Geniza Lab

Account of building operations ca. 1240. Written on a sheet of paper made into a booklet of four leaves, it is a record of current payments for building materials and labor. The works going on are financed from huge sums of rent deposited with the banker al-As'ad in the course of two years. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 453 #136)

Letter from the Nagid Shelomo b. Yosef to the community of Alexandria. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 1470s or 1480s. The letter reports that Yaʿaqov פרנשיל arrived from Alexandria and reported that the congregation is in great distress from the punishment and the fines that the Nagid had imposed on all who oppose the '7 distinguished men of the city' (שבעה טובי העיר: on this concept, see Shweka, "And Every Day They Make Quarrels," p.26f). The Alexandrians seem to be asking for relief; the Nagid does not back down.

Letter probably from the office of the Nagid to the community of Alexandria. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Last quarter of the 15th century. Deals with the prerogatives of various communal appointees, including cantors and slaughterers. Grants authority to the שבעה טובי העיר (cf. Bodl. MS heb. c 72/21). Among the communal officials is Moshe b. Yehuda, whose personal archive is the source of much of Bodl. MS Heb. c. 72.

Recto: Petition to Masliah Gaon from a woman wishing to have a divorce. Probably 1127 CE. Discussed in detail, with translation, in Oded Zinger's dissertation, pp. 201–02: 'Malīḥa bt. Abū al-Faḍl wanted a divorce. She claimed that her husband suffered from many illnesses and that his children from a previous marriage were irreligious. Malīḥa feared for the well-being of her children were she to die. We have a resolute petition written on her behalf to the head of the Jews, Maṣliaḥ ha-Kohen, informing him of the following: "I am the wife of Adam, the money changer. For the past eight months, I have asked repeatedly for divorce, but could not obtain it. I had thought that with the arrival of your most venerable presence, you would not postpone giving a ruling to me or to another (on my behalf) a single hour. He is a man afflicted with many illnesses and sicknesses. He has children far removed from religion and others. The servant fears lest what is sealed upon people (i.e. death) overtake him, or me. There is no assurance what will happen with him and with my children.1 By the divine law that you possess! Examine my state and quickly issue a verdict, whatever it may be.2 The servant appointed a representative, but from all that was done to the man; he said that he would not return to mediate between us. The servant is bashful, I do not have a tongue to speak with. By your parents! Examine my state and please liberate me.3 .... All that I want is the liberation of the servant, by any means necessary. And what the divine law obligates."4 We hear of Malīḥaʼs ultimate success in her bid for divorce in another document, T-S 8J5.4 2v. A four-line entry in a page from a court notebook records that on 28 June 1127, Malīḥa appointed Nathan ha-Levi b. Abraham as her representative to sue her husband. This short entry is followed by another entry recording an unrelated appointment of a representative. The next entry in the court notebook, however, records that on the very same day, a cantor who was one of the witnesses of the first appointment came to the court with two parnasim from the community. The three men declared to the court that they had made the symbolic purchase from Malīḥa confirming that she relinquished the entirety of her meʿuḥar and was willing to take an oath over her claims regarding the dowry. Her husband also made the symbolic purchase confirming that he had no claim over her. It appears that Malīḥa got her divorce.'5 Margins of recto, and verso: Copious jottings in Hebrew and Arabic script. It is unclear how much, if any, pertains to the main letter on recto. Shelomo ha-Levi b. Moshe is named. Many of the Arabic writings appear to be formulaic phrases from a letter to a dignitary (titled in one place Imam and Amir).

Letter by a cantor in a small town, addressed to Rabbi Eliyyahu the judge, complaining bitterly about his lack of opportunity for further study and about doing nothing but jingling off prayers. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p.88)

Letter by Shelomo b. Yeshuʿa ha-ḥaver, in Damīra, to Abū Isḥāq Avraham b. Natan ha-Sheviʿi. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: ca. 1100 CE. The writer raises charges against the muqaddam of Damira ("he does not deserve to be the rear (mu'akhkhar), let alone the head (muqaddam)," r18) and refuses to take on additional duties in order to avoid conflicts with the local community leader. Someone named Abū Naṣr is in a bad state (miskīn) from an eye disease, otherwise he too would have written to support the writer's complaints. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 73, 189, 589.) ASE.

Letter from Barukh b. Yiṣḥaq, the chief Rabbi of Aleppo, Syria, to a colleague, it seems in Fustat. Dating: ca. 1100. Asking him to send him legal documents concerning the property belonging to some orphans, which was worth more than 30 dinars. The sender requests the documents to be sent by special mail, for the merchants are being detained and are hardly reaching Aleppo. . (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, p. 271; IV, p. 277)

List of persons on payroll of the community, headed by Sayyiduna al-Nasi, referring, it seems, to the head of the Jews David b. Daniel (ca. 1090). Lower part contains the letter of recommendation on behalf of a man described as munqati', confined (by illness?) to his home and unable to work. Letter writer asks a cantor who was also in charge of the social services to look after him. Same handwriting as list. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 442, App. B 15)

Calligraphic letter by a community leader who found out that the son of a scholar had married four couples, writing their marriage contracts and performing the weddings. The writer asks the chief judge to send him a letter explaining whether or not the action of the scholar's son was permissible. The letter contains no address and was probably never sent. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 74, 538)

Record of a deposition in court, written in the hand of the scribe Hillel b. Eli, ca. 1095. The record states that Perahya b. Ya'aqov appeared in court and dedicated his compound to the two synagogues, of the Palestinians and the Babylonians. The rent of the compound is to be spent on oil for the two synagogues, in equal parts. Since there were too many errors in this document, the scribe probably decided to write it again, and that is perhaps the reason why the document is unsigned. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 217 #34)

Letter from Yosef b. Maḥfūẓ to the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya, complaining about Abu Sa'id. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter of appeal from an elderly, blind woman, mother of several sons and grandsons, to the Gaon Maṣliaḥ. Dating: 1127–38, based on the tenure of Maṣliaḥ Gaon. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Written by a scribe on her behalf (Goitein: "A refreshing mixture of the accomplished style of a court clerk and the woman's ipsissima verba"). Subject: She complains about being neglected by her firstborn son Abraham after the death of her daughter, and begs for charity. "After eight lines of biblical quotations and an introduction in Hebrew, the letter continues: 'I wish to inform your high excellency that I am a blind woman. For a long time, I have been sitting in a corner with no access to this world, but as long as my daughter lived, she was always around me and cared for me. Now she has died, and her brothers and their sons have taken what she possessed. My son, Abraham, the firstborn, took the estate, and has not provided me with anything since she died, not even a loaf of bread. I have now entrusted my spirit to God, the exalted, and to you. Shout at him and tell him that he should give me what is indispensable. May the Holy One never let fail your strength and may he guard you from the blows of Fate, such as blindness and indigence, and shield you under the shelter of his wings'" (Goitein, Mediterranean Society, V, p. 124).

Complaint addressed to a Gaon by a son-in-law of a man who left one quarter of a house to an infant daughter and another quarter to his son. The writer probably claimed (that part of the document is torn off) that the man had also promised something to his married daughter, his wife. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 281, 489)

A strongly worded letter by the head of a yeshiva to Yakhin ha-Levi b. Mevorakh demanding assistance for its cantor. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, 569, and from Goitein's index cards)

List, extensive and valuable but damaged, of donors of wheat to the poor. Most give only 1 wayba (about 4 gallons, weighing about 25 pounds), or fractions thereof, some others give 2 or 4. One person whose name has not been preserved, but who follows immediately after the first three mentioned above, donates 4 irdabbs = 24 waybas. Those who had not yet made up their minds are listed at the end of the page merely by name. The tillis is a sack, weighing approx. 150 pounds verso, list of persons contributing dirhams, for example, 2 weavers each 3 d, one giving with his workman. The doctor, the representative of the merchants Yequtiʾel, donates 1/8 dinar (for which one could buy at that time approx. a wayba of wheat). The symbol to the right of most names on verso resembling an Arabic final mim, with a tail, might mean (pai)d, (salla)m. It is represented here by a $ (Cohen) (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp 478-479, App. C 21 ca. 1100)

List, incomplete and partly defective, of about 33 contributions in gold. Late 11th or early 12th century. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 476-477, App. C 15)

Collection made at a circumcision feast. The ba'al ha-mila, or father of the boy, gave 1 (presumably: dirham), a few others did the same, most of the rest contented themselves with 1/2 or even 1/4. Only the lower part of the list, with about thirty-four contributors, is preserved. Some names are overlined (having paid their pledges?) Early twelfth century. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 498, App. C 80)

A bashful pauper informs the judge Rabbi Eliyyahu b. Zechariah who was in charge of public charity, that he had not eaten anything for two days and that he dared to address the judge only because he was in a state of extreme need. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 466; X, p.88)

Letter from the office of Yehoshuaʿ Nagid (d. 1355) (in Cairo) to the community of Fustat about a conflict between two butchers who had caused trouble for the complainant, one Muwaffaq, and ordering them to return to the customary arrangement whereby one worked three days and the other, the other three days. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, p. 424)

Copy of a letter from Shemuel Gaon b. Hofni to the community in Fez. The beginning of the 11th century, handwriting of Sahlan b. Avraham. Mentions tragic events that took place in Fez, including killing of community members and destroying of the synagogue. The writer sends his deep condolences. The letter was probably sent from Baghdad through Fustat and Sahlan copied parts of it. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #51) VMR