Geniza Lab

Part of a ketubba, with only a few words preserved. Part of the shemaʿ has been written between the lines in faded ink and a different hand. (Information from CUDL)

Part of a ketubba, with no names or date preserved. Between the lines, a different hand has practiced writing the Hebrew alphabet. Verso: part of a letter in Arabic (see separate entry). (Information from CUDL)

Part of a letter in Arabic. Recto: ketubba (see separate entry). (Information from CUDL)

Part of a ketubba preserving only a few lines in large characters and the name of a witness, Saʿadya b. David. Verso: letter. (Information from CUDL)

Letter. Recto: ketubba (see separate entry). (Information from CUDL)

Small fragment from the end of a ketubba, referring to the bride’s immersion (טבילה). Ca. 13th century. (Information from CUDL)

Part of a ketubba, written under the authority of Maṣliaḥ ha-Kohen (1127-1139 CE), in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Manassah (1100-1138 CE). (Information from CUDL)

Part of a ketubba, for Shemarya ha-Kohen (groom) and Sitt al-Bayt (bride). (Information from CUDL)

Part of a ketubba, with no details preserved. Ca. beginning of the 13th century. (Information from CUDL)

Autograph texts by Joseph Rosh ha-Seder b. Jacob. Recto: a draft relating to the copying of the Mishna and the Gemara. On the bottom of the page and written upside down in relation to the other text there is a, presumably draft, colophon stating that Joseph Rosh ha-Seder copied a Siddur of Saʿadya Gaʾon in 1201. Verso: opening lines of the Epistle of Rav Sherira Gaʾon with minor variations in wording. The text is entitled ‘Collected Benedictions of Rabbenu Sherira of blessed memory’ and begins with one line of verse, vocalised and decorated. (Information from CUDL)

Short letter to Joseph and his daughter Esther, in a crude hand and extremely colloquial language. C. 15th-16th century CE. On verso it states ‘(to the) house of Maʿtūq al-Miṣratī’. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document in which a deposited estate is handed over to the heirs. Mentions people including al-Dhahabī, Ṣedaqa ha-Kohen (called Zayn), and Ibn Ghazāl. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document dealing with inheritance issues (a gift followed by a release). Mentions Elijah b. Shelomo (?), Peraḥya b. ha-Levi b. Shelomo and Abū l-Surūr. Dated 1435 of the Seleucid Era (= 1124 CE), in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: fundraising letter carried by emissaries from Hebron to Egypt. Verso: stamp impression and ink transfer with the name ‘Jacob’. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document concerning inheritance issues of Jamīla, mother of Abraham and Elijah Levi, who converted to Islam and married Ḥasan al-Sharqāwī. C. 18th century. (Information from CUDL)

Letter (draft?). Jottings on verso mention Mūsā b. Levi and sums of money. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: note from Khalīfa Ḥasan. Verso: letter by Meʿir Naʿīm (cf. CUL Or.1080.4.40) to Khalīfa Ḥasan concerning business matters. 18th-19th century. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: letter to Moses ha-Kohen השר האדיר, whose name appears in the opening of the letter and in the address on verso. Also mentions Mordechai השר הנכבד. It is prefaced with two lines of biblical quotations, marked with supralinear dots in a triangle. The extant text consists of opening blessings; the content (not preserved) is introduced by [אלו הטורים להו[דיע. There is an additional greeting in the top margin, ושלמה יגדל. Verso: address. Probably late 11th-12th century. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Ladino, sent by Isaac Baronito to his father Abraham Baronito, Mitzrayim. (Information from CUDL.) Isaac addresses his father as "the crown of my head" (la corona de mi cabeza). It concerns books with "glosses in his hand": sabreis komo he hallado ke tienen los libros haga'ot eskeritura de su mano y me recelo y si kereis aun kon todo esto ke os los envie os los enviare mas ha de saver ke no los vendas a ningun modo por amor de la dicha ke tiene ... y si keres os man dare los libros komo kedamos haya de ser kon este partido ke no los haveis de vender a ningun por la razon. Information from Elazar Gutwirth, "The Family in Judeo-Spanish Genizah Letters," 213. Isaac goes on to offer his father three options for when to receive certain shipments, including the books, the 3 ducats, and the proceeds from the sale of a Torah scroll (? ס״ת). He insists several times that his father must not sell or send the Hagahot/books to anyone else, ve-ha-maskil yavin. He tells his father to write and tell him which of the three options he prefers. He asks after Perla who has gone to Mitzrayim with her husband, and after Shemuel and Rivkah and her husband. Gutwirth suggests that Perla and Rivkah are Isaac's sisters. He sends regards on behalf of Rachel and Michael; Gutwirth suggests these are Isaac's daughters. And he mentions in the penultimate line "las encomiendas de mi parte y de parte de Esther que la cono[ces]"; Gutwirth suggests that Esther is his wife. ASE.

Letter from a woman, unknown location, to her brother Yūsuf b. Makārim the cantor and dyer, in Bilbays. In Judaeo-Arabic with the address in both Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script. Dating: Likely 15th or 16th century, per Goitein. Contents: The writer is ill, possibly with ophthalmia. She asks for instructions concerning various matters, many having to do with their house. (Information in part from Goitein's index cards and CUDL.) EMS. ASE.