Geniza Lab

Geonic responsa. (Information from CUDL)

Geonic exegetical responsa. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Moses the schoolmaster petitioning ʿAmram ha-Levi for a charitable donation. He had not earned any fees over the holiday period. He asks for a loan of wheat, or its equivalent in cash, as he had nothing to eat. He had previously written to ʿAmram describing his family’s dire financial situation, but had not received a response. He now reproaches ʿAmram ‘you should favour me without my having to turn to you’. (Information from CUDL and Mediterranean Society, II, p. 188.)

Letter draft from Hillel b. ʿEli, in Tyre to the Nagid Mevorakh b. Saʿadya, in Fusṭāṭ. Ca. 1094 CE. (Information from CUDL)

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)

Responsa concerning various topics in civil law. (Information from CUDL)

Responsa discussing various topics, including parturient women and civil law. (Information from CUDL)

F. 1r: Draft of letters, one to Abū l-Faḍl Sahl (maybe al-Tustarī?). Shelomo b. Aharon b. Abū […] and Shela b. Yehoshuaʿ are also mentioned. F. 1v: catena of biblical verses, such as Proverbs 9:10, 22:29 and 24:5, probably for epistolary purposes. F. 2r (unrelated to F. 1): Short note in a mixture of Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew. “To my master the Great (Gadol [ha-Yeshiva]), from his slave Natan: Hey man, why did you forget about me and not talk to your parents on my behalf? May your peace increase.” (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter from Yiṣḥaq b. Simḥa ha-Levi al-Nīsābūrī to Abū l-ʿAlāʾ Ṣāʿid aka ʿUlla b. Yosef ha-Levi al-Dimashqī. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Ca. 1100 CE. The sender expresses concern about the lack of letters. He sent goods with Abū Zikrī Yaḥyā al-Fāsī. He heard that the addressee had arrived safely (in Fustat?) together with a group of other merchants in a letter he received from Abū l-Faraj Hiba al-Ḥamawī (whose letter was delivered by Wahb the relative of Naḥrīr). The lower part of the letter is missing. On verso there are jottings of accounts in Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals, mentioning fruit of the Syrian ash (lisān ʿuṣfūr), clove, saffron, and sugar among other items. Several other letters from Yiṣḥaq to ʿUlla are preserved in the Geniza, for example T-S 13J21.26, in which ʿUlla is asked by Yiṣḥaq to provide for al-Ḥamawī’s family while he is away on business. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Responsum of Moses Maimonides, concerning river travel on Shabbat. (Information from CUDL)

A page from Hanane'l b. Shmuel Sefer ha-Mitzvot. An autograph. For joins see the long list in FGP. (AA)

Fragment of a notebook of a trustee, in which he lists collaterals and belongings of a foreigner from Sicily. (Information from CUDL)

Anonymous responsa on various topics, headed מסאלה לבעץ‫'‬ אלעלמא. (Information from CUDL)

Legal queries, one of them apparently concerned with sharing in partnerships. (Information from CUDL)

On of relations who are ineligible to serve as legal witnesses. F. 2v contains jottings and pen trials. (Information from CUDL)

Possibly from Saʿadya’s formulary of legal documents. (Information from CUDL)

Geonic responsa, quoting R. Ḥananel. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: list of the first and last words contained in each of a number of pamphlets or quires. Verso: pen trials. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Araḥ b. Natan (aka Musāfir b. Wahb), in Alexandria, to the Nagid Mevorakh, in Fustat. The sender and addressee are not named in the letter, but Frenkel identified them on the basis of handwriting and content. Dating: toward the end of Mevorakh's tenure as nagid (1094–1111; Frenkel). This long letter, written between the lines of the Arabic text on recto, mentions disputes in the Jewish community, especially an ongoing dispute with the Maghribi community over the payment of the capitation tax. The Banū Naḥum family is involved (a well-known family from Alexandria). The letter also expresses the dissatisfaction of the community with its muqaddam. Araḥ functions in the letter as the 'nā'ib' (deputy) of the Nagid in Alexandria. (Another interpretation of the word niyāba in line 31 would be that "they [Araḥ's enemies] have destroyed the community in the name of representing you.") In a postscript, Araḥ reports to the Nagid how he dealt with a case of a widow who was exploited. Araḥ complains in passing about the severe illness that he contracted while traveling (lines 14–15), perhaps to support his self-presentation as someone who takes care of the community despite all that it costs him. Information in part from Frenkel. Note that this letter is written on an enormous sheet of paper that originally contained an Arabic state document, subsequently reused for a copy of Shemuel b. Ḥofni's Kitāb al-Shurūṭ on verso, and ultimately torn up and reused for this letter and other documents. Joins: T-S Ar.18(2).193 + T-S Ar.30.306 + T-S Ar.30.314: Marina Rustow. T-S 24.21: recorded in FGP from the Sussman Talmud catalogue.

Bottom of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic addressed to an unidentified community (al-jamāʿa). Mentions the intention to build or rebuild "al-qodesh" but 100 dirhams are still wanting. "If the opinion of the community is behind what we have written, send us your signatures to the effect that you are happy with this." Dating: Probably ca. 13th–15th century, based on handwriting and some late linguistic features (e.g., תעתאז instead of תריד). (Information in part from CUDL)