Geniza Lab

Letter from a woman, in Qayrawān, to a benefactor, unknown location. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Likely 11th century. The beginning is missing. Her children have nothing to eat or wear, and they have 'exposed themselves' (inkashafnā), that is, become dependent on public charity. "But do not suppose that [in] Qayrawān that they have compassion and give. By no means do they do this! They give to those whom they know." The wife of ʿAṭā' gave them only a couple measly garments, and when they put them on their bodies, they felt chills. She and her children all have an ear illness. The addressee evidently left 5 dinars for her with Farḥūn, although she has not yet been able to get her hands on it. When she does, she will have the community (or just her children?) bless his name every Shabbat. ASE

Letter, Somewhat cryptic. "As for what you mentioned about the istiʿmāl and the musakhkhināt (warming drugs?) and the [...], and as the 'season' (of illnesses?) is here, I will do that, and may God cure. As for the condition of Abū l-Manṣūr al-Qūṣī. . . ." ASE

Fragmentary letter (on vellum) from Tunisia by Manashe b. Ammar to Joseph b. Salman b. Ya'ish, expressing the wish to give up the hard "service of the people" (public office) for another profession, for he is weak or sick (ḍaʿīf) and frail (naḥīf al-jism). Information from Goitein's notecards and Mediterranean Society II, 87-88.

Letter from an unidentified Torah scholar. Dating: Likely 11th century. The writer mentions the city of Fez and people who have become affluent and are honoring him ('and the station of the Torah'). He very happily reports on the birth of a son to him—"may God keep him alive and preserve him and send him a speedy recovery(!)"—whom he named after his late father. The letter may be addressed to a woman, based on the verb endings in the margin of recto, but this part is difficult to read. On verso, it seems that the writer's brother had died without offspring. He prays that God will keep his son alive so that he can 'toil over him like my father toiled over me.' There seem to be blessings for a female family member around here (wa-razaqakum tanẓurū awlād awlādhā). The writer says he is always praying for the addressee during Birkat Kohanim. He greets Abū l-Khayr Ṣadaqa ha-Levi and his two sons Moshe and Yeshuʿa.

Letter probably from Yedutun ha-Levi, in Fustat, to his brother Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, in Qalyūb. (Identification is tentative, based on handwriting and typical phrases and names.) Someone, possibly ʿImrān (but not their paternal uncle of the same name), recently died in or around the addressee's location. The 'kabīra' (old woman?) has arrived back safely. Abū Zikrī (=Sar Shalom??) is making a big fuss and swearing that he saw Moshe in Cairo on Wednesday with two baskets of apricots. Yedutun complains about how everyone repays him with ingratitude, and he seems to refer to his activities as a physician (although Goitein read יטבהם in line 9 as יכצהם). Yedutun had to swear to Abū Zikrī that he must have been mistaken about seeing Moshe in Cairo and that Moshe doesn't know Ben Shaʿya either. Abū Zikrī apparently gave an exceedingly long sermon (דראש) on Shabbat. Tāhir is asking about Moshe's news and wants him to know that the new wālī is a relative of the old wālī, and he will take revenge on people who defy him (or defied his predecessor?), so Moshe should watch out. Moshe should also pass on Yedutun's prescription to Yaḥyā al-Khuḍarī, because Yedutun owes him a favor. He is very sad about ʿImrān and can't even eat bread (a standard phrase to express grief). He asks Moshe to pass on condolencees to ʿImrān's brother. And if Moshe wants the family to come visit him at the end of the month, he should let them know with a day's notice. Previous description: Warm letter by a man in Fustat to his brother in the countryside, mentioning an old woman, probably the bearer of a message, best not confided to paper. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 338). ASE

Informal note addressed to 'the brother' R. Zekharya. In Judaeo-Arabic. (Is this Shelomo b. Eliyyahu writing to Abū Zikrī?) He asks him not to detain the old woman from coming, but rather to assist her in coming quickly, because the writer's wife ("al-ṣughayyira") is sick and they are perishing of isolation and "there is no one to fill a jug of water for us." ASE

Letter of congratulation after recovery from an illness, written in rhymed Hebrew prose by the court clerk Mevorakh b. Natan and addressed to ʿAzaryahu b. Efrayim the head physician. Dated: Nisan 1483 Seleucid (March/April 1172 CE). (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, pp. 110, 111)

Letter of appeal for charity. The writer lost his wealth "in an instant" and had to wander in search of help. He received it from people who knew his family and honor (hod) and saw the books and letters (iggerot) he was carrying, which were confirmed,with signatures from various communities in the east (Ṣova, Ashur, Adina). He is in great need, in spite of his "fathers," and seeks help. It is near a holiday and he has expenses and sick people to take care of (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from a woman named Archondou, in Alexandria, to her son Fuḍayl, in Fustat. Her main purpose in writing emerges at the end: she wants her son to come and fetch her, as she wants to go to Fustat. The woman's name, the use of a Greek word (τυλάριν, ?mattress, r12, 19), and the spelling of the proper names 'Archondou' (ארכודו) and 'Alexandria' (אלכסדריאן) all indicate a Greek-speaking milieu. Archondou expresses her sympathy for her son's eye disease, "from the day I heard that my eye has flowed and I have wept day and night without case" (r9–12). She too has an eye disease: "My eyes hurt very badly and I give three zuz every week to the doctor, and I cannot move from this place. If God is good to you, do me a favour and come quickly to fetch me out of here so that I do not die" (v10–14). Information from de Lange's edition. ASE.

Calligraphic family letter, sent from Giza, containing many names and detailed instructions. Dated to the 13th century. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, 423, and from Goitein's index cards.) A very rough translation is as follows: "Your letter arrived with Ibn al-Jalajuli. Najm al-Din read it with me in Giza and wrote a response in his own hand. A letter with Abu l-Ḥasan arrived with the news that you are sick, and we were pained on your account, myself and the mother. As for Tawus and Mas'udah, they did not greet us (?). The old woman and Mas'udah fought, she said to her, "You claim that I owe you something, I don't owe anything to anybody!" We went to Abu l-Khayr, I and the Hakim, as soon as Abu l-Ḥasan arrived with the letter. We fought with him. We said, "Give the ghazal (?), we will do it outside." But he didn't do it. He prepared it and he will do it. As for what you sad, my brother, that I should rise and come, you know that I am busy with the speaking (?) of Najm al-Din until matters are stable (?) with him. On Wednesday, the day after the arrival of the letter, I went to Amin al-Din the son of the founder and bought five of indigo (nīl) from him. I gave him your letter and he read it and I kissed his hand and humbled myself and cried. He was pained and said, come back another time. He is good of heart and wishes for your delivery. He promised me. Every day I await for the response from him, and every day I go to him -- may God grant that salvation is at his hands, and the next letter after this one will tell of your salvation. My brother, I cannot travel until I have a letter with news of your delivery. There is no sense in traveling like this. I can't even buy or sell things until your matter is settled and the speaking (?) of Najm al-din. As for what you said about going to to al-Shams b. al-Muzawwiq - he did not leave me in Giza after he read your letter except that he was good (of health?). Maybe we don't need any of them. You know that he does not have any influence apart from money. Until now, nothing has been settled between me and him. If you need money, send word with someone you trust, and we will give it to him. My brother, there is fire in our hearts because of you. Mother and your sister and the Hakim all want to come to you. A blond apostate (poshea') arrived after Abu l-Ḥasan's letter and said that you had departed. Someone wanted to write a letter to someone; but he searched for you and did not find you. He calmed our hearts a great deal. He told us that your leg hurts you. Their fear was calmed, and they recovered from their state...." Further people mentioned include Hajj Muhammad, Najm al-Din, the old woman, the Hakim, Hikam (?), and al-Shaykh Hilal. ASE.

Recto: Letter fragment in Arabic script. Only the last three lines are preserved, then two lines in Hebrew, 'may I be the ransom of the brother (al-akh al-shaqīq) from all evil.' Verso: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic with rudimentary handwriting and spellings. "As for what you you mentioned that I should send you a boy, I send you a boy every day. As for other matters, I feared to introduce worrry (ghamm) into your heart and make you relapse (tantakis), for you are from [...] illness (wajaʿ), may God complete your recovery. As for the copper. . . as God is my witness, I was sick (ḍaʿīf)." ASE.

Letter fragment from Shabbetay b. Avraham he-Ḥaver (the judge of Minyat Zifta, active 1135–78) to Natan b. Shemuel he-Ḥaver. This is the upper margin and the address only. Shabbetay includes a wish for Natan’s recovery in the address and reports that he was ill himself—with a bone in his leg that had not been set properly—and apologizes for not presenting himself. He had not come to Fustat for five months. Information from Goitein’s note cards and Med Soc II, 44. See also card #27137.

Recto and beginning of verso: Letter from a sick man to a physician. In Judaeo-Arabic. He reports that he has collected the prescription that the physician gave him and that he used it earlier in the day, but it had no effect. He is still in great and unmentionable distress whenever he leaves the toilet (murtafaq). He has sent the (substantial amount of) 109.5 dirhams that the physician charged him. He asks for further instructions, because he is in great distress. He is unable to leave the house but cannot bear sitting in in the house. Lower part of verso: The physician responds that the medicine has [not had enough time to] work, and that he should take another dose. There is then a cryptic instruction about doing something first that should be done first, "from whichever hand possible," for that is the greatest requirement for this illness. ASE.

Abū l-Majd, in Alexandria writes to his cousin Judge Elijah, in Damascus (?) on a business trip. See Goitein Nachlass material. Judge Elijah may in fact be in Fustat. Abū l-Majd writes, that a certain mawlā (his father?) wrote to him from Damascus telling him to come join him. "I was shocked; I don't know what to do. He said that he is blind in his eyes. I am making up my mind to go. I want to consult you about the trip. . . the news of the country, whether caravans are going. . . ." Abū l-Majd also writes, "I have sent you many letters on this matter and not received a response." AIU VII.E.38 seems to be one of those letters. ASE.

Letter from Abū al-Riḍa, in Qūṣ, to Abū Zikrī, in Fustat, c/o the sugar factory (maṭbakh) of Abū al-Maʿānī. In Judaeo-Arabic with the address in Arabic script. (Goitein's index card identifies the addressee as Eliyyahu the Judge, who did have a son named (Abū) Zikrī.) Dating: Probably early 13th century. The addressee is asked to give a responsum (fatwā) with regard to a certain Maḥāsin who wanted to marry his wife's sister. Maḥāsin had denied a charge in connection with this engagement before a Muslim court and confessed it in a Jewish court. The issue involves the wife (bayt) of Ibn Qasāsa and Abū Saʿd al-ʿAṭṭār, who calls himself Shaykh al-Yahūd. The sender complains several times about his illness and poverty (and therefore his inability to resolve the issue). He tells the addressee not to send letters to the shop of Abū Saʿd, because Abū Saʿd always reads them before passing them on to the addressee. (Information in part from Goitein’s index card.)

Letter from ʿAmram b. Yiṣḥaq, in Alexandria, to Ḥalfon b. Netanel ha-Levi, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Middle of Adar (1451 Seleucid) = February 1141 CE. The letter deals with the illness of ʿAmram's wife (evidently a familly member of Ḥalfon's) and the way she was treated. She had been suffering lethargy, palpitations, and fainting spells for over a year and a half. She was treated for “the obstruction of the heart (inqifāl al-qalb) mentioned by al-Rāzī in the Manṣūrī,” but the medicine only made matters worse. Midwives were summoned to treat her for "the illness of women”—hysteria—by the application of oils and fats. When this, too, failed, she was overwhelmed by black bile (melancholia), rendering her “a piece of flesh, yearning for death but unable to attain it.” ʿAmram asks Ḥalfon to convey his wife’s medical history to the physicians of the capital, so that “perhaps she will attain relief.” (Information in part from Frenkel, and Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV—Hebrew description below.)

Letter from an unidentified man, in Jerusalem, to the Nagid Natan Sholal, in Fustat/Cairo. In Hebrew. Dating: Late 15th century. The sender reports that he is writing with great effort, because he has been sick ever since his marriage. He has not recovered his full strength, his joints are weak and painful, and he cannot turn his face from side to side ever since he fell off of a mule en route to Jerusalem. The main purpose of the letter is to conciliate Natan, who is upset about the marriage of his daughter to the sender's son, which evidently took place behind his back in Jerusalem. There is also discussion of Natan's property in Jerusalem and a report on the books that he left behind him in 1481 CE. The sender managed to find 4 of Natan's books, including the Gemara of Ketubbot, an Arabic commentary on Psalms(?), and Israel Israeli's Arabic commentary on Avot. (Information in part from Avraham David's edition on FGP.) ASE

Formulary or draft of a get-well-soon card. In Hebrew. Dating: Late, perhaps 15th–17th century. Very florid.

Letter in which an heir informs his correspondent that no one, the government included, had any claim on his inheritance and adds that his case was unambiguous. Only the question whether the government would take one half or three-eights remained open. Dated ca. 1100. Mentions that the judge is sick. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 397, 607)

Letter from Madmun b. Ḥasan to Avraham Ibn Yiju: safe conduct and assistance for brother. Aden, ca. 1145. (8) [I shall take care of] sending it, if someone departs this [year for] (9) Egypt, since no one arrived last year or [so far this year] (10) from Egypt, because of the [death?] (11) and epidemic prevailing there, for two years in a row.