Geniza Lab

Letterbook in Judaeo-Arabic (fragment) likely eighteenth- or nineteenth-century that contains drafts and possibly copies of business-related correspondence. The letters frequently use the phrase "יא אכי/ O my brother" which implies the possibility that this was business correspondence between brothers (l. 1v, 6v, 14v, 7-8r, 12r). On the recto, the same letter is practiced five times and discusses maritime trade in Beiruti silk where the coinage is silver reales. The spelling shifts between the instances of "אל רייס מחמד" and "אל ריס מחמד" (l. 5-6r, 11r, etc.) yet it seems possible that this could be referencing "the captain Muḥammed" of the maritime vessel "מרכב" mentioned in each draft (l. 2r, 8r, etc.). In the closing of each draft the phrase "נרסלהם לכם צוחבתו ושלום" appears which is drawing on the Ottoman Turkish "ṣohbet" or "friendly conversation" (l. 6r, 11r, etc.). On the verso, there is more evidence of drafting with the repeated phrase "בית אל קונסול וטאלבהם" (l. 3v, 8v, etc.) but the epistolary passages vary in length and content ("בית אל קונסול" is likely a reference to European consuls in the Ottoman empire). Date: 18th c or 19th c. MCD.

Letter and response. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably no earlier than 16th century. The writer of the original letter is in some distress and requests help (פי הדא אלאמר אנו דרורי כתיר קוי = indeed it is very very urgent). Regards to his brother-in-law Dā'ūd. This letter is addressed to Avraham Kohen Vini(?) יצו = ישמרו צורו. Needs further examination.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic addressed to Mordechai Masis (? משיש) that has been reused for pen trials in square Hebrew letters and possibly a literary text on the verso. Overall, the fragment likely dates to the early modern centuries (16th-19th) although it is unclear how much time passed between its various points of reusage. The year is possibly mentioned with gematria on the recto where "מבי" is repeated after the phrase "יום ג במ" which could translate to the "third day of M[enaḥem]" or the month of Av. The letter fragment follows the conventions of epistolary etiquette in Judaeo-Arabic, for example, in line 9r of the document the author mentions hearing of good news about the recipient "נסמעו ענכום אכבאר אל כייר". The text on the verso appears to be that of a different hand (see esp. variation in aleph) and the tone shifts significantly from an epistolary one to a poetic descriptions with phrases such as "אן ייקול אל ן אדם לקלבו" or "that the son of Adam says to his heart" (l. 1v). It should be noted that "[be]n adam" can also be translated more generally as any human individual depending on the context. MCD.

List of Judeo-Arabic accounts dated in the month of Ramaḍān with an abbreviated year "מו/46". Based on the script and paper preservation this fragment is perhaps eighteenth- or nineteenth-century so as a Hijri year this document may be [11]46AH (early 1734CE) or [12]46AH (early 1831CE). The accounts are listed under the first names Muḥammed, Mustafa, Hajj Utman (חג׳ עוטמאן), and Maḥmūd where both alphanumerical and word-based numbers are mentioned. The same format of listed accounts continues on the verso. Date: 18th c or 19th c. MCD.

List of items such textiles and jewels. Late

Letter addressed to Yūsuf al-Surrī. The name Saʿīd Maḍmūn the Blind appears at the bottom of verso; unclear if this is the name of the writer. The letter is written in Judaeo-Arabic. The hand looks Yemeni. Dating: Probably Ottoman-era, based on the mention of the currency qirsh. The purpose of the letter is to inform the addressee that the money he kindly sent (or promised to send) never arrived. The writer mentions his paternal aunts Shamʿa and Turkiyya.

Late letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Probably 18th or 19th century. Mentions Jerusalem. From a certain Mordekhay. Possibly a North African dialect (דייאלו). ASE.

Account in Judaeo-Arabic with alphanumerical figures and itemized labels such as "milk/ ḥalīb" that may date from the 16th-17th centuries (based on the paleography). On the right side of the recto the name Yiṣḥaq is mentioned on two occasions. The fragment is quite small but displays the inner crease of what was likely a bigger bifolium. Date: 16th c or 17th c. MCD.

Letter from Yosef Binyamin, in Rashīd, to Shemuel Samḥūn(?), in Fustat/Cairo. A certain Yiṣḥaq adds a postscript with his greetings. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 18th or 19th century. The writer reports that he arrived in Rashīd. Mentions various business matters. Regards to Moshe; Eliyya; Moshe Ḥefeẓ; and Yiṣḥaq Shami.

Letter from a woman, in Rashīd, to Yom Ṭov al-Buḥayrī (it seems her son-in-law) and his wife Esther (it seems her daughter), in Fustat/Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably no earlier than 16th century. The specific relationships are not entirely clear. She seems to use masculine verb endings when addressing each one of the two; she opens with "salām allāh taʿālā ʿalā a[l]-ṣihr(?) al-ʿazīz wa-ʿalā al-bint al-ʿazīza Esther min ummik" and there is no clear alternative to eading ṣihr, which can mean son-in-law as well as brother-in-law; but she also writes "greet your mother-in-law" (with masculine verb ending), a statement that has to be addressed to her own child. In any event, she congratulates them on acquiring a female slave (if אכצתי is indeed to be read as אכדתי) and urges one of them (presumably the daughter, but the verbs are masculine) to "take it with a gracious word" (khudhu bi-kalima ḥilwā). The remainder of the content is obscure. Greetings to Doña Sh[..]; to the aforementioned mother-in-law; and to Khuḍayr and Manṣūr. ASE.

Letter from Mūsā Mosseri. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 18th or 19th century. Verso: Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic.

Late letter in Judaeo-Arabic; either a fragment preserving only the greetings, or a letter that consists entirely of greetings. Mentions ʿAzīza, Avraham, and Binyamin.

Letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late, maybe 15th century or later, based on handwriting, abbreviations, formulae, format. The main letter on recto deals with various business matters; mentions rose water; sends many greetings. Somebody else added a postscript. On verso there is another note, mentioning three jarā'ir of barley, and the sufferings of Ibn Manṣūr(?) from the day the qaẓin arrived, and also that R. Levi "stays at the dīwān night and day." Needs further examination.

Upper part of a family letter in Judaeo-Arabic, probably no earlier than 15th century. The writer addresses his father, "the boy" (his brother?) Shemuel, his sisters Ghuzla, Sumayḥa, and Ruḥama, and his mother. He has sent with Raḥamin, the bearer of the letter, some money (ashrafiyyīn dhahab) which is to be given to Ḥafṣa "to free herself with it." The writer would have come himself if he had completed the sales he needs to make. He exhorts Shemuel to look after everyone. They are going to receive 200 eggs; his siblings are to get 100 and Raḥamin 100, and his mother is to receive 50 eggs from those of Ḥafṣa. ASE.

Late family letter in Judaeo-Arabic, it seems from a man to his brother Shemuel (or less likely his father, if the letter is read as a ב). Alexandria is mentioned in the first line. The addressee is to tell something confidential to Sari (?) Muḥammad—not to Malīḥ, not to Wuḥaysh, not to his brother. Then: "Be a man and take care of your siblings." If the addressee wants money, he can get two dinars from uncle (ʿammī) Sulaymān, or from Ṣāliḥ. The writer is sending the addressee 20 muayyadis with Reuven. Possibly the same handwriting as ENA NS 35.4. ASE.

Probably a legal document in Judaeo-Arabic, late. Mentions an Amīr Yūsuf [...] and "all the demands and all the debts. . . " incumbent on somebody to somebody. There are several distinct sections of the document and two stamped seals. Needs further examination.

Late family letter in Judaeo-Arabic from Khuḍayr to his brother-in-law in the Fayyūm. Possibly the same handwriting as ENA NS 35.2. The writer has been sick and bedbound for 15 days, but now he is better. He inquires about business matters: if the money has been sent, if all of it was spent on flax, whether flax is cheap or expensive, whether the addressee has any requests from the neighborhood. Mentions ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Zayyāt, who says no one brought him anything. The writer asks for money and wool and eggs and olives. Umm Qamar says to send her the flax belonging to her. The letter has several interesting colloquial forms such as ונכאן for وإن كان and the modern ולאלא for "or not." ASE.

Late letter in Judaeo-Arabic from Avraham Reuven, in Tripoli, to a business partner in Fustat.

Late family/business letter in Judaeo-Arabic from Elʿazar Sadīd. He greets numerous people including Yūsuf Shoshan, Doña Najma, the boy Aharon Shoshan, the brother David Sadīd, Murayḥib, Maryam, and everyone else in the house. Needs further examination

Fragment of a late letter in Judaeo-Arabic.