Geniza Lab

Recto: legal document in which Abraham Shami (שאמי) b. [...] Shelomo Abū l-Khayr b. Saʿadya affirms that the widow of Judah Abū l-Khayr owes money to Abraham. Dated 6th Sivan 5321 (= 1561 CE) in Egypt, and signed by Elijah b. David חברייה and Aaron b. Shelomo Yeshu[.]. Verso: brief horizontal and vertical notes. (Information from CUDL)

Part of a legal document dated Wednesday, 1st Adar II 5323 (= 1563 CE) in Rashid. Signed by Pinḥas b. Moses (descendent of) Janāḥ (גנאח) ha-Kohen, Yom Ṭov b. [...], [...]. (Information from CUDL)

Power of attorney (שטר הרשאה) from Rachel the widow of Eliezer Zussman to her son Moses Zussman. Dated Friday 2nd Eyar 5324 (= 1564 CE) in Jerusalem, and signed by Moses b. Jeremiah Shemuʾel and Abraham Levi b. Moses the scribe. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Ladino from the merchant Avraham Mayo to his father, probably from Alexandria to Fustat/Cairo, dealing with numerous business transactions and the arrival of a Venetian ship. Avraham reports that he received his father's letter stating that he had selected the saffron and sold two out of three fardos (sacks) of גֿידארי (possibly an Indian textile known as "gudari"; possibly the Turkish headgear "çidari"; the diacritical mark over the ג indicates that it is not simply a hard "g"). Avraham and his partner Sulaymān will purchase as much גֿידארי as they can find and send it. "Here, he and I are like brothers. Just so, you and Khuḍayyir should be like brothers. Always help him." Avraham then mentions five sacks of raisins. He then lists the goods he has sent to his father: (1) fifteen panes of lead marked "Mayo Kavakado"; (2) five espuertas (baskets) of lead oxide (מרדסינך, probably from the Persian "murda-sang"; thanks to Professor Daniel Sheffield for this identification), which bear the seal of Sulaymān; (3) and 107 "kedives" (?) of fine Istanbul iron, which he has sent in the company of Khuḍayyir. The lead cost 3 ducats, amounting to 32 Venetian ducats and 33 muayyadis. The lead oxide cost 100 ducats, amounting to 845 [. . .], and the iron cost 182 ducats, amounting to [...]. Avraham paid 37 muayyadis for the גֿירמה (from context: the warehouse? See verso, l. 21). He then reports how much it cost him to transport each good to Rashid, whence they were presumably transported to Fustat/Cairo. Avraham paid 29.5 Venetian ducats for the five sacks of raisins—it seems this is equivalent to 60 muayyadis per qintal—and he is pleased to have gotten the best raisins from the ship at such a good price. He paid 100 Venetian ducats and 100 coronas for the "mersa" (? מירסה) and asks his father to write quickly [if he wants any], because mersa is in high demand. He also purchased some more raisins, and five qintals of cheese (? קיסה) for 1 corona per qintal. Avraham asks his father to send him some of the capital, because he needs to put it to use "between now and Sukkot" during the mercantile season, otherwise "large groups like those that come from Venice" [will outcompete us? the sentence seems incomplete], and it is better for his father to live on his earnings rather than on the business capital ("el cavdal"). Avraham further reports that the [...] of the city died yesterday after two days of suffering from the plague. 'The young son of the teacher (al-muʿallim) is wounded. The Muslims ("moros") are fighting once again ("de nuevo se hieren").' Avraham then gives instructions for what Bunyal should buy on his behalf ("not lentils, but rather a piece of רוודי מתלוק"). Avraham asks his father to inform Yaʿaqov b. Ḥabīb that Moshe b. Hīnī arrived and told Avraham that he had abandoned the gum (la goma) in Rashid, because he could not find cameldrivers and because it was too heavy to transport any other way. He left the gum there in trust ("encomendado"), with enough money for cameldrivers and other expenses for it to be transported onward. "When it arrives, we will be diligent to sell it, do not have any preoccupation." Avraham must have taken a break, because the next thing he writes is, "The gum has arrived." He concludes the letter with kisses for his mother and for Yizhaq and for Nissim. In a first postscript, he asks his father to go and examine Khuḍayyir's sacks of raisins and see if any bear the sign of the anchor and [...], and to write to Avraham with this information. In the second postscript, he asks his father to send good, big, "Qaitbey" [...]s (coins minted under Qaitbey?) with either Ibn Ḥabīb or with Bunyal, whoever comes, and that he is to leave them for Avraham in the גֿירמאס. But if neither of them plan to come, then the goods should be sent with Shemuel Kohen, "and write to him that they belong to Raḥamim." The last line of the letter mentions a cryptic good (linen? firewood? לינו די סאפאר) and says "do not write his response" (?), perhaps because it is a sensitive matter. Date: Plausibly written in 1513/14 CE, based on (1) a reference to Yaʿaqov b. Ḥabīb, who may be identical with the famous author of the ʿAyn Yaʿaqov who died in 1516 CE, and (2) a reference to a plague victim, and (3) a known recurrence of the bubonic plague in Egypt in 1513/14. On the other hand, there is at least one other Yaʿaqov b. Ḥabīb in Geniza documents from the early 18th century (see AIU VII.D.104 and AIU VII.E.30). Then again, Moss. VII,16.2 is a fragment of a Hebrew document from 1544/5 CE centered on an Avraham, a Raḥamim, and the raisin trade. Information largely from Grace Masback's edition and translation in her Junior Paper, "Avraham Mayo’s Egypt in the Age of Exploration." ASE.

Fragment of a 16th-century letter from David Badūssī in Būlāq, who was a teacher in Jerusalem, to Abraham סורג, philanthropist in Egypt, seeking financial assistance. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from the Egyptian physician ʿAfīf b. Ezra, in Gaza (detained there en route from Cairo to Safed), to Shemuel b. Yequtiel al-Amshāṭī, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic with a Hebrew opening. Dating: The beginning of the 16th century. The letter is a plea for help. ʿAfīf reports that Shemuel's letter arrived and was read aloud to the congregation of Gaza, which prayed for him (r19–22). He continues with an account of the illnesses afflicting his family members (r23–v1), all of which he has described in previous letters but has not received any response. "The family had been in the Mediterranean port for two months at the time of the writing of the letter, kept there by illness. The son was gravely ill {with bārida (chills) and sukūna (stupor?) and a nearly unstoppable nosebleed (ruʿāf mufraṭ)}. ʿAfīf says that he had sold everything, including his clothing, for the boy's treatment. The wife was confined to bed (marmiyya), unable to see, hear, or speak {"like a stone thrown on the ground"}. Seven times ʿAfīf cries out "Oh my lord Samuel," imploring him to answer this letter, which was preceded by others that had gone unanswered. Now he promises that this would be the last one, asking the addressee at the same time not to force him to send still another one, for writing such a letter was an ordeal, and finding a carrier for it almost impossible. {"Send me a response before I no longer have a response or need a further letter. O God, o God, o God, I have melted like a candle. 'My heart is become like wax; it is melted in mine inmost parts' (Psalms 22:15). . . . I cannot write a letter and send it but that my heart melts. . . . Every letter that I write is with great distress. I can barely find with whom to send it but that my heart gives out (yanqaṭīʿ) from walking."} ʿAfīf rejects with indignation the charge that he had brought this disaster upon himself (ʿamila bi-rūḥihi) by his own fault (probably by disregarding the warning that the family would be unable to make the journey). Practicing as a physician in Safed (which at that time began to assume its role as a major holy city) was done "for Heaven's sake." No doubt his inability to gain a livelihood in Cairo was another reason." (Goitein, Med Soc, V, p. 86, notes 196–203.) ʿAfīf additionally reports that the righteous R. Pereẓ died on the same journey. Apart from the implied request for direct financial aid, ʿAfīf asks Shemuel to stand security for his sister in Fustat, who is to sell off ʿAfīf's share in a family property that brings in two half-dirhems (muayyadis) per month. ʿAfīf wishes to return to Cairo, but does not have money for hiring a donkey. ʿAfīf b. Ezra (also known as Yosef the Egyptian), along with his traveling companion R. Pereẓ, also appears in F 1908.44XX, lines 70–94. Information from Goitein (note card and Med Soc V). ASE.

Legal record of an inheritance, issued in the court of R. Levi b. Ḥabib in Jerusalem in September 1532 CE (3 Tishrei 5293), for the estate of the late Naṣr bt. Eliyyahu b. ʿAbd al-Waliyy Melammed, the widow of R. Fuhayd known as Barābak (?), who died without direct descendants. Her nephew, ʿAbd al-Kāfi b. Sulaymān ha-Ḥazzan—whose mother Ẓarīfa was Naṣr's sister—presented a power of attorney drawn up in Fusṭāṭ in May 1532 (7 Sivan 5292), witnessed by Yosef Abuhab and Yosef b. David Moreno, entitling him to claim the amount of the inheritance willed to him (subsequently it transpires that his aunt willed his mother Ẓarīfa and her family a full 2/3 of the inheritance, while the other 1/3 was to go to their other sister Rivka and her family). ʿAbd al-Kāfī brought a suit against Shemuel ha-Levi b. Shelomo ha-Levi, aka Shemuel Kalaḥ, the guardian/executor of the estate, to receive his share of the inheritance. Shemuel then claimed that he had already sent enough of the money to David Ḥavriya (? חבריא), who was supposed to give a portion to his wife Rivka bt. Zubayda (the other sister of Naṣr) and to give the remainder to ʿAbd al-Kāfī, who, however, didn't receive a penny. Shemuel responded that there was not enough money left from the inheritance to pay ʿAbd al-Kāfī his share (and his mother's and siblings'), but there was enough if he made up the difference with property and jewelry and clothing. The document continues for another 100 lines or so, detailing all the different denominations of currency that Shemuel handed over to ʿAbd al-Kāfī, along with all the jewelry, clothing, and other items (with a detailed inventory of 70 items of mainly clothing appearing in a separate list on the facing page). However, of these items, some were to go to David Ḥavriya, and the jewelry in particular was put in a bag and sealed with the seal of Ovadya Kohen, and ʿAbd al-Kāfī had to take an oath not to open it until the pair of them could go through it together in Fusṭāṭ under the supervision of Shemuel ha-Levi b. Ḥakīm. Among the currencies named are gold Sholali peraḥim and gold Ibrahimi peraḥim, respectively coins minted in the mint of R. Yiṣḥaq Sholal and Avraham Castro. Information largely from Avraham David's description on FGP

Replacement ketubba drawn up in Safed in February 1539 (23 Adar 5299) for Moshe b. Yosef ʿAynos (? עיינוס) and Doña Hora Buena bt. Barukh Shabīb.

Letter from Moshe Binyamin to Isaac Luria (CUDL). "A certain Moshe Binyamin sent two letters from Rashid to Luria in Egypt, probably either in 1555 or 1562. According to the contents of these letters, Binyamin owed Luria a certain amount of money for goods with which Luria had provided him, and he requested that Luria collect the debt from a Moshe Krispin, with whom Binyamin was associated in business. The letters appear to suggest that Luria had sold Binyamin leather." Lawrence Fine, Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and His Kabbalistic Fellowship, 33. Moshe also mentions "the other person who left for Ancona." ASE.

Letter from Moshe Binyamin to Isaac Luria (CUDL). "A certain Moshe Binyamin sent two letters from Rashid to Luria in Egypt, probably either in 1555 or 1562. According to the contents of these letters, Binyamin owed Luria a certain amount of money for goods with which Luria had provided him, and he requested that Luria collect the debt from a Moshe Krispin, with whom Binyamin was associated in business. The letters appear to suggest that Luria had sold Binyamin leather." Lawrence Fine, Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and His Kabbalistic Fellowship, 33.

Letter to Yehuda Daud in which the writer references previous correspondence with the addressee and mentions exile (גולה). EMS From ʿEli Sanbakro (סנבקרו), c. 16th century. (Information from CUDL)

Letter dated 1560 CE, from Abraham Sholel in Jerusalem, to his brother-in-law in Egypt. (Information from CUDL)

The end of a late letter, signed with elaborate sigla (c. 16th century). (Information from CUDL)

Letter, consisting mainly of greetings, from Judah Levi to his family, including his brother-in-law Sulaymān, his brother Raḥamīm, his cousin Sawād, and the addressee’s sister, aunt and mother, all called Sitt al-Maṣūna. Also mentions Levi, Shelomo, Joseph, Elʿazar, and Shabbetay, among others. Dated 25th Sivan (probably 16th century). (Information from CUDL)

Legal document in Hebrew. Dating: 1517 CE(?). Stating that 93 peraḥim (ducat equivalents) of the coinage of the Sultan Selim which were destined for the Yeshiva in Jerusalem were given to another Yeshiva. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Deed of remittance, dated 5316 (= 1556 CE) between Isaac b. ʿOvadya (possibly including his brother-in-law, Yaʿir) and Zephaniah b. Ḥayyim Saragossi (סרגוסי). The remittance is from business dealings and debts, including the proceeds of a sale of barrels of wine in Egypt. Signed by ʿOvadya ha-Levi the doctor and Nathan b. Makhlūf. (Information from CUDL)

Deed, written in 5318 (= 1558 CE) in Rashid (ראשיד, Rosetta), settling debts between Shelomo, Rahamim and Reuben. Signed by Abraham b. Shelomo Levi the judge (חקאן), Saʿadya Abū l-Khayr (בולכייר), Elyaqim Ashkenazi b. Shelomo, Menaḥem Delmedigo and Moses Benjamin b. לא״א (either לאדני אבי or לאהובי אבי) the holy, the humble, כה״ר Jacob. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document from Egypt dated 5323 (= 1563 CE), between Hoda b. Zeraḥ Damuhi and Moses, a repairer of books, known as מג׳מגם (on verso, מג׳מג׳ם). Signed by Abraham b. Isaiah the cantor and Shelomo Maʾazuzi (מאזוזי). Verso contains Moses’ name, written transversely in relation to the text on recto. (Information from CUDL)

End of a legal document from Egypt, dated 5337 (= 1577 CE), signed by Joseph b. (בכמה״ר) Moses Dammuhi (דמוהי). (Information from CUDL)

A list of payments from around 1550 CE describes a payment made for “visiting the sick (bīqqūr ḥōlīm)—3 jadīd; buying clothes for the poor (kesūt ʿaniyīm)—5 jadīd." Information from Dotan Arad (2017) Welfare and Charity in a Sixteenth-Century Jewish Community in Egypt: A Study of Genizah Documents, Al-Masāq, 29:3, 266.