Geniza Lab

Recto: Partnership record. Dating: 1096. Written in the hand of Hillel ben Eli. Describes a settlement between Yaḥyā and Abū al-Barakāt Mevorakh. Abū al-Barakāt Mevorakh loans 210 dinars to and places some agricultural commodities with Yaḥyā. Yaḥyā agrees to take upon himself the maintenance of the poor of Fusṭāṭ for a year in the event of nonrepayment. The repayments do not appear here because this would have been recorded only on the debtor’s copy of the loan agreement. Yaḥyā’s testimony that he paid his debt wouldn't be accepted without these records, but testimony by Abū al-Barakāt Mevorakh (the creditor) is to be accepted without such condition. Verso: Court record. Dating: 1116. Part of a court record detailing a different partnership. Abū al-Surūr Simḥa ha-Kohen brings a power of attorney to pursue the claims of the brothers Abū al-Ma‘ālī and Abū al-Wafā Tamīm b. Yeshu‘a regarding a partnership held by their dead brother Mevorakh, with Yaḥyā (the same Yaḥyā from the recto) and Abū al-Ḥusayn the money-changer. The structure of the partnership is unclear, but it seems likely that Mevorakh was an investor and Abū al-Barakāt had always been the active partner. Upon Mevorakh’s death, Yaḥyā and Abū Ḥusayn claim 2/3 of the partnership assets, leaving Simḥa to collect the remaining 1/3 for Mevorakh’s heirs. The verso is written in a different hand from the recto, likely that of Nissim b. Naḥray. Signed by Barukh b. Yiṣḥaq, the chief judge of Aleppo. The connection between the two documents is Abū al-Barakāt and Yaḥyā. Per Goitein, this Abū al-Barakāt is not the Mevorakh mentioned on the recto but rather Abū al-Barakāt Mevorakh b. Shelomo al-Ḥalabī, and Yaḥyā is Abū al-Ḥasan Yaḥyā ha-Kohen b. Shemuel ha-Kohen al-Baghdādī. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 56-60)

Page of the record book of the rabbinical court of Fustat, in the hand of Hillel b. Eli. Trimmed at top, bottom and one side. Recto: a bill of sale or a quittance. Verso: Top contains last lines of a record dated last day of Nissan, 1472 Sel. = 14 April 1116, signed by Nissim b. Nahray; Avraham b. Shemaya he-haver. Main entry is a legal document also dated 1116 (4427), citing a document written by the chief rabbi of Aleppo, Barukh b. Yishaq, a power of attorney for Abu Surur Simha ha-Kohen, representing the brothers Abu l-Ma'ali and Abu l-Wafa, and Abu l-Ḥasan al-Halabi al-Sayrafi. (Information from Goitein's 8.5x11 notes; see attached scan).

Legal document. Apprenticeship agreement. Dated December 1150 or January 1151. Location: Fustat. Written in the jurisdiction of Shemuel b. Ḥananya ha-Nagid, between Abū al-Faraj al-Musta‘mil b. Shelomo and Hillel b. Sālim. Abū al-Faraj gives Hillel 100 dirhams as an absolute debt and the latter agrees to work until the amount is repaid. If Hillel wishes to leave this employment, he must pay the entire balance of the debt. It seems that Abū al-Faraj is also to pay Hillel a wage, though the amount is unspecified. Repayment of the debt is to be recorded on the document itself. Abū al-Faraj is referred to as "his teacher", though his trade is not clear from the document; he is simply called "the [government] employee". This and the fact that Hillel indentures himself to Abū al-Faraj with the loan, suggests an apprenticeship relationship, though the nature of the work itself is unclear. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 63-64)

Legal document. Partnership agreement. Location: Bilbays. Dated: January 1209. This document is a partnership agreement in a perfume- and dye-manufacturing shop. The partners, Faḍā’il b. Abū al-Ḥasan and Manṣūr b. Abū Sa‘īd, contribute a total of 700 dirhams (200 and 500 dirhams respectively). The document doesn't use the formal terms shirka or mu‘āmala to describe their relationship, but the parties attest to "having partnered" in the shop. Both partners seem to work in the operation, profits and losses are generally to be split equally, and weekly maintenance is specified for each party. Manṣūr seems to be the senior partner; he brings more assets to the partnership, and the facility itself may belong to him, as he is allocated 4 dirhams of rent for the shop each month. However, income from the sale of scent sachets was allocated to Faḍā’il, who may have produced these alone without Manṣūr's assistance. Written and signed by Yehuda b. Tuvyahu he-Ḥaver ha-Kohen, Meshullam b. Mevorakh and Berakhot b. Elazar ha-Ḥazzan. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 73-74) The verso is a bifolium of a bible.

Legal document. Court record. Dated: 1084. Location: Fustat. This document contains a partial court record of a partnership between Yefet b. Wad‘a and Abū Zikrī. While Abū Zikrī was away travelling, Yefet invited Sa‘āda to join the partnership, for which Sa‘āda was to be paid 1.5 dirhams each day. Sa‘āda purchased henna for the partnership, and he called the court to validate his testimony that the value of the henna had dropped. As Yefet both invited Sa‘āda to the partnership in the absence of Abū Zikrī and agreed to pay him a daily wage, he appears to have been either the senior partner or a passive investor, while Abū Zikrī and Sa‘āda are active partners. Given that Yefet has invited Sa‘āda to join the extant partnership (instead of contracting a new partnership with Sa‘āda) Yefet and Abū Zikrī likely both had capital investments in the intial partnership, and Yefet had the task of investing the joint capital while Abū Zikrī pursued other trading opportunities. Unusually, the agreement between Sa‘āda and the other two partners required him to take an oath attesting to partnership accounts should the partnership assets lose value. The remainder of the document (lines 8-28) is a draft of a marriage agreement of a couple who were divorced in Tyre and subsequently reconciled in al-Mahalla. It provides specifics as to the dowry (including money, textiles and clothing, a drinking cup, and a mirror) but lacks the names of the relevant parties. This fragment may have been a page from a notary’s register. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 75-76)

Legal document. Partnership agreement. Dating: 1007-1055 (speculative). This document records a partnership agreement between Manṣūr b. Israel ha-Levi and Mas‘ūd b. Mevorakh, who placed 200 gold pieces and 10 gold pieces, respectively, in a common purse. It is unclear whether both parties, or just Mas‘ūd, engaged in active trading, though line 19 and the fact that they were both active in trading suggests an unlimited partnership between them. Profits are to be split equally despite the fact that one of the partners has provided over 95% of the partnership capital, a division which violates the Ḥanafī mufāwaḍa model (see Udovitch 1970, p.48). The full date is not preserved, only the month and the first two digits of the year remain. The signatures suggest that the document may date from the period of Efrayim b. Shemarya, 1007-1055. Signatories: Avraham b. Ghālib, Moshe b. David ha-Levi, ‘Ezrōn b. [?] ha-Kohen, and Hussein Efrayim b. Shemarya. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 78)

Legal document. Record of release. Dating: March 1097. Written in the hand of Hillel b. Eli. This fragment seems to be the continuation a document, the beginning of which is TS 16.87 (PGPID 4094). In the section preserved here, Abū al-Faraj Nathaniel b. Moses and his brother Abū al-Barakāt Aaron release Abū al-Baqā Samuel b. Nathan the Ḥaver from obligations in a long-distance trading partnership which had taken their father, apparently the active partner, to Tripoli or Lebanon. The release clauses absolve Samuel from any further obligation in either “a partnership (shirka)” or “a commenda (muḍāraba)”. Although this fragment cannot be seamlessly joined to TS 16.87, that both documents are concerned with the partnership suggests that they go together. This evidence is strengthened by the fact that TS 16.87 is dated to the twenty-first of Adar in the year 1097, which was a Sunday; this could have been three days before the "Wednesday the twenty-fourth" mentioned in line 23 of this document as the delayed date of execution. While most of the bulk of the document is written by Hillel b. Eli (also a signatory), the notarization is written in different handwriting and attests to the fact that the undersigned witnesses recognized the signatures of the initial witnesses. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 81-82)

Legal document. Apprenticeship agreement. Dated: Thursday, 25 Tishri 1339 (September 1027). Location: Fustat. Written in the hand of Yefet b. David. Bishr b. Efrayim apprentices his son Yosef to the weaver Barhūn b. Yiḥye for a period of four months, for which Yosef is to be paid 15 dirhams a month. By the end of this period, Yosef should have gained competence in working the loom; if not, the apprenticeship is to be renewed for an additional four months and his wage is to be raised to that of an ordinary worker. Barhūn promises to feed Yosef for the entire period, subtracting the cost of maintenance from his wages. He also promises that Yosef will learn the craft. Yosef must have been quite young since it is his father rather than he who makes the contract, but the parties clearly thought that Yosef’s acceptance and understanding of the terms of the contract to have been important, because the contract's conditions were read to him and he agreed with them. The agreement was executed in the court at the synagogue of the Palestinians and signed by Yefet b. David and Shelomo b. Ḥakīm. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 71-73)

In this incompletely preserved contract, Yosef Lebdi provided merchandise worth 460 dinars with which the active partner Khalluf would trade. Lebdi will receive three-quarters of the profits and Khalluf one quarter. The contract is described as mudarabat al-tujjar, a merchants' commenda, which normally provides for a division of two-thirds and one third of the profit. Here the active partner did not make an investment on his side and so his share in the profits was lower.

Fragment of a late partnership agreement.

Legal document(s). Probably a draft. Small and damaged fragment in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi. Includes part of a partnership contract between Abū Saʿīd and another person for doing business in a shop. A sum of 200 dinars is mentioned. On verso there is additional text, likely the continuation. AA. ASE.

Partnership release. Dated: 1091. Location: Fustat. Verso: Avraham b. Yeshuʿa ha-Kohen irreversibly releases Abū al-Faḍl/Abū al-Mufaḍḍal Netanel b. Yefet from any obligations concerning a partnership. Avraham had purchased two baskets of indigo and silk as an investment on behalf of his Alexandrian partners – the silk was damaged on its initial journey to Fusṭāṭ and Avraham liquidated it completely, settling the balance with Nathaniel and terminating the partnership. Abraham’s partners include Nathaniel’s mother and sister (see lines 23 and 27-31). The recto is another partnership agreement (for which the verso is possibly a draft), which reveals Abraham to be an investor (not the active partner), investing funds with Peraḥ/Peraḥya ha-Kohen, who also adds funds and takes the total to Damascus to import goods to Fusṭāṭ. The partnership is to last the duration of a single trip to Damascus, and Peraḥ is to receive half of the profits to Abraham’s capital as well as all profits to his own capital. Peraḥ is liabile for losses, as with the isqra. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 65-66)

Legal document. Record of release. Dated: April or May 1164. In the hand of judge Mevorakh b. Natan. Abū l-ʿAlāʾ b. Bū Sahl al-Jubaylī (aka Shemuel b. Yehuda) accepts seven dinars from Abū l-Maʿālī Shemuel b. Yehuda which had been on deposit with the court, and absolves him from any further obligations relating to the deposit. The seven dinars were a pledge that was deposited with the court; thus the first and third clauses of this release may be related to the deposit and the last two may be related to the relationship between the two parties. If so, then shirka and mu‘āmala are clearly related partnership structures, both employed to insure that the release covers the partnership relationship, whether one would choose to describe it as a shirka or as a mu‘āmala. It is unclear exactly what sort of relationship the parties here have. The document may simply have been the disposition of assets of a partnership which was between Abū l-ʿAlāʾ and Shemuel's late father, as lines 3-4 suggest that the Shemuel’s father is dead, whereas line 6 absolves the deceased father from any further obligation. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 42-43)

Legal document. Partnership agreement in a press (?maʿṣara). In Hebrew. Location: Fustat. Dated: Sunday 4 Tamuz 5275 AM, which is 1515 CE. Currencies: Peraḥim. The four partners are Avraham Talmid, David Alfandre(?), Shelomo Aguilar, and Yosef Sevillia (Shebillia?). Signed by three witnesses (none of whom are the partners), including Me'ir Saragosi. There is a note or addendum on the back.

Letter from Salāma b. Mūsā of Sfax, in Mazar, Sicily, to his partner Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. The longest letter in the Geniza. Dating: Early 1060s according to Ben-Sasson, based on the military disruptions mentioned. 7 September 1064 according to Gil, based on his identification of the battle discussed as that between the Qā'id of Sfax and the Zīrid ruler Tamīm b. Muʿizz on that date. Many details about a wide variety of commodities are mentioned, as well as financial transactions. "In essence, this long letter had a single purpose: to convince Yehuda b. Sughmār, Salāma's partner, not to dissolve the relationship between them." Salāma in fact agrees to the dissolution of the formal partnership (ṣuḥba), "I got your letters this year, and you swore that you wanted to dissolve. I want this to happen even more than you do. If the partnership continues there will be discord. . . . Now we no longer feel as we used to, when we relied on each other" (v4–5, 30). Despite this, Salāma suggests other ways of continuing their relationship, including Yehuda's mentoring of Nissim, a new junior associate Salāma is sending to him, and Yehuda's sending Salāma some goods in agency. Jessica Goldberg, Trade and Institutions, pp. 296–99 ("Salāma b. Mūsā's Disastrous Year"). Salāma opens with his shock and dismay at the letters full of blame that he had received from Yehuda. "I had expected you to congratulate me on my survival in al-Mahdiyya, my deliverance from destruction, and the terrible ordeal (al-mawqif al-ʿaẓīm, also mentioned in r23) that I would not wish on anyone. I was bound (kutiftu) and almost killed (or executed, ʿuriḍtu ʿalā l-sayf) four times (or five—the ink is flaked here). Even if there were no partnership (sharika), love, (mawadda), or association (ṣuḥba) between us, this would have been incumbent on you. Now, more than one year later, the terror has not subsided, rather the fright remains in my heart. My greatest trial in al-Mahdiyya was my concern for your business. . . ." Interestingly, when Salāma mentions Yehuda's illnesses of last year (mā laḥaqak tilk al-sana min al-ḍuʿf wa-l-tawajjuʿ, r75), there is not a word of the usual sympathy or congratulations on his recovery. Gil understands Halper 414 to be a follow-up from this letter; Goldberg believes that Halper 414, a small sheet, was inserted into Halper 389, which seems to agree with Goitein, who calls it a "continuation" of Halper 389 (see Goitein notes linked to PGPID 35364). Information from Goldberg, Ben-Sasson, and Gil. ASE; MR

Letter from Salāma b. Mūsā Safāquṣī (Māzar) to Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār, 1064. This letter is a follow-up from the letter in Halper 389 (Gil) that hints at the possibility of breaking up the partnership between the sender and the recipient. In this letter, Salāma b. Mūsā Safāquṣī demonstrates his readiness to make concessions in settling their accounts and is prepared to bear himself the loss of 60 dinars. He expresses his wish to continue with the partnership. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, p. 475. See also Goitein notes.) (Formerly PGPID 5735)

Letter from Salāma b. Mūsā Safāquṣī, probably from Mazara, Sicily, to Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār (Alexandria), ca. 1055. Salāma b. Mūsā intends to buy a house in Mazara. The letter describes the writer’s conflict with local Jews who are plotting against him, and mentions a ban of excommunication declared against them. Salāma b. Mūsā asks for goods to be sent with various people and expresses a wish to renew the partnership agreement with Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, p. 431. See also Goitein notes linked below.) There are photostats and an edition in Goitein's notes (to be uploaded).

Legal document. Power of attorney. Dated: 1115. Location: Al-Maḥalla. ʿOvadya b. Efrayim ha-Levi Rosh ha-Qahal empowers 'ḥemdat ha-yeshiva' Avraham b. Natan ha-Sheviʿi to money owed to him ("from a partnership and a claim and a rental") on his behalf. ʿOvadya not only states that he has not retained Avraham only "to advance my cause and not to subvert [it]", but also that he will accept whatever the court rules, in stock halachic phrasing. The agent, Avraham b. Natan, is well-known from Geniza documents (Cohen 1980, pp.130-131) identifies him in the circle of the Head Mevorakh b. Saadya, noting that he acted as a mediator in other business affairs. His role in this document seems to have been settling the matter of the partnership, perhaps in court. Two of the witnesses to the power of attorney, Zakkay b. Shelomo and ʿEli b. Shelomo, may have been brothers. Also signed by Yehuda b. Shemuel and validated by Aharon b. Yeshuʿa ha-Rofe and Avraham b. Yeshuʿa. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 92-93)

Legal document. Partnership agreement. Dated: 18 January 1061. Location: Fustat. This document initiates a partnership in the ritual washing of corpses. Sulaymān b. Ḥusayn and his son Isḥaq take on a third partner, Daʾūd b. Ḥasan (nicknamed Abū Jaʿd, "Curly"), who will receive a quarter of all revenues. The three worked in shifts, with one on duty at any given time, but the other two partners agree to work outside of their regularly scheduled shifts if necessary. Isḥaq’s share in the profits is not stipulated. All funds are to be given to Suleyman, suggesting that Isḥaq and Dāwūd may have been his apprentices. No partnership term is given. The document states explicitly that the terms of the contract are immutable. Signed by: ʿEli b. ʿAmram ha-Levi; Shemuel b. Avraham; and Surūr b. Ḥayyim Ibn Sabra. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 95)

Late partnership agreement between Khalīfa [...], Faraj Zanzūrī (?), Yiṣḥaq Zanzūrī (?), Avraham Pinto, and Barukh [...]. The partnership is to last for 3 years. The currencies named are muayyadis and reales.