Geniza Lab

Letter fragment from Shelomo b. Yehuda, in the hand of Yosef Ha-Kohen b. Shelomo Gaon.

List of prospective contributors. The persons whose names are crossed out probably already had been approached. Notice that most of the numbers are added above the name or in the space after it and in a different ink color, which means either that someone took the list and then rated those individuals, or their contributions were entered when they were made (M. Cohen). Some names have no numbers at all. A few numbers are in Coptic numerals. Verso: Monetary compensations for those indigent people who had applied for a futa (a sari-like garment). Crossed out: probably had received their share. (Information from Goitein index cards)

List of contributors and payments in which some entries comprise both a name and a sum, whereas others have names only. (Information from Goitein index cards)

Letter to the judge Eliyyahu b. Zekharya requesting he intervene with the Nagid on behalf of the bearer of the letter, who had spent six months in prison and was ill. The bearer is named Abu l-[Faraj?] al-Sayrafi. Goitein deduces that the bearer was sick even before his time in prison from the language in lines 14-18: "You knew him in his prosperous and happy state and how he was at that time and what he suffered. His suffering has only increased due to his degradation and his staying in prison close to six months, sick among the gentiles. He is in the meanest state among them due to his illness." (Information from Goitein's index cards. See also card #27109.) EMS. ASE.

Fragment of a letter opening from Sharira Gaon to Efrayim b. Sadok from Fustat. Around 980. Mentions Amram b. Mishui, the Gaon’s uncle (his mother’s brother). The letter addressed to a doctor in a hospital in Fustat, that will pass it to Efrayim b. Sedaka ‘l-Mualem, probably Efrayim b. Sadok from the community in Fustat. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #26) VMR

Letter draft from the Rabbanite leaders of Fustat/Cairo to the Rabbanite leaders of Ashqelon. Dating: Summer 1099 CE. The letter recounts how the Nagid Mevorakh exhorted the Jews of the community to donate money for the redemption of captives and Torah scrolls, and how in response the Jews of Fustat have donated 123 dinars. The first transcription here is for DK 242, and the second is for T-S AS 146.3. For a detailed discussion, see Goldman, "Arabic-Speaking Jews in Crusader Syria" (diss.), 42–48.

Letter fragment from Shelomo b. Yehuda to Efrayim b. Shemarya.

Payment order from David ha-Nasi (not David b. Daniel, head of the Jews 1082-1094) ordering 3 communal officers to pay a quarter dinar to the foster sons of al-Afdal, using the revenue from houses donated 'for Jerusalem.' Dated to the second half of the 12th century. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 249, 481)

Letter from the lepers of Tiberias to Furayj b. Ḥasan. Dating: ca. 1030 CE. Asking for donations be given to the emissaries from Tiberias collecting charity on the senders' behalf.

Fragment of a letter of appeal for charity, from Jerusalem, complaining about the heavy taxation. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Order sent to the community of Fustat from the office of Yehoshuaʿ Nagid (d. 1355) recommending the elder Shemuel for charity, followed by requests and prayers on verso written in a different handwriting. (Information from a note on Goitein's typed text)

Fragment of a letter from the Yeshiva in Sura. Regarding donations to the Yeshiva. Mentions the relationships between the community and the Yeshiva in the time of Hilai b. Natronai (from the end of the 9th century). Also mentions Avraham b. Bahlul. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #46) VMR

Important list of beneficiaries, containing names and sums of money. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Daniel b. Azarya to Avraham ha-Kohen b. Yishaq b. Furat, to save a prisoner who was sentenced to death. (Gil, Palestine, vol. 2, 640, #351) VMR

Fragment of a letter from Sharira Gaon to two brothers, probably al-Ḥasan and Abu Ali al-Husain b. Yusuf. September 971. (Gil, Kingdom, vol. 2, Doc. #21) VMR

List of contributors (end), almost all names known early 11th century. Included: The elders the Tasatira (Tustaris); the rest, mostly bankers. (Information from Goitein index cards)

Letter opening from Shelomo b. Yehuda to Efrayim b. Shemarya, before 1048.

Letter opening from Yoshiyyahu Gaon to Efrayim b. Shemarya, approximately 1020.

State document, Mamluk period, 1442. Draft of a petition from the Jewish community of Fustat to the Mamluk government concerning the malpractices of ‘Abd al-Latif the physician, head of the Jews, who is reported to have sold portions of pious foundation properties and leased others below their value, imposed high fiscal penalties, and confiscated property of the Jews, among a litany of other harmful acts. The document requests his removal from office. (Mark Cohen, "Jews in the Mamlūk Environment: The Crisis of 1442 (A Geniza Study)," BSOAS, 1984, 431-4) EMS

Letter fragment from Shelomo b. Yehuda, probably to Efrayim b. Shemarya.