Geniza Lab

Business letter to Nissim, probably not earlier than the 14th century, referring to trade in Syria and Egypt. The brother-in-law of Zechariah is mentioned. Information from FGP.

Letter of condolence from a certain Yaʿaqov to Eliyyahu the Judge ("wherever he is"). Dating: Early 13th century. In Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew. The orthography, including of biblical quotations, is phonetic and idiosyncratic. It is not clear who died. The main text consists almost entirely of condolences and exhortations to have patience (ṣabr). Four lines from the bottom, Yaʿaqov writes, "As for Abū Zikrī, the world very nearly departed him. But he is still wretched. He had patience and was consoled. He was hardly able to write to you after the terrible blow, had we not made him him write to you. . . . He lay sick in bed for a period of three months. [. . .] took up his treatment . . . until God saw fit take to His trust." (For the strange-seeming phrase "lahu marīḍ," see also ENA 2738.37.) The context is unfortunately quite difficult to decipher. It is possible that Abū Zikrī died, or, perhaps more likely, the 'taking of the trust' refers to the same person whose death provided the occasion for this letter. There is no way to know for sure, but it is plausible that this letter is connected to T-S 24.72, a letter of condolence from Abū Zikrī to his father Eliyyahu in which he describes the terrible illnesses that afflicted him after he learned of the death of his brother. ASE.

Letter addressed to a certain Yehuda. In Judaeo-Arabic. Nearly complete, albeit faded. Begins, "The messenger for our congregation from our master the Nagid arrived with the letters/documents which he had issued (istanjazahā) for us..." Mentions Abū l-Barakāt, Abū l-Faḍl b. Salmān and Abu l-Qasm. The purpose of the letter seems to be providing a detailed update on a legal case. Needs further examination. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Recto: Arabic script document, probably a letter. Verso: Judaeo-Arabic letter, mentioning Abū Sahl and books, including Kitāb al-Madkhal (of Shemuel b. Hofni) and Halakhot Gedolot. Very faded. Information from FGP. Needs further examination.

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to Avraham b. Sahlan, Fustat, ca 1030. Address on verso in Arabic and Hebrew. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Abū l-Surūr and Abū Saʿd to Yakhin b. Netanel. The letter consists almost entirely of congratulations (for a newborn son?) and good wishes and blessings, e.g., that the recipient enjoy the favor of the king and his servants. The writers also greet Abū Manṣūr and the Nagid Moshe (Maimonides?) Ḥemdat ha-Nesi'ut ve-ʿAṭeret ha-Sarim.

Letter from Yefet b. Menashshe b. al-Qaṭa'if to his brother Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Yefet has sent with Efrayim a vessel containing 20 dirhams of lizard droppings and Ḥalfon is to try to sell them. There are lots of other instructions about small transactions and letters to be forwarded. Yefet mentions the person (Yūsuf al-Qallā'?) "who was your doctor in Fusṭāṭ." Yefet sends greetings to Sitt Naʿīm, who it seems is none other than Ḥalfon's wife (see Wagner, E. (2007). Ḥalfon’s wife, Mosseri Ia.29. [Genizah Research Unit, Fragment of the Month, July 2007]. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.40294). ASE.

Recto: personal prayer. Verso: probably accounts, in Arabic script, inverted in relation to recto. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda, Ramla, to Efrayim b. Shemarya (=Abū Kathīr Efrāyim b. Maḥfūẓ), Fustat. Dating: 1040 (after Kislev). It is about a father who is constantly "complaining" (קובל בכל עת) to Shelomo b. Yehuda about his daughter, an aguna, who is constantly "screaming" (צועקת בכל עת) to be released from her condition. See Zinger's dissertation, pp. 319, 322.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, very deferent. The writer has been slandered by somebody and wishes the addressee to write to Abū Kathīr Efrayim b. Meshullam (dated documents 1142–59 per FGP) to the effect that the writer is a good man and that his slanderers do not fear God. (Information in part from CUDL.)

One of two drafts (the other is T-S G1.26) of a curious and obsequious letter from a man whose handwriting is known, apparently to a man named Yahya b. Khalid who has a son named Abu l-Mahasin. In this version: he describes how he saw the recipient in the kitchen on Sunday and an idea occurred to him that the recipient approved of (possibly to travel to somewhere other than Bilbays?). However, the writer decided it would be better for him to travel to Bilbays. He has not traveled yet, because it is unthinkable to travel when the doors of the house are still in their sorry state: the main door needs to be fixed, and the door of the upper floor/apartment needs to be replaced completely. He alludes to his illness. He then gives his excuse for not having come to attend the recipient (before he traveled?) as requested. He has had a fever since Friday. When he heard that his presence was requested, he was in the middle of Musaf, having just reached Ashrei, and he rushed to fulfill the command but found only the boy Abu l-Mahasin, to whom he explained the matter. He concludes with blessings. Other letters that may be in his handwriting (distinctive in part for including Arabic diacritics over Hebrew letters, e.g. two dots for "t" and three dots for "th"): T-S 12.346, T-S 8J15.20, T-S 12.652 (dated after 1165/6), and T-S AS 151.22. ASE.

Legal document written in the court of Ḥananya Av Bet Din b. Yosef Gaʾon, 1318 of the Seleucid era (= 1007 CE), dealing with a legal matter between Efrayim b. Shemarya and Shelomo b. Fashshāṭ. The names Yishaq b. Ṭayyib, Ḥasan b. Wahīb and Abū l-Ḥasan b. Yoshiyyahu are mentioned. Signed by Levi ha-Levi b. Yaaqov, Shemuʾel ha-Kohen b. [...] and [...] b. Ṭoviyya. (Information from CUDL). See also Goitein notes and index card linked below.

Receipt written and signed by Natan ha-Kohen b. Shelomo, documenting that Abū Naṣr al-ʿAṭṭār received from the court 19 muthallath (triple-weave?) garments, as set forth in the conditions, on Thursday the 10th of Iyyar 1446 Seleucid (1135 CE) in Fusṭāṭ, in the presence of Abū l-Ḥasan b. Ṣāliḥ the brother (?) of Ṣedaqa the deceased. Witnesses: Natan ha-Kohen b. Shelomo ha-Kohen and Yehuda ha-Kohen b. Yosef ha-Kohen. ASE.

Verso: The end of a family letter in Judaeo-Arabic. The addressee is called "my brother," and he may be an actual brother since the sender swears "by my father." He is urging the addressee to give financial help to a poor man to pass the winter and to return to his mother. Mentions a benefactor of 'the Alexandrians,' but the context is unclear. Greetings to the addressee's siblings and to Khallūf. The sender intends to pass the winter 'in the house' and tells the addressee to look after it. On recto there is an Arabic-script document (see separate record). (Information in part from CUDL.)

Recto: State correspondence in Arabic script. The sender says he has informed القوس(?) of something. Needs examination. (Information in part from CUDL)

Exemplars of epistolary style, headed א and ב (probably 16th or 17th century). (Information from CUDL)

Fragment from a 16th-century letter in rhymed prose. (Information from CUDL) On the verso a name appears possibly as the recipient of the letter: Abraham Qraqusha[?] "קרקושאה". A variant of this surname's spelling is also repeated on the verso as "קיקושאה". MCD.

Recto: State document. Possibly an account synthesizing multiple streams of revenue: capitation tax (māl al-jawālī), a tax on palm produce (? māl al-nakhl), and a tax on the market (māl al-sūq). The name ʿAbdallāh appears at bottom right. Needs examination.

Verso: Note addressed to ʿEli ha-Kohen. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Written in a crude hand. The main text in Hebrew is entirely blessings. The marginal text in Judaeo-Arabic may contain a request. There is also one line present from the Arabic document on recto. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Accounts of Shaykh Abū l-Surūr. (Information from CUDL)