Geniza Lab

Letter from the Karaite Natan b. Yiṣḥaq, Jerusalem, to his teacher Shelomo b. David b. al-'Arishi, Fustat, approximately 1050.

Legal document in Arabic script. Declaration (iqrār). Dating: Perhaps 14th century, on paleographic grounds. The Qaraite Mūsā b. ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq b. ʿAbd al-Karīm confirms to have received from the Qaraite [...] b. ʿAbd al-Karīm b. Yūsuf known as Ibn Kūjik(?) something to do with the endowments (awqāf) of the Qaraite community. Information from Baker/Polliack catalog and Goitein's note card.

Letter from a Qaraite religious authority to a pupil. In Judaeo-Arabic. Containing the answers to a number of queries that the addressee had sent him. Chief among them is the proper interpretation of beginning the counting of the Omer on "the morrow of the Sabbath" (Leviticus 23:15–16)—a famous bone of exegetical contention. Rabbanites interpret it as the day after the first yom ṭov of Passover, while Qaraites interpret it as the day after the shabbat that falls during Passover. This writer presents various arguments and proofs and says, "And no one can dispute this with some tradition (i.e. Oral Torah) that they know of. . . because they did not see the messenger, and they are just deriving it (?yastamiddū) from us." There follows a somewhat cryptic analogy to whether or not we believe what a clothier says about the price of his merchandise. There are several additional exegetical issues broached here, and verso reads, "the answer/responsum to the query on 'the morrow of the Sabbath.'" ASE

Qaraite deed of betrothal. Fiance: Jābir b. Azhar. Fiancee: Ḥusn bt. Ḥayyim b. Sahlawaya. The witnesses to the appointing of the bride’s agent - probably her father - were Elʿazar b. Menashshe and Natan b. […]. The groom is mistakenly referred to as Azhar b. Jābir at one point in the text. The date is lost but the bride’s father and grandfather are known from other documents from the early-to-mid 11th century, suggesting a date of ca. 1030s–1040s CE for this betrothal. The groom may be the same individual referred to in T-S 13J26.2, where he is described as a merchants’ representative in Tinnis. On verso there is a commentary on the creation of Adam and the notion of shame (possibly on Genesis 2:25), followed by a didactic teaching on ḥiddushim (innovative interpretations) and yediʿa (knowledge). (Information mainly from CUDL.)

Leaves from a Qaraite book of formularies. 7 leaves (2 bifolia and 3 separate leaves). One folio contains a divorce formula, and two folios (edited by Olszowy-Schlanger) contain a marriage formula. Formula to be used in Jerusalem [?]. There is also an Islamic text in Judaeo-Arabic, concerning the beginnings of Islam and the Prophet Muḥammad and containing part of a very interesting genealogy: بن هاشم بن عب[...] بن اليوسع بن نبا[...] بن فهر بن كنانة بن [...] بن قيدار بن اسمعيل [...] بن رعو بن فالغ بن [...] نوح. Information in part from CUDL and FGP.

Leaves from a Karaite book of formularies, containing formulae for betrothal, divorce, and liturgy for mourning the dead, for use in Jerusalem and Ramla. The year is given according to the Exile, and according to the Seleucid Era, corresponding to 1009 CE.

Small fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. "I read your [letter] and understood all you mentioned. . . As for what you mentioned about the Qaraite (? al-qara) with you. . . " Nothing more remains.

Legal document: Qaraite ketubba from Ramla, part only. Yaʿaqov b. David al-Shulḥanī (groom) and Sayyida bat Wahb al-ʿArḍī (bride). Location: Ramla. Dated: Wednesday, 10 Elul 1403 after the Babylonian Exile (= 1006 CE), in Ramla. The bride’s agent is Menaḥem b. Iyyov al-Ḥalabī, and his appointment was witnessed by David b. Yiṣḥaq ha-Kohen, the scribe, and Khalaf b. […]. The extensive trousseau list of the wealthy bride includes tunics, cushions, mattresses, boxes of ḥalanj wood, several buckets, and houses in Ramla, Ibn Ṣafar-Street, next to the house of Shelomo b. [Ḥayyim]. Witnessed by Faraj b. Mevasser ha-Levi, Ṣemaḥ b. […], Efraim b. Yehuda, Yosef b. […], and Yaʿaqov b. […]. (Information from CUDL.)

Marriage contract, Qaraite. Formulary. Location: Fustat/Cairo. Dated: 5537 AM, which is 1776/77 CE.

There are ~10 documents sharing this shelfmark. 546/9: Letter from the Qaraite community of Damascus (specifically Yosef ha-Kohen Khāṭir) to the Qaraite community of Fustat/Cairo (specifically Yaʿaqov Ṣāliḥ). In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late, probably no earlier than 16th century.

Marriage contract, Qaraite. Location: Cairo. Dated: 7 Shevat 5480 AM, which is 1720 CE. Groom: Nissim b. ʿAmram b. Shemuel. Bride: ʿAzīza bt. Yeshuʿa b. Avraham.

Marriage contract, Qaraite. Location: Cairo. Dated: Wednesday, 24 Shevat 549[2] AM = 2043 Seleucid, which is 1732 CE. Groom: Shelomo b. Aharon b. Shelomo ha-Kohen. Bride: Neḥama bt. Shemuel b. Eliyyahu ha-Levi, virgin. Basic marriage payment: 50 silver pieces. Early marriage payment: 200 large medins. Delayed marriage payment: 800 large medins. Witnesses (named in the document): Nissim b. ʿAmram b. Shemuel ha-Rofe; Naḥum b. Aharon b. Yaʿaqov ha-Kohen. Bride's agent: her father. Among the conditions is the stipulation that if the wife is childless, all her property will revert to her blood-relatives and she will not have a right to the delayed marriage payment. Witness signatures: Yehuda; Yaʿaqov Levi; Aharon Kohen; Yeshuʿa Ḥazzan (called "al-ʿāqid"; "in the house of the groom").

Marriage contract, Qaraite. Location: Cairo. Dated: Adar 1810 Seleucid, which is 1499 CE. Groom: Elazar. Bride: Esther Sutayta bt. Yosef ha-Levi. Quite faded and damaged, but should be mostly legible.

Marriage contract, Qaraite. Location: Cairo. Dated: Sivan 5500 AM = 2051 Seleucid, which is 1740 CE. Groom: Yiṣḥaq b. Shelomo b. Yiṣḥaq. Bride: Raḥel bt. Yiṣḥaq.

One of two separate texts of a ketubba (marriage contract) written for the same Karaite - Rabbanite 'mixed marriage' and preserved on a single fragment, one text on either side, ca. 1011-1037.

Legal document in a gathering of the Karaites in Cairo, mentioning the instrument of the herem to elicit information concerning a rumor some women had heard about a husband. NB: This description and transcription are to be merged with PGPID 2728.

Legal document. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: Monday night, 13 Iyyar 1744 Seleucid, which is 1433 CE. Concerning repairs in a house that is a pious foundation for the poor (ṣaʿālīk) of the Qaraite community. On verso is an addendum. (Information in part from Goitein, Med Soc II, p. 435 (Appendix A, #174)) ASE