Geniza Lab

Letter fragment in the hand of Avraham b. Farah al-Iskandarani, in Alexandria, to one of the merchants in Fustat, regarding shipments being forwarded to the addressee. Dated 1056 CE. (Information from Gil)

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda, probably to Efrayim b. Shemarya, praising the addressee and complaining about a Fusṭaṭ man, probably Sahlan b. Abraham, particularly concerning the latter’s preference for the title bestowed by the Babylonian yeshiva to that of the Jerusalem yeshiva. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Mevasser b. David in Damsis to Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat, ca. 1053. The main issue discussed in the letter is an argument between Mevasser and Nahray on the one side and a Christian on the other side. The Christian had financial claims which were not deemed acceptable by Mevasser. Mevasser b. David complains about financial difficulties, especially since he left Mahdiyya where his family remained and lost his property during travels. He anticipates a difficult year for his family, due to famine and rising prices. The letter refers to pearl and book trade and gives the recipient the power of attorney for a sale of silk. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, pp. 299-300 and Goitein notes linked below.)

Letter from Masliah b. Yehuda of Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim in which he asks for help retrieving some money that his associates in Fustat still owed him. EMS

Letter from Hillel b. Yeshuʿa he-ḥaver the cantor, in Tiberias, to Shela/Sahlān b. Avraham he-ḥaver, in Fusṭāṭ, regarding help for the leper community in Tiberias. Dating to late 1034 CE. (Information from CUDL.) See also Goitein's index card. L-G Misc. 25 and T-S 10J12.22 are two copies of the same letter.

Letter in the hand of Shemu’el he-Ḥaver ha-Meʿulle b. Moshe he-Ḥaver, in Tyre, to Efrayim he-Ḥaver b. Shemarya he-Ḥasid, in Fusṭāṭ, concerning two sisters, Sittān, wife of Ṣedaqa b. Ezra, and Sarah, wife of Ḥalfon ha-Levi b. Yefet, of the Tyre Jewish community, who are trying to claim their inheritance after their father, Ḥalfon, died in Fusṭāṭ, as well as other financial affairs involving members of each community. Dated to c. 1045 CE. Samuel writes his name surrounded by a motto at the foot of the page. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat to Abu Ishaq Barhun b. Musa in Busir. Contains multiple references to jahbadh fees, as well as mention of a rūznāma (variant of rūznāmaj).

Letter. Petition in Hebrew of which only the first 20 lines, containing introductory wishes, have been preserved. The letter contained a request for help. The letter is written by Tamim b. Tobias from Aleppo around 1036-1037. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Avraham b. Natan in Tyre to Nahray b. Nissim. Dating: ca. 1090–93. During these years, Avraham b. Natan had to flee Tyre due to Munir al-Dawla's revolt. It was during these years that Avraham b. Natan tried to establish his position in Alexandria and al-Mahalla, an attempt reflected in this letter. On Avraham b. Natan's residence in Alexandria see M. Gil, 'Scroll of Evyatar,' p. 89 lines 29-30. See also Goitein, Med. Soc. Vol. 5, p. 596 no. 19. (Information from Frenkel).

Letter fragment written by Sahlān b. Abraham, quoting from Jeremiah 17:17 and Zephaniah 3:12. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Farah b. Yosef Qabisi in Alexandria to Abu al-'Ala Sa'id b. Naja al-Dimashqi ('Ulla ha-Levi b. Yosef). Dating: ca. 1065. Concerns the dispatch of three consignments of merchandise. (Information from Gil, and Goitein's index cards)

Letter from a certain Yosef, probably in Fustat, to Yosef b. Josiah. The writer expresses disappointment at the fact that the addressee has changed his mind and would not give a donation which he promised to give.

Letter from the sister of Yeshuʿa b. Ismāʿīl al-Makhmūrī, in Tripoli, Libya, to her brother Yeshuʿa b. Ismāʿīl al-Makhmūrī. In the handwriting of ʿAllūsh the shammash. Dating: ca. 1065. While Yeshuʿa is dealing with the import and export of goods, his sister asks for help because she is in a very bad situation. T-S 10J19.20 is another version of the same letter (differences are noted in curly brackets in this partial translation). "I have been waiting all year for a letter from you to learn your news. The fuyūj came, and I did not see a letter. {This increased the preoccupation of my heart.} I went out to inquire about your news, and they told me you were ill (ḍaʿīf). I went out of my mind. {I fasted and wept and did not change my clothing or enter the bath, neither I nor your sister.} I vowed not to eat during the day, not to change my clothing, and not to enter the bath, neither I nor my daughter, until your letter arrived with your news. The ships arrived, and I went down, with my hand on my heart, to hear your news. The men came down and told us that you were well. I thanked God who made the end good." Goitein, and later Krakowski, used this letter to illustrate the intense affective bonds between brother and sister, as well as the notion of fasting as an intercession for a loved one who is sick (Goitein, Med Soc V, p. 97). Yet it is also the case that their relationship has lapsed—the brother has not contacted the sister in a year, not even sending greetings in his letter to Tammām ("my heart was wounded by this"). In the meantime, she has fallen into terrible financial difficulties. Her vows of self-negation and insistent repetition of "I have nobody except God and you" are also a demonstration of how much the sister has suffered from the brother's behavior, how much she thinks about him despite his neglect, and an attempt to elicit a response from him at last. Regarding the specifics of her financial difficulties, see Krakowski, Coming of Age, p. 150, where the relevant passage is translated: "My brother, I have become embroiled in a quagmire from which I do not think we can be freed—I and a young orphan girl (i.e., her daughter). What occurred was that my son-in-law (i.e., the girl’s fiancé) wintered in Salerno and returned only with the Egyptian ships; then he said to me, “I will take the girl.” I said to him, “What are you thinking? As I was this year, I have nothing.” Then people advised me that I should borrow and incur debt (i.e., for a lavish dowry) and give her to him, because the Rūm (i.e., Normans) have burnt the world. Now . . . if free persons could be sold for dirhams, I would be the first to be sold, for I cannot describe my predicament to you . . . (I swear) by these lines that when Passover came I had not even a farthing’s worth of chard, nor even a dirham; instead I cut a nettle from the ruins and cooked it. . . . My brother, help me with some portion of this debt engulfing me—do not abandon me and do not forsake me." Yeshuʿa b. Ismāʿīl al-Makhmūrī, incidentally, was prone to illness: see also T-S 16.163 and T-S Misc.25.124 (as noted by Krakowski), and T-S 12.389 and BL OR 5542.20. (Information largely from Goitein, Gil, and Krakowski.) VMR. ASE.

Letter from Avraham b. Saadya to Moshe b. Avraham (Barhun) al-Taharti in Fustat, who is about to sail from Qayrawan to Jerusalem. The writer wants to meet his son-in-law Ishaq. The letter contains several biblical quotations (line 1, Ps 20:3; line 2, Gen. 24:7; line 7, Ps 91:4). (Information from Gil)

Letter from Natan b. Nahray, in Rashid, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. Around 1061. The writer writes about purchasing wheat before Passover. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #414) VMR

Letter from Sahlān b. Avraham perhaps to Efrayim b. Shemarya. Dating: ca. 1030 CE. Written in a calligraphic hand and beautiful biblical style. Only the right side of the letter is preserved. Sahlān refers to his illness, a physician, and going to the synagogue. Information from Bareket and from Goitein's index cards. ASE.

Letter from Natan b. Avraham to ʿAmram b. Yefet, reporting that the letter of Mevorakh arrived, and the community is thankful for their kindnesses (financial contributions?) and will pray for them on every Shabbat and holiday. Dated Tammuz 1039 CE.

Letter from Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat to Abu al-Faraj Daniel b. Allan ha-Kohen in Alexandria, discussing the problem of the ransom of captives and noting that owing to the lack of funds prisoners have to be redeemed one by one, ca. 1045-1096.

Letter from Yisrael b. Natan from Jerusalem to Ismail b. Yitzhak al-Andalusi from Fustat. Yisrael b. Natan expresses his worries because of the absence in letters from Ismail. Cc. 1065. VMR

Letter from Nahray b. Nissim in Alexandria to Abu Ishaq Avraham b. Hananel, known as Awad, in Fustat, in which the writer asks for information about prices of goods in Fustat, ca. 1045-1096.