Geniza Lab

Recipes. In Ladino and Hebrew. Some medical, some not. Some headed "secreto."

Forecasts. In Ladino. Foretelling the fortunes of the coming year based on the day of the week of the Copts' Feast of the Cross (ʿīd al-ṣalīb) (17 Thout).

Accounts in Ladino and western Arabic numerals. Dated: 14 Tishrei 556[.], which is the first decade of the 19th century. Small fragment. Mentions a consul.

Account (cuento) in Ladino and western Arabic numerals. Mentions Eliyya Palombo.

Letter from [...] Krispin, unknown location, to Avraham Krispin, Alexandria. Written in Ladino. Dated: 18 Av 5549 AM, which is 10 August 1789 CE. Needs further examination. Mentioned in Ilana Tahan, "Judeo-Spanish Manuscripts in the British Library's Hebrew Collection," p. 152 (no. 36). Note that Yisrael Gevili (mentioned there as the writer) is rather the writer of BL OR 12369.7 + BL OR 12369.8. BL OR 12369.9 possibly contains the address of the letter. ASE.

Business letter from Yiṣḥaq [...], in Istanbul, to Efrayim ʿAdda (עדה) and Eliyyahu Aylion (אאיליון), in Fustat/Cairo. In Ladino. There is an "AI" in Latin script on verso, along with sums/accounts. Dated: 26 Shevat 5566 AM, Which is 14 February 1806 CE. Mentions (line 8) having written something in Turkish (escribí detrás de la carta en turquesco). Mentions Izmir in the next line, and then what the writer has sent in the ship of the captain Ibrahim. He has sent a very fine [...] "that is called çiçek, which is to say, flower"; and some ginger. Later, the letter mentions leather (cuero). Needs further examination.

Family letter in Ladino. "To my mother-in-law in the place of my mother, after I and your daughter Rica kiss your hands: know how astonished we are that after your departure you have not sent us a single letter or an inquiry after our health, knowing how you left us heartbroken on account of your departure. If I had found someone with whom to send my letters, I would have sent you more than two letters. For this reason, we beg you, I and my wife, that with the first person who comes, please write to us of your health. Peace. Many greetings from me and from my wife to the very honorable Yosef Jayan (?) and to your [presumably here addressing Yosef] very honorable wife Doña Esther. Many greetings from my sister Qamar. [From] he who kisses your hand like your own son, ʿOvadya Dichachi (?)." ASE

Detailed accounts in Ladino, sums listed in Venezianos (probably Venetian ducats) and Muayyadis.

Book list in Ladino. On the last page of a literary midrashic work in Hebrew. "These are the books I bought here in Patras (Greece), it is good to know(?)" (אישטוש שון ליש לוברוש קי מירקי אקי אין פאטראש קון בייני אשאביר). Dating: Possibly ca. 1498 CE, if this belongs together with the next fragment. Entries include: Naḥmanides; Sefer ha-Agur; Ibn ʿEzra; Kad ha-Qemaḥ; Sefer Miṣvot ha-Qaṣar; commentary on the Moreh by אפ״ד; two books of liquṭim; a commentary on something ("the first book" or perhaps "the razon"?) of Avicenna and other matters; a commentary on the Higayon of Maimonides with other selections; the Intentions of the Philosophers (Kavanot ha-Pilosofim, the Hebrew translation of Maqāṣid al-Falāsifa) by "Abū Ḥamid" (=al-Ghazālī); an introduction to logic; the laws of Yom Kippur (or from Masekhet Yoma); Moshe Narboni's commentary on the Intentions of the Philosophers; Iggeret ha-Musar; Sefer ha-Malmad (of Jacob Anatoli); the book of Ibn Shuʿayb; Ḥovot ha-Levavot; and a few more. ASE

Letter in both Ladino and Spanish.

From a ledger containing several different types of writing: (1) accounts and fragments of letters in Hebrew script, at least partially in Ladino; (2) underlying printed text in Hebrew; (3) sections in Latin script, some of which are signed by a certain Johan.

Late fragment containing several doodles (practice signatures?) and three lines of writing in Hebrew script, perhaps in Ladino and Hebrew, but it is difficult to make sense of the words.

Letter from Daniel Levi Mondolfo to Avraham Krispin. In Ladino. Dating: 18th or 19th century. The sender signs his name in both Hebrew script and Latin script. He discusses previous correspondence between his location and Fustat/Cairo. Mentions his brother-in-law Efrayim, Se. סיוואיגרו, and Se. טילקי. Today, Yisrael Nunes received a shipment of garments, and he will send what was ordered as soon as the items are unloaded from the ship, along with the tobacco. On verso there is the remnant of a seal (red wax?) and part of the address, of which only the word Rashīd (Rosetta) is preserved. ASE.

Letter in Ladino signed by David Levi Mondolfo, who may be identical with the relatively well-documented man of the same name who was born in Trieste in 1797 and died outside Treviso in 1864.

Letter in Ladino from Reʾuven Miris or Mires and addressed to Avraham Krispin (Crespin) who on the address section is listed as being in "Mitzraim" (Cairo). In the heading this letter is dated 1787 CE (Iyyar [5]547). A wide array of numerical figures are expressed in silver medin coinage, which appears here though the abbreviation " מאיי ". The author also mentions having received a letter from Shmuel Hanan ("חנן" l. 14r) via Izmir. The Mediterranean sea itself is also mentioned in the phrase "אי סוברי לה מאר" (l. 12r). The verso appears to have been reused for numerical calculations. MCD.

Letter in Ladino, written probably in the first half of the 16h century. It mentions R. Abraham ibn Shoshan, whom Sambari lists amongst the exiles from Spain and is addressed to her brother by a certain Miriam. She had received her brother's letter after four or five days. Her brother had complained about her silence: "de lo ke me enviais a kulpar ke non vos eskrivo lo ke fallais mucho extrano presando de korason para deskuvrir mis sekretos ke non . . . verdadero sinon el mio y el vuestro ke de lo ajeno non toma la presona mas de lo ke kiere su dueiio. . . ." She continues to tell her brother about her disappointement at his absence in Passover: "erev Pesah mi senora enviome a dezir ke su venida non era por agora. El dio lo save la Paskua ke me dio, saviendo vos hermano ke vuestra letra son mis konsules (konsuelos?), por la palabra enviada a dezir fue demas, sabiendo vuestro corason, porke si fasta agora tenia senzillo el kuidado agora lo tiene doblado de vuestro deseo. Sabiendo vos komo estava los ojos al kamino, esperando ke su respuesta seria su vista. Agora faziendose otra manera, mira vos lo ke sentia. . . ." Information from Eleazar Gutwirth, "The Family in Judeo-Spanish Genizah Letters," 212. ASE.

Letter(s) in Ladino, with occasional sentences in Hebrew. The sender of the main letter has had an attack of "mal de ojo" (evil eye? or simply an eye disease?). Most of the letter deals with business matters, including the trade in indigo (אנייר) and wine. Mentions many people, including ʿOvadya; Shemuel Amato; Moshe ʿOvadya; Moshe Botaril. Mentions places such as Alexandria and Crete. Addressed to Yaʿaqov Kapiloti (?קאפילוטי). Needs further examination.

Letter in Ladino, nearly complete but with numerous lacunae, from a mother to her daughter, addressed to her son-in-law Yaʿaqov Reshit (?) in Saida. The writer was expecting deliveries of several items, mostly fabrics (e.g. a cortina and a mandīl; she has also sent a vela to the addressee) but some obscure commodities as well (e.g. טובאזֿא/טובאכֿא and פאניין). However, it seems most of the expected items have not arrived. The writer repeatedly rebukes the addressee for this failure. "I will not send you anything until your sister. . . ." She is also disgruntled about learning about her new grandson through a third party: "You did not write me to tell me that you gave birth to a boy. I already found out, barukh hashem, no thanks to you. And peace. Kisses to the boys from me. And peace." Her signature seems disgruntled as well: "That which you wish to see, that I, your mother, write to you." In a postscript she sends regards to her son-in-law. Verso contains the address in Hebrew, along with various other jottings. ASE.

Small fragment preserving a few words in Ladino.

ENA 1822a.82: Accounts in Ladino and western Arabic numerals that can be dated as c.1732CE through the joins ENA NS 39.2 and ENA NS 27.7. Some of the verso's listed entries begin with the Judeo-Arabic word "wuṣūl / ווצול" which may be listed with a Ladino plural ending as "wuṣūles de" and may indicate incoming payments (l. 5-6v). The verso also lists names, such as: Abd Raḥman and Khalīl Effendi. MCD.