm Yūsuf the mother-in-law of Bayān al-Bukhtaj ('the cooked,' from Middle Persian pokhtag), sent via Eliyyahu the Judge. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Early 13th century. The occasion for the letter is that the writer heard that Umm Yūsuf, probably a woman of some social standing, had fallen ill. The letter is prefaced with a note to Eliyyahu, asking him in urgent terms to read the note to Umm Yūsuf and to greet her sons (ashbāl, lit. 'lion cubs') on his behalf. In the letter proper, Bū l-Faraj first reports to Umm Yūsuf that he remains in the same distress (illness?) as "on the day you met me in the synagogue," and that was before his heart was afflicted with anxiety on her behalf, especially when the dreadful news reached him today (of her illness). "If you wish to consult me (in istanṣaḥtīnī), send to me Bū l-Ḥajjāj Yūsuf or whomever you see fit." The nature of this consultation is not clear. Is Bū l-Faraj a physician who wishes to help treat her in her illness? He urges her repeatedly to send a mesenger without delay. He excuses himself for not visiting her in person, 'due to my condition which is not hidden from you.' (See S.D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 2:144, 550; and Eve Krakowski, “Female adolescence in the Cairo Geniza documents,” PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2012, p. 134.) EMS. ASE.

Letter from a man troubled with private and public disasters, including business concerns and his wife’s illness, leading him to write that "Could I find death without sin, I would not hesitate" (cf. ENA 1822a.7 for the same expression). Mukhtār the Banker is also mentioned. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 5:245, 574) EMS

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.

Letter sent to Abū l-Barakāt Ibn Shalīda, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer calls the addressee 'my uncle' (ʿammī). The purpose of this letter is to break off their relationship, and it is striking for its hostility. The writer reports that Abū Isḥāq the cantor recently arrived and told him that the addressee is seriously ill (fī ḥālin ṣaʿb min al-wajaʿ). In place of expressing sympathy, the writer begins a tirade about how the addressee has mistreated him (and/or his family members?) and wounded his heart; "even strangers could not wound my heart so" (r13–14). The substance of the conflict is difficult to discern. The writer expresses the wish that certain people will be killed by marauding Ghuzz (Seljuks/Turkomans) (r7–8). The writer continues, "May God curse the hour that unearthed this matter. . . it has brought me nothing but evil (wabāl). From now on I care nothing about what you desire or about the illnesses of those in your family. I swear to God that I will not write you again, wish you peace, or ask after you, neither you nor those in your family, neither with language nor tongue (i.e., not at all). And [I will remain?] in this world without uncle, without father, and without brother." He concludes with two somewhat self-righteous biblical quotations: 'Abraham was one among the nations [and he inherited the land]' (Ezekiel 33:24, slightly misquoted), and 'may God repay every man according to his deeds, according to the fruit of his doings' (Jeremiah 17:10, slightly misquoted). The writer might also quote 1 Samuel 24:15 ('The Lord therefore be judge') earlier in the letter (r11–12), but a lacuna makes it difficult to be certain. Information in part from Goitein's note card. EMS, VMR, ASE.

Recto: Letter from an unknown writer, in Ramle, to an unknown addressee, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 11th century. "When, on a rainy day, the qadi of Ramle ordered a Jewish merchant to proceed to Egypt under the supervision of a guard (which was a costly affair), Muslims and Jews present (in this order) had mercy for him and persuaded the qadi to grant him a stay of fifteen days." "The writer carried with him goods belonging to Abū Naṣr, probably the famous Tustari, of Cairo, for which he had no sufficient authority. A delegate of the qadi was to accompany him so that he might not sell part of the goods on his way, for instance in Ascalon. Fifteen days were pIenty of time for a letter going to Cairo and coming back with Abū Naṣr's instructions to the qadi. The writer mentions also that he did not feel well that day (wa-anā wajiʿ). For the legal term rassam, see Med Soc II, 372 and 609, n. 46." Verso: list of names, including Abū l-Surūr and Abū Manṣūr. Information from CUDL and Goitein, Med Soc V, 534–535.

Letter from Natan b. Avraham to Ḥalfon. Dating: ca. 1037 CE. The writer excuses himself for not seeing the recipient off. The writer was not the host, but he had talked to the recipient a few days before his departure. His excuse is that he had an intense pain, like colic, and he could hardly sit down, let alone stand or ride. The illness persisted for most of the day, and when it relented and Natan asked after Ḥalfon, he was told that he had already departed. Information in part from Goitein's note card.

Letter previously thought to be from Abū Yaʿqūb Ibn al-Najera, somewhere in Spain, to Ḥalfon b. Netanel, likely in Lucena. Dating: likely August 1138 CE. Identifications and datings are based on comparison with the preceding document, T-S 12.285. [However, T-S AS 149.119 is a letter from Ibn al-Najera and does not resemble this one.] This letter recounts the writer's visit to a woman who owed him 10 mithqāls, but he found her sick. He now asks Ḥalfon to advance him a certain sum, probably the same 10 mithqāls, for the purpose of his travel to Almeria. Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book 4 (Hebrew description below) = Goitein and Friedman, Ḥalfon the Traveling Merchant Scholar (India Book 4), pp: 182-183. VMR. ASE.

Letter from Nissim b. Ḥalfon b. Benaya, in Tinnīs, to Barhūn b. Mūsā al-Tāhirtī al-Maghribi, in Fustat, both prominent in the Geniza correspondence of the eleventh century. The writer mentions merchants from the Maghreb, Syria, and Iraq doing business in the busy Mediterranean seaport. He probably alludes to his illnesses in lines r3–6: "You tasked me with buying ladies' caps (maʿājir), but you know what a 'pain' (wajaʿ) it is, especially selling clothing in Tinnīs, from morning to evening. I relapsed only twice due to the burdens I take upon myself (mimmā najūr ʿalā nafsī). But today, praise be to God, I am in every state of well-being." In lines v4–5, Nissim invokes the common trope of assuming a business partner (here Ibn Juhā) is ill if one has not heard from him in a longer-than-usual time. Information from Gil, Kingdom, III, #597, and Goitein, Med Soc, II, p. 520; IV, pp. 176, 406, and V, pp. 110, 536. EMS. ASE.

Letter from Avraham b. David b. Sughmār, probably in Alexandria, to his son, David, in Fustat. Dating: ca. 1055 CE. The father rebukes his son for losing money. He mentions several negative events that happened probably in the Maghreb. Also describes how his son lost trading goods as silk. He also complains about his illness (r6). Information from Gil, Kingdom, vol. 4, pp. 1-4, #609. VMR. ASE.

Letter in which the writer complains about his financial state. The sender gives advice to the addressee about leaving some place and taking his childrens' property with him. There is no need for a power of attorney. The sender complains about his weariness and financial loss; mentions 70 dinars. He is mainly worried about the children, "who have no one in the world." He himself was sick recently. (Information from Goitein’s index card) EMS

Letter from Abūn b. Ṣedaqa (Jerusalem) to Nahray b. Nissim (Fustat). Dating: 10 March 1064 CE (Gil). Abūn mentions that he is unable to travel due to his weakness, and that his illness has aged him before his time such that he is no longer as Nahray knows him. Ed. Gil, Palestine, #499. ASE.

Letter from Yosef, in Tripoli, Libya, to his mother, probably in Fustat. Although the address reads "from your son Yosef," the letter is written in the voice of an older woman who defends herself against the addressee's blame for not looking after Yosef properly and for not marrying him to her own daughter. The writer describes a form of temporary marriage that Yosef contracted with an orphan girl. “He fell ill (maraḍa), and his illnss intensified (ishtadda wajʿuhu), and he had no one to attend to him. Thus he saw fit to take a young orphan girl to attend to him, and he married her on the condition that if he wished to be free to move back to his country, he would write her a bill of divorce.” The letter further reports that the wife gave birth to a boy who died. The writer adds that she herself was sick during these events (and thus could hardly be blamed for not intervening). See Eve Krakowski, “Female adolescence in the Cairo Geniza documents,” PhD diss., The University of Chicago, 2012, 68; and S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 3:306, 494. EMS. ASE.

Letter from Natan b. Avraham, probably in Damietta, to Natanel b. Ravah, in Fustat. In Hebrew. Dating: Probably Spring 1038 CE. Natan is on his way to Palestine; his next stop will be Tinnīs. He refers to economic and family crises. He underwent bloodletting on Friday and received visitors in the home of his host Ḥusayn b. ʿAllān instead of going to synagogue on Shabbat. On verso there is an unrelated liturgical text (added at a later date). (Information in part from CUDL.) ASE