Geniza Lab

Fragment (middle vertical third) of a late letter in Hebrew, mentioning al-Khawāja ʿUthmān.

Letter of recommendation, likely a draft, from Fustat. Dated: 5735 (מעֿשֿהֿ) AM, which is 1614/15 CE. The bearer, Avraham b. Shemuel Ashkenazi, fell into Ottoman captivity eight years ago. His captors brought him to Istanbul, but he refused to convert to Islam, managed to escape, "and took shelter in the Beit Midrash of Shem and ʿEver." He has been living in Fustat for the last two years, exerting himself in service of the community. He now wishes to return to his native land, and the anonymous addressee is asked to help him. (Information from FGP)

Letter of appeal for charity addressed to Yiṣḥaq Barukh. In Hebrew. Dating: Late, maybe 16th or 17th century. The writer is a teacher.

Letter from Avraham Castro, in Alexandria, to an unknown addressee, in Fustat/Cairo. In Hebrew. Dating: 16th century (Avraham Castro died in 1560). The writer had a position overseeing trade or taxation in Alexandria. This letter is quite damaged, but it seems to deal with ships and 'the tower' and 'the men of the tower' and bribery. Information in part from FGP.

Business letter from Yehuda b. Yaʿaqov (fattore) to a certain Shelomo (employer). In Hebrew with occasional Ladino words (docenas, magazin, partidos).

Court record of divorce (or is this the bill of divorce itself?). In Hebrew. Dated: Tammuz and Av 5279 AM, which is 1519 CE. Husband: Elʿazar b. Aharon ha-Kohen. Wife: Esther bt. Seʿadya Kohen.

Legal deed. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat/Cairo. Dated: Beginning of Shevat 5306 AM, which is 1546 CE. Concerning financial arrangements between a wife (Siwār) and husband (Avraham al-Jazīra(?)). Witnesses: Elʿazar b. Avraham Mujamjim; Moshe Ashasho(?). There is an addendum scribed and signed by the same Elʿazar b. Avraham Mujamjim. Dated: beginning of Av 5308 AM, which is 1548 CE.

Fragment of a bussines Letter. Unusual hand, probably Italian. Venice is mentioned.

Recto: Legal document. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat. Dated: First third of Kislev 5439 AM, which is 1678 CE. Connected to the Maghrebi congregation (ק"ק מערביים). It has to do with property and financial arrangements following the death of Levi Jaryānī (? גריאני) known as Ḥefeẓ. His orphans are David, Nissim, and Yiṣḥaq.The document is quite long. Many names are mentioned. Currency: silver medin (מאי׳ כסף). Needs further examination. Verso: Legal document. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat. Dated: First third of Nisan 5439 AM, which is 1679 CE. Involves the wives of David and Yiṣḥaq Jaryānī(?), who are respectively Qamr bt. Avraham Dukkān and Simḥa bt. Shemuel Samḥūn. Needs examination

Recto: Letter addressed to Avraham ha-Sefaradi. In Hebrew, often rhymed. Dating: Probably no earlier than 15th century. The writer reports on a man who wishes to marry the daughter of Avraham the Tailor and conveys some of that man's speech in this letter. It is unclear what he wants from the addressee. A learned man named Yehuda חובל is also mentioned. Verso: Alongside the address of the original letter, there is a letter in Judaeo-Arabic, perhaps the response to recto. There is also a name: Binyamin b. אנתה(?). Needs examination.

Letter from Moshe b. Abudarham, probably in Rashid, to an unknown addressee. In Hebrew. Dating: Second half of the 16th century, based on Avraham David's assessment. The writer's son-in-law bought a 'tower' in Alexandria, and the writer plans to move in with him. He wishes to leave Rashid in part because "it is a waystation and people from Fustat are always passing through." Information from Avraham David via FGP.

Business letter from Shelomo to Yosef Ḥalūfī, in Fustat. Dating: Second half of the 16th century, based on Avraham David's assessment. The letter deals with several business matters, especially the sugar trade. Also mentions 1000 Venetian swords.

Letter from Nissim, in Qaṭya, Sinai, to Shelomo Iskandarānī, in Fustat. In Hebrew. Dating: First half of the 16th century, based on Avraham David's assessment. It gives an "account of conditions in the small and turbulent caravan station on the Cairo-Damascus highway. There is much about caravans. Robbers infest the way. The Muslims have demolished a synagogue(?) and a private house of the Jews. It is as hot as the nethermost Sheol, and the writer's pen is broken" (Gottheil-Worrell, Fragments from the Cairo Genizah, p. 229).

Letter from Avraham Castro (the grandson of the well-known minter) to a certain Shelomo. In Hebrew. Dating: Second half of the 16th century. Deals with business matters. The writer wishes the addressee to give employment or credit to a certain Yiṣḥaq Qājījī, "one of the influential men of Palestine," who suffered great financial loss due to bad figs. Ṭodros ha-Kohen adds a note in the margin affirming the veracity fo the letter's contents. Information from Avraham David via FGP, and in part from Gottheil-Worrell, Fragments from the Cairo Genizah, p. 237.

Letter (or rather three letters) from Mustaʿrib sages, in Safed, to the Nagid Yiṣḥaq Sholal, in Fustat. Dating: 1510 CE, based on the assessment of Avraham David. These letters complain of the conduct of a certain R. Moshe, the dayyān of Safed in Galilee. If we are to believe the writers, he was a rather unusually vainglorious, selfish and unscrupulous person, guilty of many acts of tyranny, misappropriation and corruption, and responsible for the perennial Safed Meat Scandal." The paper apparently bears a watermark "of the familiar hand-and-star variety, employed by many manufacturers in France, Switzerland, and Sicily, between 1490 and 1590 CE." Information from Gottheil-Worrell, Fragments from the Cairo Genizah, p. 247.

Legal document. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat. Dated: Monday, 4 Av 5386 AM, which is 1626 CE. Concerning Malka/Milka, the widow of the late Ya'ir Abīdāriʿ (?), documenting that she is taking "the vow of widowhood" to collect her ketubba payment.

Legal document. Partnership agreement in a press (?maʿṣara). In Hebrew. Location: Fustat. Dated: Sunday 4 Tamuz 5275 AM, which is 1515 CE. Currencies: Peraḥim. The four partners are Avraham Talmid, David Alfandre(?), Shelomo Aguilar, and Yosef Sevillia (Shebillia?). Signed by three witnesses (none of whom are the partners), including Me'ir Saragosi. There is a note or addendum on the back.

Deed of sale. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat. Dated: Thursday 26 Iyyar 5306 AM, which is 1546 CE. Currency: Peraḥim. Shelomo b. Yeshuʿa sells the shop where he sells wood to a certain Moshe(?). Witness: Yosef known as Farjūn(?) and Nissim known as [...].

Legal testimony. Signed and scribed by Yaʿaqov Geryani(?). Also witnessed by Yiṣḥaq b. Binyamin b. Shoshin. Location; Fustat. Dated: Thursday 3 Tishrei 5370 AM, which is 1609 CE. The witnesses attest that Yaʿaqov Elyaqim was coerced out of his partnership with Elazar Porekh known as Shuqayr. Information from FGP.

Legal testimony. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat. Dated: Wednesday 15 Tevet 5385 AM, which is 1624 CE. Witnesses: Masʿūd ʿAmram and Shelomo ʿAravit(?). They attest that Yehuda b. Maymūn agrees to work for Khalīfa Daga(?) b. Shemuel as a naqqād in Ṣarf al-Manṣūra under a certain amir until the end of Elul, for a total salary of 2000 muayyadis. Information from FGP.