Geniza Lab

Hastily written list of about 40 contributors, 18 of whom are called Rabbi. An indication of very late origin is that the father's name follows that of son without b. = like a family name. The two elders at top of verso, but without numbers, Elimelech Kohen and Eliezer, probably were in charge of the collections for two weeks. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, 497, App. C 75)

Large, calligraphic alms list. Dating: first half of the twelfth century. According to Goitein, written for the purpose of allocating communal assistance. Cohen: "What kind of assistance was meant cannot be determined (cash?), but Goitein suggests that the numbers squeezed in between the lines represent the number of persons in each household (there are about eighty-five households) and that the entries bearing no numbers consist of households with only one person. In most of the alms lists recording the ration of loaves of bread distributed Tuesday and Friday the numbers occur next to the names of the recipients. On the reverse side, room was left for the Rum, but instead, there is a telling note: "The Rum cannot be counted." The list is headed by a ben tovim, a man from a good family.... To counteract embarrassment, this "man from a good family" was listed anonymously, though in first position on the list, a position of prestige, just before the relatives of two other persons of stature. The persons of stature are called "the head," perhaps a government clerk or a physician, so called because they often headed hospital departments. Later in the list we come upon an unusual entry, the "concealed" glassmaker, zajjaj mastur, nestled among a (poorly paid) parchment maker, a mason (another low-paid wage-eamer), and an immigrant woman (a widow, apparently) from Acre who was living in the home of one of the prominent merchants of Fustat, al-Lebdī. This glassmaker, a representative of the "working poor" and ashamed to appear on an alms list, had himself listed (or was listed by the charity overseers) both anonymously and as mastur, indicating that he normally did not seek charity. Note should be taken in this list of the many menial occupations, including a teacher, several synagogue beadles, and several kashrut supervisors. Hovering just above the "poverty line," they frequently needed supplementation from the community chest. Plenty of widows and orphans crop up here, as well as a couple of divorcees. Other "weak" persons are the ill or afflicted." (Information from Cohen, Voice of the Poor, 149)

List of 54 contributors, by the scribe of T-S K15.70, ed. Mann, and T-S NS J41 and T-S Misc.8.9, headed by the representative of the merchants Yekutiel b. Moshe, 'al-Hakim'. Second donor, 'The Pride,' = Yefet b. Avraham, 'Pride of the Communities,' (dated docs. 1076-1103). Above most names there is a line, the medieval way of deleting, meaning certainly that payment was made. Similar list from same period (late 11th or early 12th c.) is T-S Ar.51.140. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 477, App. C 16, dated third quarter 11th century)

Long strip of paper, with both head and bottom torn away, containing about 25 names (among them four 'sukkaris,' or sugar makers), contributing to charity 1/2, 1, or 1 1/4, partly in wariq, and partly in nuqra. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 494, App. C 60)

Distribution of wheat to Europeans, altogether 49 households including households consisting of only one person. First item: 'The proselyte--3; his female slave Mubaraka--1/2 wayba.' (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 444, App. B 26, dated 1100-1140)

Record of a collection containing 22 names with Coptic numerals. On verso 5 names are repeated with the same numerals, the beginning of a final copy, which eventually was drawn up on another sheet. Some specific names, such as Yiṣḥaq b. al-Sharaf (i.e. Sharaf al-Dawla, 'The Honor of the Government') also found in T-S K15.62. The names on verso are crossed out, so perhaps that is the discarded draft of the list. Goitein thinks this may have been a collection taken up at a wedding; he evidently reads 'al-hatan al-Muwaffaq' in line 14 (his line 7). But see below; al-h could stand for al-hazzan (Cohen). (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 495, App. C 63 and Cohen)

Fragment of a list of pledges to charity made at a wedding. The bridegroom, styled "the elder, the scholar Abu al-Baha" (written in larger letters, different from the rest), pledged (Ar. asma) 1/2 dirham, and so did the others. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 495, App. C 65)

Nine entries, names of recipients of alms, on vellum in huge calligraphic letters, such as 'two freed women, two persons from Hijaz, two from Sahrajt [Egypt], the daughter of Mishael,' accompanied by numbers ranging from one to six. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II p. 442, App. B 10, dated 1040-1060)

Much effaced list of donors to charity. With one exception all called by their first names. Nineteen pledges of at least twenty-two persons. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 475, App. C 11)

Fragmentary list of contributions, it seems in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu, details of about twenty-five preserved: five giving 1, eight giving 1/2, two giving 3/8, three giving 1/4. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, 493, App. C 56)

List of about 105 prospective contributors, headed by the judge Yehiel b. Eliakim (dated docs. 1213-1233). At least 15 names recur in Bodl. c28.47, ed. Ashtor. Only the judge, who gives 1 (dinar), the Rasuy (a title), who appears second here, and another two who pledge 1/2, have sums attached to their names. But enough space is left between the lines for inserting numbers. About 20 different professions are represented. Some groups, such as goldsmiths, money changers, or purveyors of food, are listed together. The list comprises only a fraction of the members of the Rabbanite community of Fustat, probably only the more affluent. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 486, App. C 39)

List of donors to charity, in large characters, apparently destined for display, 6 persons under the heading 'Sunday' and another 10 under the heading 'Wednesday.' Verso contains lists in different hands for 'Monday' (10 persons), 'Thursday' (12), 'Tuesday' (11). These seem to be the names of the collectors of the weekly alms. Only one man, Yaʿaqov, the money assayer, served twice. Dated: time of David b. Avraham b. ha-Rambam. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 494-495, App. C 62)

Two lists of recipients of clothing, in two different scripts, the first part, extending from col.I, l. 1, to col. II, l. 14, the second from col. II, l. 15, to col. IV, l. 21. At least half of the recipients were women. Four names recur in both lists, meaning that two different distributions are recorded here. Details about 44 plus 37 households are recorded, but the leaf, which is folded to form a booklet of four pages, is superscribed 'Leaf no. 3', so that the total number of persons listed originally might have been not 81, but three times as many. It is not excluded that this one and Appendix B 33 and 64 originally formed one document. Abu al-Faraj the parnas is in charge of the the second distribution (which was made in two steps, col. II, l. 15; col. IV, l. 6), is listed as recipient of a thawb, or gown, in the first distribution (col. I, l. 20 [read: 10]), where, however, the item is crossed out. This could hardly mean here, as in some other documents, that the garment had already been delivered to him, for about forty items, or half the total contained in this leaf, exhibit the Arabic final mem, which Goitein takes as an abbreviation of (tasalla)m, 'received' (the same in Appendix B 33, 64, and C 41). Thus the deletion of the parnas share probably had another reason. Other parnasim, mostly outsiders, or their relatives, receive clothing, for example, 'the sister of the parnas from Jerusalem' I l. 18, 'the firnas of Damietta' I:31, 'the parnas of Crete' II:6 (also crossed out), also II:1, IV:1 and 5. Note the large number of foreigners. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 444, App. B 25, dated 1100-1140).

List, neatly written, of 26 people pledging gifts of 5 to 60. The ten most generous donors remain anonymous, the relevant entry being 'mattan,' which is the beginning of the biblical verse 'a gift in secret averts anger' (Prov. 21:14), understood as 'the anger of God.' Verso, in a different script, hasty entries of donations made over three consecutive weeks (the first is incomplete) and, again in another hand, notes on pledges during a later week. On this page, too, a number of pledges are anonymous. The second week is headed by 'the h[aver] the nagid Musa, the eldest son of Nagid Avraham II b. David b Avraham I Maimonides, d. Nov. 1290. (Information from Cohen, Voice of the Poor)

Collection by R. Baruch during the week 'In the Beginning' Twenty-seven contributors totaling 36 1/2 (dirhams). With the exception of two scholarly persons, a banker, entitled haver, who gives nine, and a goldsmith, styled rabbi)--the only one in the list besides the collector--who contributes five together with his partner, all the others content themselves with gifts of one-half, one, or at most one and one-half. Actual payments were made once for several weeks. The insertion in small letters of 'Thursday' between lines 18 and 19 shows that R. Baruch completed his collection during the synagogue service on Thursday morning. This is an example of one of several lists of contributors that do not show a wide scale of social or economic differentiation, with craftsmen by no means always in the lower categories. The letter resh stands for rubaʿ (1/4) and the letter tav for thumn (1/8) (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 490-491, App. C 49, dated first part of 13th century)

List of 67 contributors to charity, headed by 'our lord, may his glory be enhanced,' namely, the Nagid Avraham Maimonides (d. 1237), giving 3 1/2 (dinars or dirhams). Another list superscribed sh (= sheni, second) of 13 persons mentioned before and making a 2nd contribution, is attached. The list contains many persons arranged according to 'business addresses,' namely, the bazaars where persons of the same professions had their shops or where craftsmen had their adjacent fields. This means they were solicited at the same time, in the workplace. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 486-487, App. C 40)

List of around sixty "houses" (bayt) and of eight male individuals, each followed by Coptic numerals. Includes an entry for "the house of the rayyis, the house of our lord R. Avraham (Maimonides)," which Cohen takes as proof that this is a donor list rather than an alms list. Goitein speculates that this might be "a collection arranged by women to which also a few gentlemen contributed." Cohen, however, takes "house" to mean not "wife" but "household," and when a married woman appears on the list, she is mentioned using the term imraʾa (col. 3, line 17). Likewise, in the entry "the bayt of ʿAziza," a woman's name, bayt can only mean "househo1d" (col. 3, line 12). Entries are crossed out when people paid their pledges. (Information from Cohen, Voice of the Poor, 182)

List of about sixty recipients of charity, some identical with those in T-S NS J293. One section is superscribed 'In the Tujib' (a quarter of Fustat). No numerals or other indications of the charity involved. Like T-S K15.102 (Appendix B 31), it is written in very large characters, but in poor script and with bad spelling. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 448, App. B 34, dated 1100-1140).

Two lists of contributors and beginning of a third, comprising 25, 32, and 4 names, respectively, all headed by ha-r (the rabbi) Yosef Israel. The 1st 2 lists are in the same hand as T-S K15.10 and have many names in common with it. The first number = the pledge; the 2nd number = the 1st installment actually made. A late list. (Information from Mediterranean Society II, p. 497, App. C 76)

List of about ninety persons receiving subsidies for their capitation tax obligation, similar to T-S K15.14 + T-S K15.66, Apps. 4-5. Many names and sums are identical. As in official documents from the Fatimid chancelleries, a blank space, three times as wide as the height of the script, is left between the lines. Thus, no doubt, the list was destined for public display. Col. I, l.2 'from the collection, pesiqa' is added because of a special circumstance. It was found that the person concerned was unable to pay even the very reduced rate of 1/4 dinar imposed on him. Verso col. II, l. 11: Yahya al-Majjani, 9 qirats. probably the well known merchant, in dire straits that year and in need of assistance with his capitation tax. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 440, App. B 6, dated 1040-1060)