Geniza Lab

Account of the Qodesh: list of arrears in rent owed by different tenants in the synagogue compound, from December 1042 CE to April 1043 CE. The rent was collected and the document written by the scribe Yefet the cantor b. David b. Shekanya. He then lists the current payments for one month, Jumada'l-ula; some apartments are said to have been vacant. The list is large in size, written in big characters, and was probably intended for public display. (Information from CUDL and Gil, Documents, pp. 193 #22)

Legal document(s) in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Recto: Decision of the court on repairs in a compound partly owned by the Qodesh. Dated: 1134 CE. A certain Obadiah, co-proprieter of a compound of which a quarter belonged to the qodesh, carried out repairs in that compound. The repairs were agreed upon by the representatives of the qodesh, their urgency having been recognized. Abū l-Faraj Yeshuʿa b. Ṣedaqa al-Ramli was appointed to supervise the building operations, and Obadiah advanced the sums that were necessary. A total expenditure of 24 dinars was now recognized by the court. Obadiah was given the right to collect rent from the part of the compound belonging to the qodesh, up to a total of 6.25 dinars, which included the sum due him from the qodesh, and a former debt of .25 dinar. Verso: Approval of the court record. The verso, which is very deteriorated, includes details of an accounting between the qodesh and the same Obadiah, here called 'Abdallah, the Arabic equivalent of the former. This accounting obviously represents the fulfillment of the agreement between the two parties. The representative of the qodesh is Abū l-Maʿālī, which nickname most probably referred to Judge Natan b. Shelomo ha-Kohen ha-Meʿulle, who is also a signatory of the agreement. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 254 #47 and CUDL)

Deposition in court on a compound of the Qodesh ca. 1230. Judge Yehi'el b. Elyaqim and Netaniel b. Yeshu'a bear witness that a tabaqa and a tarima connected to a compound of the qodesh are part of that compound. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 452 #135)

Account for Nisan and Iyyar 1494 sel. ca. 1183. The revenue from only eleven apartments and compounds of the qodesh for two months is listed in the first part of this document. The total is 352.5 dirhams. For some reason, Abu'l-Bayan collected the rent from only half of the usual number of houses. There follows a list of expenditures, including the usual items, which total 125.75 dirhams. There is also a list of payments received by the qodesh from Abu'l-Bayan (some of them through the beadle, Makhfuz). (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 337-338 #84). The scribe is Shmuel b. Sa'adya Halevi (Date: 1163-1204)

Account for Elul 1494 and Tishri 1495 sel. ca. 1183. This document contains the last part of the expenditures for Elul. Then additional revenue from rent for the month of Tishri is listed. Here we have 24 items, totaling 174.5 dirhams. Afterwards, we find the usual additional expenditures for the same month, among them some sums paid in advance for the following one, Marheshwan. The accounting contains relatively high sums spent for making travel arrangements for the widow of the Nasi. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 347 #88). (Written by Shmuel b. Sa'adya Halevi. AA)

Account for Nisan and Iyyar 1493 sel. ca. 1182. This account deals with another part of the qodesh estates and the names of the 12 apartments and compounds in it differ from the ones in the previous accounts. The total revenue from these apartments, for two months, is 372.25 dirhams. There are two different categories of expenditures; a) the usual items whose purpose is specified, and b) major sums deposited with the parnas himself, and a certain Abu'l-Makhasin, apparently the beadle of the Synagogue of the Babylonians. Whereas the revenue total accords with the sum of the items listed, there is no way to check the total of the expenditures; apparently only some of the operations are noted on this sheet. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 332 #82). Written by Shmuel b. Sa'adya Halevi (Date: 1163-1204). AA

Statement about the debt of a Parnas, ca. 1151. Written on the verso of the previous statement, apparently as part of a current recording of the pecuniary rights and obligations of the same parnas as regards the qodesh, this statement confirms a debt owed to him by the latter. The upper part is a confirmation of 209.75 dir. due him for repairs in the Estate of the Jerusalemites, and 230 dir. for a banker's note which he presented. The other part is a declaraion by another elder, Yosef, testifying that the sum mentioned as having been spent for repairs is correct, except for 13 dir. that were spent on removal of garbage. Both parts are duly signed by members of the court. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 265 #52)

Account of the Qodesh: building expenditures, ca. 1044 SH [11-12-86] Fragment of a leaf written by Yefet b. David b. Shekhanya, torn at its upper and right edges. Materials for carpentry work are mentioned, acacia and sesbania, nails, locks, and doors. The grapes bought for the sum of one dinar were apparently for the synagogue, where they were probably made into wine to be used in the synagogue services, and stored in jugs. August, the month in which this took place, was the vintage month in Egypt. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 207 #29)

Letter of complaint to Maimonides regarding funds for the Qodesh. Written in the hand of Meʾir b. Hillel b. Ṣadoq Av. The plaintiff asks why arrangements made for him by the mutawallī Isaiah ha-Levi b. Mišaʾel have become void; and if they are void for him, why should not the other leases and deeds of rent of ruined lots be discontinued as well. The complaint was probably submitted in 1171 or somewhat later and it emerges that the agreement made with Isaiah stipulated that the plaintiff was to rebuild a ruin of the qodesh and live in it until his investment in repairs was balanced out by a hypothetical rent, in the meantime paying only the ground rent (ḥikr) to the government. Maimonides was apparently opposed to this agreement, possibly because of legal principles regarding permission to make deals with properties of the qodesh. In the second part of the letter, the writer requests Maimonides to answer various questions on the study of the Law which he had previously asked him, and to which he now adds a question on the attitude to astronomy. He also asks him for some of his books, to be copied for him, the cost to be paid from the money due to him, if the debt is recognized. Below on verso are rhymed Hebrew wedding verses in a crude hand. (Information from CUDL and Gil, Documents, pp. 363 #94)

The beadle as cashier of the Qodesh, ca. 1162. The beadle Mahfuz, of the Synagogue of the Palestinians, receives the revenue from the orchard of the qodesh. This is a short entry, signed by two members of the court. In another entry, the revenue from rent collected from tenants of the qodesh by the parnas Abu'l-Ma'ali is also received by the same beadle. The record also mentions the person under whose authority these operations take place, namely the Gaon Netaniel b. Moshe. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 291 #61)

Statement of payments to a tenant of the Qodesh, ca. 1160. A certain al-Nadiv, otherwise known as the perfume maker, tenant of a compound partly owned by the qodesh known as al-Burj, receives several sums from the funds of the qodesh. This money is to be used for completing repairs in his apartment and some others. The statement is in the hand of the judge Mevorakh b. Natan. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 289 #60)

Verso: Record of the donation of one quarter of a compound by Sitt al-Naẓar bt. Ḥalfon to the qodesh. Dating: ca. 1161 CE. She also donates one-sixth of the same compound to Faḍāʾil b. ʿAwāʿiḍ Ibn al-Katnānī, a brother or some other relative of hers, on the condition that she herself shall have the usufruct of that part during her lifetime. After her death it will go to him, to his son, and to his mother Sitt al-Dār. After that, this part also will pass into the possession of the qodesh. Written by the judge Mevorakh b. Natan on the verso of an engagement contract dated 29 November 1161 CE. (Gil, Documents, pp. 299 #66.) EMS

Account of the qodesh, ca. 1165. A detailed accounting written in the hand of Judge Mevorakh b. Natan. The first part contains different expenditures for the maintenance of the buildings and various other expenditures, such as gifts to Muslim officials. The second part contains the final part of an accounting of revenue for six months; the sum paid to the parnas as a collection fee is also mentioned. The account is said to have been made in the presence of the head of the yeshiva, Nataniel b. Moshe, and elders. Dated Kislev 1476 of the Seleucid Era (= 1165). (Information from CUDL and Gil, Documents, pp. 300 #67)

Account of the Qodesh: building expenditures and revenue from rent, ca. 1039. This record contains details about sums of rent collected from "the Estate of the Synagogue of the Palestinians" for A.H. 429 and 430. It was written at the end of 1039. The revenue list mentions the first period during which Dar Qutayt was inhabited whereas before it had been empty. The building expenditures refer in part to the synagogue. The three parts of the document have found their way into three different boxes of the Taylor-Schechter Collection. Written in the hand of Yefet b. David b. Shekhanya. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 167 #11)

Record of the activities of the qodesh at the end of the 10th and the first half of the 11th century, up to 1034 CE. Written ca. 1040 CE. This record which was intended for public display, lists the achievements of the qodesh, as far as the properties dedicated to the Synagogue of the Palestinians are concerned. For each stage the names of the parnasim who were in charge of the qodesh are listed. At the end of the 10th century apparently only two or three compounds comprised the real estate dedicated to the Synagogue of the Palestinians. During the seven administrations of parnasim listed in this record, new compounds, apartments, and shops were added either by purchase or by construction, made possible by the revenue from the earlier ones. Several major repairs of the extant buildings and also repairs and improvements in the synagogue are listed. The main part of the document deals with the period of the persecuations under al-Hakim. The synagogues were destroyed and the materials they were made of sold by the Muslim authorities. Later, the period of reconstruction is recorded. The concluding part stresses the custom of giving full publicity to the accounts of the qodesh; also, the duty of any dissatisfied person to file his claims before the court, otherwise risking excommunication. Gil includes ENA 2738.1 as part of this join, even though it is a distinct manuscript containing a draft of the document, of which T-S Ar.18(1).35 + T-S 20.96 is an improved copy. The first word in line 1 of ENA 2738.1 is the last one in line 19 of T-S 20.96. All three fragments are in the hand of hazzan Yefet b. David b. Shekhanya (according to Gil). ENA 2738.1 may actually be in the hand of Efrayim b. Shemarya. (Information from CUDL and Gil, Documents, pp. 136-137 #3)

Account of building operations ca. 1240. A double leaf taken from a notebook, this document is written in Arabic script. Work on a dome is mentioned, and on verandas. Then comes the installation of a pipe and then a qa'a in which the main work is on the cieling and drainage system. A staircase made of palm trees is installed and fixed with mortar made of gypsum. Different kinds of word and nails are mention in connection with the installation of the qa'a doors. Extensive paving work is also detailed. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 457 #137)

Account: building expenditures and revenue from rent, ca. 1039. This record contains details about sums of rent collected from "the Estate of the Synagogue of the Palestinians" for A.H. 429 and 430. It was written at the end of 1039. The revenue list mentions the first period during which Dar Qutayt was inhabited whereas before it had been empty. The building expenditures refer in part to the synagogue. The three parts of the document have found their way into three different boxes of the Taylor-Schechter Collection. Written in the hand of Yefet b. David b. Shekhanya. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 167 #11)

Account of revenue from rent ca. October 1201. A double leaf of a notebook, of which only the upper part is preserved. It was originally an account of both revenue and expenditures, but only a few items are preserved of the latter. Its first part contains revenue for the month of Marheshwan, followed by that for Kislev. The account contains 27 names of inhabited apartments belonging to to 15 compounds, inclusive of the funduq. The total revenue of Marheshwan was 269 dirhams, as against the expected 555.5 indicating a loss in revenue of 286.5, i.e. more than half. This is of course one of the indications of the famine and distress of the period. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 388 #103.) In the hand of the court scribe Yosef b. Shemuel b. Seʿadya ha-Levi (c.1181–1209).

Accounting of expenditures in Dammuh ca. 1182-83.

Account of building operations ca. 1200. List of expenditures, recording the daily amount of construction work lasting two weeks, of which the details for six days are preserved. The main items refer to preparation of mortar and plastering. Written in a calligraphic hand, the accounting was perhaps intended for public display. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 396 #107)