Geniza Lab

Deeds of sale issued by Ottoman courts in 1519CE, with a possible endorsement on the verso mentioning both 925AH and 926AH (1519CE-1520CE). The ḥujja on the recto was recorded by an unknown qadi court (possibly in Baḥṭīṭ or nearby Bilbeis) in 925AH. The ḥujja on the verso was clearly issued by the chief qadi court in Cairo "al-Bāb al-ʿĀlī" (l. 3v). The properties which are being sold on the recto are in Bilbays (l. 7r, 11r) and purchased by a Jewish dyer from Baḥṭīṭ (l. 2r). There is extensive description of the spatial orientation and perimeters of these properties. This fragment was first cited by Goitein in Med. Soc. III in 1978 and, most recently, by James Baldwin on p.36 of the book Islamic Law and Empire in Ottoman Cairo (2017). For a full overview of relevant citations see the FGP bibliography for this fragment. MCD. (information from Goitein's index cards, Baldwin, and Baker/Polliack catalogue).

Business letter, first half of the 16th century. The subject matter is a dispute between merchants who dealth in skins, pepper, and tin. An Avraham b. Hayyim is named. Information from Avraham David's edition.

Late business letter in Hebrew from Shemuel Bahlul in Manzala (near Damietta). Information from Avraham David's transcription and notes.

Recto: letter from the 16th century, mentioning the names Abraham Ibn Ṣūr, Reuben the Babylonian, Abraham Nuniʾel (נוניאל), Faraj Allah the proselyte, and Yequtiʾel. Verso: an abbreviated blessing for the bearer of the letter and an abbreviated curse for whoever may intercept it and open it without permission. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document dated 1553 CE (1 Shevat 5313). Reconciliation agreement between Yiṣḥaq and his wife, in which she agrees to not go out of the house without his permission. Signed by Yaʿaqov b. Ẓion.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic and western Arabic numerals. Dated: 1004 AH, which is 1595/96 CE. In the verso note mentioning the year of recording, the scribe has also noted that the "defter'" offers accounts regarding "קומאש" (fabric). On the recto, the list heading on the right of the bifolium is in the name of Shemuʾel Tortos and the entries below it mention goods such as "almonds/לוז", "olive oil/זית", "cheese/גבן", and other Judaeo-Arabic terms. Near the inner crease on the left side of the recto, the Turkish "kırmızı/קרמזי/red" may be in use. MCD.

Fragment of a letter from Jerusalem to Egypt, beginning of the 16th century. The writer describes a financial/communal crisis that prevented the functioning of the weekly collections of money for the use of the community and for paying the taxes imposed by the rulers. Don Avraham b. ʿUqba attempted to mediate the conflict to no avail. In the margin the name Bū l-Faraj appears. On verso the writer alludes to conflict between the Maghrebi and Sefaradi populations. There is also a writing exercise in a different hand. Information from Avraham David. ASE.

Business letter, first half of the 16th century. The subject matter is a dispute between merchants who dealth in skins, pepper, and tin. An Avraham b. Hayyim is named. Information from Avraham David's edition.

Letter from Rachel b. Avraham Zussman, in Jerusalem, to Yaʿaqov Katz, in Venice. In Yiddish. Dated: 16 Heshvan 5327 AM, which is November 1566 CE. Sent via Rachel's son Moshe in Cairo, who evidently never forwarded it to Venice.

Letter from Me'ir Saragos, in Fustat/Cairo, to Yaʿaqov Mar Ḥayyim, probably somewhere in the Levant. The writer was a judge active in Cairo in the second decade of the 16th century. The name of the addressee appears in other documents from 1509 and 1511 CE. The letter is in Hebrew with several Turkish words mixed in. The beginning of the letter deals with the 'sürgün,' an Ottoman policy of forced population transfers. Thus the letter was presumably written some time after the Ottoman conquests of 1517 CE, if such a policy was already in effect. The continuation of the letter deals with business matters, and then a complaint about Yaʿaqov b. Shanjū, who has persisted in "playing" (i.e., gambling) and lost a great deal of money. Information largely from Avraham David's edition (via FGP).

Business letter in Hebrew. Late. Dating: Second half of the 16th century, based on Avraham David's assessment. Mentions currencies such as coronas and peraḥim. Most of the letter consists of detailed business accounts.

Legal deed involving R. Yiṣḥaq Luria Ashkenazi and Rafa'el Kalonymos. Location: Egypt. Dated: Tevet 5319 AM, which is 1559 CE. The deed details the terms under which a certain Refaʾel Kalonymos will settle a loan with Yiṣḥaq Luria Ashkenazi by working in the latter's "bazares/באזאריש" in Alexandria (l.5). As Avraham David notes in his description, "bazares/באזאריש" is most likely a reference to market shops. The witness Yosef b. Meʾir Somekh ha-Kohen is also likely the scribe, given that he penned at least four other legal documents across the sixteenth century (T-S 13J5.6, Moss. VII.20.1, T-S AS 145.222,T-S 13J4.23.) The scribal production of Yosef b. Meʾir Somekh ha-Kohen is also widely attested in responsa: Rabbi Meʿīr Gāviṣōn, responsum 9; Rabbi Beṣalel Ashkenazi, reponsum 33; Rabbi Yaʿacov Castro, responsum 18; Rabbi Ḥayīm Kapūsī, responsum 33, cited in Leah Bornstein-Makovetsky, "The Community and its Institutions / הקהילה ומוסדותיה", in The Jews of Ottoman Egypt 1517-1914, ed., Jacob Landau (Jerusalem: Misgav Yerushalayim, 1988), 177. (Information in part from Avraham David's edition on FGP.) MCD.

Letter in Ladino from a family member to Avraham Shalom: "... Know as it pleases you that Esther married. May you marry your sons with greater advantage. May they never be orphans ... And more tears flowed from my eyes than from a fountain, for I found myself with no other relative or support then the Lord, blessed be He, and your brother-in-law, who did come. And you did not send me even two lines with him. Even if he did not call on you, you could have sent him two lines (for us) with those who come and go. You could have done so, not for me but for your sister who, saying 'Oh, to receive two lines from my brother!' is tearing out her heart and does nothing but cry from your lack of affection. Were it not for your aunt, who sent me what she sent me, I would not even have had enough for the dowry. May the blessed Lord repay her during the life of her son and her daughters what she did with this orphan of the Lord, may she have her repayment, may her sons have many sons and much good. Amen. Thus may it be willed before our Father who is in heaven. And I know that you are angry on account of the china (el sini)... greetings from myself, Khalifia Ajiman... and from your mother Doña Jamila, widow of the perfect scholar Rabbi Yom Tov Shalom, may his soul rest in Eden...." Address on reverse of the letter: To be delivered to the wise, exalted, honored and renowned Rabbi Avraham Shalom - may his light shine. Amen. So be His will. From Safed to Egypt (Cairo) and from there, the wise, exalted, honored and renowned Rabbi Yehuda Kastilas is to send it on to Alexandria." (Information in part from http://www.investigacion.cchs.csic.es/judeo-arabe/sites/investigacion.cchs.csic.es.judeo-arabe/files/Genizah-Al-Andalus.pdf.)

Partnership document in Hebrew between Moshe and Me'ir & his brother. 16th century per Avraham David. The partnership is to last for two years. The top and bottom of the document are both missing. A conversion rate is given: 1 golden Venetian peraḥ for every 100 Venetian peraḥim.

First page of the Cairene Purim Scroll (Megilat Purim), the Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic verses alternating, mentioning the date 5284 AM (= 1524 CE). Information from Shivtiel/Nissen catalog.

Bottom of a letter in Ladino from Damascus to Fustat, addressed to Yosef Pisho (?) the student of Yiṣḥaq Ashkenazi (very possibly Isaac Luria). The writer describes how he has wept day and night since their separation and "you know that the foreigner (el forastero), no matter how rich he may be undergoes hardships (por muncho rico que sea pasa fatigas)" He sends regards to several people: his sister, his brother Yosef, Moshe Rozal, el Hakham R. Hayyim Lavita and his wife, and to Doña Dona ("she of munyon" = the stump?) and to tell her that he was unable to pass on her message to R. Meir Cohen, because he is now in Sefat. He also mentions Masʿud Kohen and the brother of Yiṣḥaq.

Legal document fragment connected to the Mustʿarab congregation of Cairo—perhaps an acknowledgment of a deposit and a commitment not to benefit from it. The document names Moshe Dammūhī, who may be identical with the father of one of the witnesses of T-S 8J8.23 (1577 CE). This document is a join to T-S NS 99.59 (found via FGP joinfinder). MCD.

Late accounts in Judaeo-Arabic on a bifolium that is suggestive of the existence of a broader ledger (which is also attested to by this fragment's joins). The owner of the ledger mentions being in Alexandria in the year 1583 CE (Iyyar 5343) in the middle portion of the verso and in the same entry mentions "Ibrāhīm Basha" which may constitute a reference to a state official. At the top of the verso, the scribe also mentions a transaction with one Yiṣḥaq b. Rozel in which silver medin coinage is in use "מיידי". One half of the recto is severely discolored and the other includes a wide array of daily financial entries where "jadid" (or "cedid" in Ott. Turkish) coinage may be in use (l. 3r). MCD.

Bifolium from a notebook. One and a half pages are filled with a poem in Ladino involving a husband and wife and a knight, with refrains which are different from each other but which all end with "yo." The remaining two and a half pages are filled with accounts in Judaeo-Arabic mentioning the year 1581 (Elul 5341) and 1582 CE (Elul 5342). Merits further examination.

Bifolium from a notebook. One page has a poem in Ladino involving a husband and wife and a knight, with refrains which are different from each other but which all end with "yo" (continuation of the poem on the preceding framgent). Another page is filled with accounts in Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew.