Geniza Lab

Part of a letter. (Information from CUDL)

Part of a letter or possibly a legal document, mentioning a bill of exchange, quantities of money and the names Ibn Ṣaḡīr, Abū l-Saqr (?), Ibn Meʾir, Abū Sahl, the Ḥaver Abū ¸Kathir (Efrayim b. Shemarya), a synagogue and a date, 16 Adar. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in Arabic script. Dating: Probably ca. 14th–16th century. Mentions money to be given to the recipient; Alexandria; an amir; and a muḥtasib. Needs further examination. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter of appeal for charity from Manṣūr b. Ibrāhīm Ibn Naḥum to the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya. In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender opens by mentioning that he is the brother of the wife of the cantor from al-Raḥba. He then reminds the Nagid that he actually helped him once, "in the time of al-Maʾmūn" (unclear who this could refer to), by giving or loaning him 10 dinars to get out of a guarantee or tax farm (ḍamān) which Shemuel was being held accountable for. The term "imāra" (something to do with the state?) is mentioned. Parts of these lines are crossed out. Now, fate has caught up with the sender. His wife has died, he has three children to support, and his vision is weak (ḍarra baṣruh). (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter of greetings written and signed by Abraham Maimonides, to Anatoli b. Joseph. (Information from CUDL)

Part of a letter from a man to his son, Abū l-Ḥasan, who requests that next time he should write in Hebrew. Abū Surūr is also mentioned. The address is on verso. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: part of a Hebrew letter mentioning Shimʿon and [Maṣ]liaḥ ha-Kohen, and referring to bringing a letter of appointment (המינוי). Verso: Arabic and Hebrew jottings, along with much mirrored Hebrew text. (Information from CUDL)

Mercantile letter from Nissim b. Ismāʿīl, unknown location, to an unknown addressee, in Jerusalem. Fragment (upper right corner of recto) In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in Arabic script. There is additional Arabic script underneath the address (a postscript? instructions for the mail carriers?) which ends, "quickly, if God wills." The letter mentions Mūsā(?) b. Qūqū al-Bahnasī (or perhaps al-Nafūsī). Not much more is preserved. (Information in part from CUDL)

Order of payment in dirhams. Verso contains Arabic jottings. (Information from CUDL)

Part of the beginning of a letter to Ḥalfon b. Menashshe al-Qaṭāʾif from his brother Yefet. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from the office of a Nagid of the Maimonides family. Dating: 13th–15th century. Fragment (upper left corner). Probably addressed to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān. Refers to someone coming to Cairo and possibly mentions a stable (אלאסטבל). (Information in part from CUDL.)

Part of a legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe al-Qaṭāʾif. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Abū Zikrī Kohen to Sulaymān. In Judaeo-Arabic. Less a letter—there are no opening or closing pleasantries—and more an order of various items with instructions for how to send them. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: End of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Refers to a gathering that took place at the home of "Sayyidnā" on Shabbat, where the addressee's name came up. Abū l-Surūr and Abū Yaʿqūb are mentioned, followed by pious blessings. Same handwriting as T-S NS 236.10 + T-S NS J407. On verso there is a list of medical simples, including saffron, sugar, aloe, camphor, honey, and alum (this description might belong with a different fragment; it does not seem to match the handful of mysterious words in Hebrew script that actually appear on verso). (Information from CUDL)

Part of a letter mentioning the Rosh ha-Seder. Probably a letter of appeal for charity or a recommendation for a poor man. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from a certain Raḥamim אלכואתיקין(?). In Hebrew. Dating: Possibly 16th century. The sender mentions that he previously pledged some money or property with the addressee. He now asks for a charitable loan of 2 peraḥim (a week?). (Information in part from CUDL)

Informal note from an unknown sender to ʿĀmir b. Isḥāq (per recto) and/or to Abū Kathīr Efrayim (per verso). In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender wants the addressee to take care of the "ḥashīsh" and mentions two unusual medical commodities (כמאפיטוס = ground pine, and מאמיתא = horned poppy), which he would like to be sold. Mentions 'my master the ḥaver.' (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter in the hand of Yefet b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (a piece from the right side of recto). Confirms the receipt of various good: al-shuqqa al-maqṣūr for a woman, which arrived with ʿImrān [...] al-Tilimsānī; something for Abū l-Munā, perhaps the biqyār and the dinar mentioned in the next line; something which was lost, but there is nothing that can be done about that. (Information in part from CUDL)

Part of the beginning of a letter in the hand of Abū Saʿīd Ḥalfon b. Menashshe al-Qaṭāʾif. (Information from CUDL)

Verso: Complete letter from ʿEzra to Seʿadya. In Judaeo-Arabic. Written on a thin strip of paper, with sharply upslanting lines. Dating: Perhaps 13th or 14th century. The sender apologizes for the delay and is anxious to convey his eagerness to serve, lest 'Sayyidnā' be upset with him like last time. (Information in part from CUDL.)