Geniza Lab

Shelomo b. Eliyyahu writes to a relative (his father-in-law Abū l-Faraj?) complaining about the behavior of Abū l-Barakāt (Sitt Ghazāl’s paternal uncle and Shelomo’s first cousin), who sent a letter to Abū l-Faḍl b. ‘Atā’ b. Ḥasan inquiring about Shelomo's mistreatment of his wife Sitt Ghazāl. Abū l-Faḍl confronted Shelomo after he exited the synagogue. This behavior sickened Shelomo, who alludes four times to his “relapse” (naksah). Shelomo complains that Abū l-Barakāt sees himself as too important and Shelomo as too inconsequential to write directly to him, instead involving strangers in the matter. Those who extend greetings are Shelomo, Sitt Ghazāl, his father (Eliyyahu the Judge), his mother (Sitt Rayḥān), his brother the physician Abū Zikri, his brother-in-law Simḥah, his maternal aunt (and mother-in-law) Umm Abū l-‘Izz, and her son Abū l-‘Izz. Greetings are extended to the recipient, to Abū l-Barakāt with blessings for his son, and to their father Abū l-Ḥasan (Shelomo’s paternal uncle). Sitt al-Fakhr and her daughter are also mentioned. Cf. Mediterranean Society, III, p. 435 and Goitein's index cards.

Letter signed by Shelomo, to his father Eliyyahu the judge, asking him to purchase something for the writer and to reply quickly. The writer sends greetings to Simḥa (ha-Kohen b. Shelomo), Eliyyahu's son-in-law. (Information in part from CUDL)

Verso: Note in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu. In Judaeo-Arabic. Asking the addressee to pay the bearer one dirham, "because the need for it is urgent." This is written on the back of a torn fragment of a legal document from the time of the Nagid Avraham Maimonides. (Information from Cohen.) AA.

Legal document from the time of Avraham Maimonides (1205-1237) regarding a debt of 96 dirhams. Written by Shlomo b. Eliyyahu. AA

Letter from Shelomo ha-Melammed (=Shelomo b. Eliyyahu) to the teacher Abū l-ʿIzz. In Judaeo-Arabic. Concerning money owed. Mentions Abū l-Munā and Ibn al-Dihqān. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Letter to the doctor Abu Zikri b. Eliyyahu to his brother Shelomo b. Eliyyahu (early 13th century). EMS (Information from CUDL)

Legal document draft in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu about a gift from his father of almost all his books and copper vessels; brother Abu Zikri gets only a few small books.

Letter from Eliyyahu the Judge to his son Shelomo (Abu l-Barakāt). The writer asks Shelomo to come immediately to his mother, who is ill, because he has to travel to Alexandria to find a bride for R. Yishaq. (Information in part from Goitein's index card). VMR. ASE.

Recto: Letter from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to someone with the title al-Shaykh al-Rashīd. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 1218–38 CE, based on the name of the sultan al-Malik al-Kāmil, which appears on verso. Shelomo begs forgiveness (mustaʿdhir) for something having to do with his need to study more (? al-qirā'a ʿalā _____) and benefit from the addressee's wisdom. Verso: Remnants of accounts in Judaeo-Arabic and jottings in Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script, including phrases from a formal letter/petition. ASE.

Legal queries (2) in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu, one about niddah, another about oaths, addressed to Abraham Maimuni.

Letter fragment in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu.

Letter from Shelomo to his brother Abu Zikri.

Recto: Letter from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to a certain Abū l-Surūr (probably an elder relative, since he is addressed as "father"). In Judaeo-Arabic. Faded and damaged, and only the upper part is preserved. Verso: Draft of a generic legal document—a "trial of style," according to Goitein. Location: Fustat. Dated: Thursday, 29 Tammuz 1536 Seleucid, which is 1225 CE, under the authority of Avraham Maimonides. Probably written by Judge Eliyyahu b. Zekharya (AA). (Information from Goitein's index cards) EMS.

Letter from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to the ra’is (leader) concerning commercial matters, in particular an issue regarding the price of a small scale (mizan saghir) that was purchased, and a note about silk. Abu Fadl is mentioned. EMS

Letter probably in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu (d. 1230s) addressed to someone he calls "the great rabbi." In Judaeo-Arabic. The letter consists entirely of expressions of deference, blessings for the holiday, and greetings to various people, including 'the noble lady' (al-sitt al-jalīla), 'the mother,' and Bū Zikrī (probably Shelomo's brother). (Information in part from CUDL and Goitein's notes.) EMS

Accounts, dated October 1230 CE, in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu, referring to a cellar (maṭmūra) in his father’s house with 117 jugs of wine. Most of the wines are described as ‘crossbred’ (muwallad), and just 10 are described as ‘real wine’ (khamr). (Information from CUDL.) See also DK 201.2.

Letter from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu (aka Barakāt b. Abū l-Faraj al-Dayyān) to a physician named Abū l-Maḥāsin (titled al-Shaykh al-Sadīd). In Arabic script with one word in Hebrew. Dating: Early 13th century. The first ~9 lines are standard introductory fare and blessings for the holidays. The last two lines probably contain a request concerning Dāʾūd al-[...]. The letter may have been abandoned unfinished.

Accounts of a slaughterer, written, it seems, by Shelomo b. Eliyyahu. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 227, 228, 571)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Likely Tammuz 1232 CE, and almost definitely 1232–37 CE. See below for explanation. Writer and addressee are unidentified. The writer dictated the letter to his son. They were evidently affluent merchants and suppliers to the army. The letter is mainly about the controversy over the prayer reforms of the Nagid Avraham Maimonides. The sons of the Sixth (the family members of the previous dynasty of Nagids) submitted a petition against Avraham to the Sultan al-Malik al-ʿĀdil, to which Avraham responded with a counter-petition signed by almost 200 people from the community, testifying that he had not forced his prayer reforms on anybody. The writer maintains that all those who signed in favor of Avraham testified falsely and deserve to be punished by the shaving of their beards, for he claims that Avraham certainly did force his prayer reforms on the community in their synagogues. The writer goes on to report on recent deaths, including that of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu (who predeceased his father) and Yūsuf b. al-Kharrāz (who ate dinner and went to sleep and died; in the morning, his face was "black as ink"). There is a section on the prices of various commodities, a section on relations with the military officer Kātib al-ʿArab, and greetings. As for the justification for the dating: Avraham Maimonides died in 1237. There were two sultans named al-Malik al-ʿĀdil. The first was the brother of Saladin and reigned 1200–18. The second was the grandson of the first (the son of al-Malik al-Kāmil) and reigned 1238–40, after the death of Avraham Maimonides. However, during the years 1232–38 when al-Malik al-Kāmil lived in Syria, al-Malik al-ʿĀdil the Younger sometimes represented his father in Egypt. Goitein determined that the reference must be to al-Malik al-ʿĀdil the First, which would date the document to 1204–18. But the plot thickens, because Shelomo b. Eliyyhau—whose death is reported in this document—was still alive in the month of Av in 1231 CE (Med Soc II, 575 n. 60) and Heshvan 1231 CE (Freer F 1908.44H). The present letter is dated Sunday 5 Tammuz. This narrows the window to 1232–37 CE. The trouble is that the 5th of Tammuz can never fall on a Sunday.... so either the scribe was off by a day or meant to write 15th of Tammuz. The latter option is supported by the phrase "may its sadness be turned to joy," which might refer to the upcoming 17th of Tammuz fast. (Information mainly from Friedman's article on this document; see also Mediterranean Society, I, p. 141; II, p. 485).

Probably part of an address, mentioning the sender Shelomo, son of the judge Elijah. (Information from CUDL)