Geniza Lab

Letter from Moshe Barukh. In Hebrew. Dating: Late, probably 15th–17th century. Asking for monetary assistance.

Letter drafts addressed to a certain Shemuel. In Hebrew. Asking him for more money ("the peraḥ that you sent has already run out"). Dating: Probably late.

Letter of for charity addressed to an official. In Hebrew. Mentions the heqdesh.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Writer and addressee are unknown. The letter is an appeal for private charity. The writer is under duress from difficult times (awqāt al-shadā'id). There is a sick person in his household who has had a nosebleed (ruʿāf) for the entire week (the word "sick person" could plausibly be emended to "maraḍ" from "marīḍ," meaning that the writer himself has a nosebleed, but the next line, "I was away," suggests that it was rather someone in his family). When the letter resumes on verso, the writer mentions Cairo; that he is emptyhanded and helpless; that the addressee should not blame him; and that he has [?] his face from shame. ASE.

Letter of appeal for charity. In Hebrew. Mostly blessings

Fragment of a letter in Arabic script, with some Hebrew words for the concluding blessings. Probably a letter of appeal for charity. The sender says that he is an orphan boy and mentions the coming holiday.

Perhaps a letter of appeal for charity. In Hebrew. Late. Mentions a woman whom the narrator married in order to save her from poverty.

Letter addressed to Yūsuf al-Surrī. The name Saʿīd Maḍmūn the Blind appears at the bottom of verso; unclear if this is the name of the writer. The letter is written in Judaeo-Arabic. The hand looks Yemeni. Dating: Probably Ottoman-era, based on the mention of the currency qirsh. The purpose of the letter is to inform the addressee that the money he kindly sent (or promised to send) never arrived. The writer mentions his paternal aunts Shamʿa and Turkiyya.

Letter of appeal, probably. In Hebrew. Mentions the addressee's brother who married a wife. Goes on to complain about the hardships of fate.

Letter of appeal for charity. In Hebrew. Possbly addressed to the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya. The sender is from a distant land. He set out with merchandise, but presumably lost everything along the way.

Letter from Yosef ha-Talmud b. Yishay ha-Sar. In Hebrew. Complaining that the addressee has not fulfilled his vow to give Yosef sum of money in gold; Yosef has only received 10 silver coins. "What is my sin, that you have not fulfilled your vow?" He complains about hunger and poverty and asks for the money. In the margin he mentions at least one parnas.

Letter from Barakāt b. Abū l-Faraj al-Dayyān (=Shelomo b. Eliyyahu) to Abū l-Ḥasan. In Arabic script. Pleading for a loan of 20 dirhams against a turban as collateral, so that he and his father can pay the capitation tax. Same sender, addressee, and purpose as P. Heid. Arab. III 42, but written at a different point in time. Verso: Accounts in Arabic script, with possibly Coptic alpha numerals. Needs examination.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Last leaf only. The writer is begging for an urgent loan or gift of 5 dinars, on Sunday. A sum of 20 dinars is also named; possibly the addressee had previously given him 15 dinars, and the 5 dinars will round out the total to 20 dinars. "If I had anything I could sell, I wouldn't be burdening you. . . . I only wrote this letter due to my great distress, too great to be described, and because of my knowledge that your honor—may God establish your glory—will help execute the needs of your slave. . . . I do not believe that this is a loan, but rather, it is a second bestowing of favor (iṣṭināʿ)." If the addressee does not comply, the writer will "perish." Despite the writer's protestations, this may in fact be a loan.

Letter of appeal for charity addressed to Abū ʿImrān al-Kohen. Written in Hebrew (the opening poem and formulae) and Judaeo-Arabic (the body). The writer cites the illnesses in his household and the price of medicine among his other expenses.

Letter in Hebrew. Perhaps a letter of appeal for charity: the writer seems to be describing his poverty and pawning possessions.

Letter of appeal for charity. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Long, well-written, well-preserved.

Letter of appeal for charity. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. The writer praises the addressee, expounds on his difficult circumstances, and asks for a loan of 2 or 3 dinars.

Letter in the hand of Berakhot b. Shemuel. Possibly addressed to Avraham Maimonides. In Judaeo-Arabic. The letter is an extremely polite reminder to give the writer some money, perhaps as reimbursement or as a wage from the public funds. "When I observed some delay on the part of the master, which is not his custom. . . . I attributed it to his honor's (al-ḥaḍra) preoccupation with the illness of the master (al-mawlā) and the distraction of his mind and his distance from his country. . . ." It is not entirely clear whether the ḥaḍra and the mawlā are different people or not. "The proof, by God, will be from Sunday onward, and tomorrow is Friday, and I have not received anything except for 2 1/4 raṭls of [bread?]. What I received from the jāmikiyya only lasted through the end of the day today, Thursday, the 2nd of Dhū l-Qaʿda." Someone titled ʿAlam al-Dīn gave the writer 9 1/2 (dirhams?). The writer emphasizes the urgency of his request, "for I am among the dead/perishing." He appends an account of expenses for the week, again referring to the jāmikiyya. The expenses include many foodstuffs as well as the fee for the bathhouse and the launderer. The transcription below includes only the words, not the Coptic numerals given for each item. ASE.

Letter of appeal for charity. In Hebrew. Dating: Late, probably 16th century. Written by Yehuda al-Ashqar b. Yiṣḥaq b. [...], a resident of Jerusalem who, when circumstances became difficult, decided to approach the Gedolim for help, "setting my face as flint not to be ashamed." The name is partially missing and thus the reading is not certain.

Small fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic, probably medieval, possibly an appeal for charity. The addressee seems to be Abū l-Surūr.