Geniza Lab

End of a legal document from Egypt dated Adar 1742 CE (5502).

Probably accounts. The year 1733/4 (5493) is mentioned.

Legal document dated 1760 CE (Tammuz 5520).

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic the recipient of which is unknown, but this individual is referred to with an honorific form of address (l.2-3). The letter is dated in late 1764 CE (Cheshvan 5525 AM) and in the first lines there is mention of wine "חמריו" (l.6r), possibly as an object being sold: "באלסוואל מעה באיעה בחמריו" (l.6r) and "אטבאעכום אלחמרה" (l.7r). Lines 14-17r feature a discussion of the language used in the sender's and recipient's correspondence. In the final lines we find the sender using the polite phrase of kissing the hands "תקבל איאדיכום" (l.24-25r). The signature is elaborately embellished to the extent of illegibility, yet some letters emerge in the surname that might suggest "Saragosi/[?]סאראגושי". MCD.

Letter in Ladino by Joseph [...], dated 5500 (= 1740 CE). (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Moses Ghaylioun (גאילייון) to Meʾir ben Naʿim, mentioning Abū Simeon. Dating: ca. late 18th century. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic from Yosef Fitru to Yom Ṭov b. Ḥayyim, mentioning Alexandria, Shelomo Solal (cf. T-S NS 175.30) and Yehuda Fanu. Dating: ca. 18th century. Containing instructions about issuing a deed of lease. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter from Shelomo to Shemuʾel, c. 18th century. (Information from CUDL)

Letter of business from Avraham Haman and Gavriel Ḥefez (חפז) to Merkado Karo and Shim'on Frances, dated 1797 CE. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Ladino to Joseph from Isaac in Cairo, mentioning ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān and Marseille (?). Dated 5488 of the Era of Creation (= 1728 CE). (Information from CUDL)

Partnership agreement dated Sivan 1735 CE (5495), to last for eight years, it seems for a business venture dealing in etrogim. The six partners are (1) Yaʿaqov Bonsenyor (whose signature is preserved at the bottom), (2) Yeshuʿa al-Ḥāmī, (3) Avraham [...], (4) David Mizraḥī known as Nawwār (?), and (5) the youth Avraham Rozanes known as Ghazzāwī, and (6) Avraham's father, Shemuel al-Ghazzāwī. (There are a few missing words so it is not certain that Shemuel al-Ghazzāwī is the 6th partner.) An interesting detail mentioned is that Yaʿaqov Bonsenyor is about to set forth for a sheliḥut in Hebron and in Yemen. ASE.

Legal document in which Shemuʾel Elyon receives money from Mercada (מרקאדה) bat Jacob Arubaṣ (ארובץ) to invest in his business. Dated Tammuz 5521 (= 1761 CE) in Cairo, and signed by Joseph Kondiote (קנדיוטי = the Cretian) and Meʾir b. Shelomo Qalaʿi (קלעי). (Information from CUDL)

Legal document concerning a partnership. Abraham Mosseri receives money from Nissim Shelomo Algazi, as previously agreed. Mentions the name Isaac Shunina. Witnessed by Ḥayyim ha-Levi, Joseph Yonah, Moses Mosseri, [...] b. Zechariah Mosseri (mentioned in the text as the brother of Abraham), and dated 1st Tevet 5508 of the Era of Creation (= 1747—8 CE) in Cairo. (Information from CUDL)

Commercial letter in Ladino, 1733 CE (Tishrei 5594), in Egypt. It concerns the dispatch of goods from Fusṭāṭ and mentions the ships Enrico e Maria and Francesca. A Magen David is drawn in the margin on verso. At the foot of verso is a list in three columns. Information partially from CUDL (where the century is off).

Legal document in which Mordechai ben Naʿim and David ben Naʿim settle the estate (particularly the terms of the ketubba) of the woman Ashkenaz, wife of David ben Naʿim, following her death. Signed by David ben Naʿim, and witnessed by Abraham Noah and Nissim Shelomo. Dated 1st Tammuz 5509 (= June 1749) in Egypt (Cairo). (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Ladino from Sidon from Joseph b. Joyya and Masʿūd Bunan to Abraham Monson and Judah Aseo in Cairo concerning community financial matters. Dated Nisan 5518 of the Era of Creation (= 1758 CE). Mentions Abraham del Bedere and Abraham Sagri. (Information from CUDL)

Acknowledgement of debt between Elʿazar Kondiote (קאנדייוטי) and Shabbetay ʿAdda (עדה). Dated Kislev 5527 of the Era of Creation (= 1766 CE) and signed by Ezekiel Ḥefeṣ, David b. Elʿazar Kondiote and Saʿadya Maʿālī ha-Kohen. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from an unidentified sender, in Hebron, to his 'brother' Yeḥezqel Ḥefeṣ, in Cairo. In Hebrew. Dated: Sunday, 17 Av [5]529 AM, which is 1769 CE. It is a reply stating that it is possible that the writer will return to Egypt. Reference is made to documents and a security (polisa / פוליסה). The verso is on the back page of the bifolium. Both middle pages are blank. (Information in part from CUDL and Dotan Arad.)

Bifolium from Mitzrayim, 1790–92 CE, apparently from a ledger of betrothal and marriage contracts. About nine are preserved, complete with names, and trousseau lists, and values of marriage gifts. The currency used is the riyal (ריאליס). There is also a lovely illustration of three birds. ASE.

Probably a fragment of a court ledger from Fustat, including three records dated November 1719 (Kislev 5480). The first is marriage-related; the second is a betrothal document; the third is some sort of financial arrangement. (1) Names Shemuel Neḥemias the acquaintance of Avraham and the widow Confrada (?) bt. Avraham Mizraḥī. (2) The groom-to-be is Yiṣḥaq Afiya (?) and the bride-to-be is Kabīra (?) bt. Gabriel Amarillo of Crete (Candia). (3) Names Yaʿaqov Yo'av and Ḥava the wife of David ha-Levi Ṭorina (?).