Geniza Lab

Letter from Moshe [...] to Avraham. In Ladino.

Business accounts. In Ladino. Mentioning Crete and a fattoria several times.

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

Letter from Shemuʾel to his father, David Conforte, in Ladino, which was then reused for a draft of a halakhic treatise on divorce. (Information from CUDL.) "There is little doubt that the recipient is the famous chronicler/historian David Conforte author of the Qoreh ha-Dorot. He was in Cairo in 1664 as a student and in 1671 as Rabbi. In the letter the son refers to this brother Gabriel Conforte and it was long since surmised that David had a son by the name of Gabriel. The son refers to other letters and to remmitances of money. He complains at length about the state of his financial affairs: ,ke no keda koza sin enpenar. Hayom debo aki en la civdad sobre toda mi kaveza 98 grosos no tengo por donde valerme a sakar nada. El dio por sus piadades mos remedie." Eleazar Gutwirth, "The Family in Judeo-Spanish Genizah Letters," 213–14. ASE.

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)

Letter in Ladino to Efrayim ʿAdda (עדה) from David, mentioning Livorno, Ragusa and Senor Vidal. Dated 563 (5563 of the Era of Creation = 1802 CE). (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Shemuel Sidi, in Damietta, to his brother-in-law and business partner Gabriel (likely Gabriel Conforte, son of the famous David Conforte). In Ladino. See T-S 12.381 for another letter from the same Shemuel Sidi, also with a responsum on the other side. Written on Friday, the 13th of Tammuz. It is not clear where the various people are based. Shemuel's father is also in Damietta, but Shemuel's wife is in Gabriel's location. Shemuel writes: "Always write to me via Rashid to Izmir," and, "God willing, on Sukkot, you will tell me what happened the garments that I will send to Salonica, and God willing, tell me about in Izmir." Perhaps Gabriel and Shemuel's wife live in Cairo/Fustat, and Shemuel has embarked on a trip to Izmir. Shemuel reports that he is sending some clothing back to (presumably) Cairo/Fustat for his wife (? "by my sins, I left her practically naked / muy desnuda"). He mentions that he is sending a silk skirt (futa de seda) with R. Ya'aqov Sobrado (?). "Our brother" R. Shelomo al-Hanati (אלחאנאטי) and R. David Kivas (דוד כיואס) are also mentioned. Shemuel sends regards to his father-in-law, Tia Havah (or Hannah), Tio Moshe, and Menahem, and to his own "brother" יאודה מראלי. This fragment also contains a responsum regarding a Jew who had a Gentile process the parchment for Torah scrolls and tefillin but failed to mark the parchment so that he would know if the Gentile swapped it out. The responsum has been edited by Shmuel Glick of the FGP Seride Teshuvot Team. ASE.

Letter from Shemuel Sidi to Moshe ha-Levi. Written on Friday, 1 Heshvan. The letter's origin and destination are unclear. See T-S 12.318 for another letter from the same Shemuel Sidi (sent from Damietta), also with a responsum on the other side. Shemuel reports that he is sending money to Moshe both with Aliko (?), the factotum (taking "muchacho" as the equivalent of "ghulam") of Hajji Amir איל נאמראגואי, and with his own slave איל מוטי. The remainder has to do with a debt to R. Yosef Burgos (?), which he is unable to pay right now. He asks Moshe to speak with him, and Shemuel hopes to pay him later when he travels to Salonica. There is also a note about the bearer of the letter in the margin. He concludes by saying he could not manage to send the purple קוסאקיס (?). ASE.

Letter fragment in Ladino from an old man who has arrived in Jerusalem and is having a hard time there. "La paz y salud. . . . Ya sabes mi venida aqui a Jerusalem y be-avonotay cayó poco bien. . . non hay ganancia. Ninguna aqui se puede ganar un solo darham nin. . . . [tie]nen oficios y caudal y son mansevos non se pueden mantener nin sostener. . . . tal hombre como yo viejo y sin oficio y sin dinero que hizo poco que. . . . y aun quedé adeudado de esta manera que un Siciliano. . . . que me trajeron (?) por seis ducados que me pusiesen. . . ." In essence, there is no work or money to be had in Jerusalem, even for young and healthy man, let alone for an old man like him. He is in debt. Needs further examination. Numerous names are listed on verso, perhaps everyone who is still back home and is to be greeted. Toledo is named. ASE.

Letter in Ladino. (Information from CUDL). Line 25 on Verso mentions Jerusalem.

Letter in Ladino by Abraham Palieche to his sister, dated Elul 5324 (1564 CE). He is in Egypt/Cairo and wants her to come to meet him with the first ship to Alexandria. (Information from CUDL.) He begins by informing her that he is in Misrayim, i. e. Cairo: "Esta sera fazer vos saber komo esto aka en Misrayim. Ke por korer tanto la mi fortuna despues ke de vos me aparte . . . ." He then informs her of his wish to be reunited with her: ". . . kiera el shem itbarakh ke de aki adelante sea akabada la fortuna . . . ." He tells her to board: "la primera nave i veni vos por aki ke el shem itbarakh nos apiadara aki." He assures her that they will manage to subsist: "aki estaremos ganando . . . vos por vuestra parte y yo por la mia," pointing to a certain economic independence on the sister's part. After having thus solved any possible objections he turns to tell her what she is to bring with her: "esa tabla buena aki traeres una vasia para mi eskritura." If she does not understand she is not to worry: "vuestro hermano R. Ishaq YSU el vos enkaminara en todo esto y mira lo ke fazes no vos partais sin dinero . . . ." He ends by sending his "enkomiendas a vuestro hermano y su mujer a mi nina la bezares de mi parte el ke desea vervos mas ke eskrivirvos." He then adds a long postscript again telling her what to bring. On the journey she is to take a companion if she so wishes: "no receles de tomar algun hombre nekhbad o mujer . . . lo ke avreis menester tomares y abasares en Alexandria ke luego abasara vuestra hermana." From Eleazar Gutwirth, "The Family in Judeo-Spanish Genizah Letters," 212.

Letter in Ladino to Avraham from Shemuel b. [...]. Information from CUDL. See also Goitein's index card.

Letter in Ladino from the merchant Avraham Mayo to his father, probably from Alexandria to Fustat/Cairo, dealing with numerous business transactions and the arrival of a Venetian ship. Avraham reports that he received his father's letter stating that he had selected the saffron and sold two out of three fardos (sacks) of גֿידארי (possibly an Indian textile known as "gudari"; possibly the Turkish headgear "çidari"; the diacritical mark over the ג indicates that it is not simply a hard "g"). Avraham and his partner Sulaymān will purchase as much גֿידארי as they can find and send it. "Here, he and I are like brothers. Just so, you and Khuḍayyir should be like brothers. Always help him." Avraham then mentions five sacks of raisins. He then lists the goods he has sent to his father: (1) fifteen panes of lead marked "Mayo Kavakado"; (2) five espuertas (baskets) of lead oxide (מרדסינך, probably from the Persian "murda-sang"; thanks to Professor Daniel Sheffield for this identification), which bear the seal of Sulaymān; (3) and 107 "kedives" (?) of fine Istanbul iron, which he has sent in the company of Khuḍayyir. The lead cost 3 ducats, amounting to 32 Venetian ducats and 33 muayyadis. The lead oxide cost 100 ducats, amounting to 845 [. . .], and the iron cost 182 ducats, amounting to [...]. Avraham paid 37 muayyadis for the גֿירמה (from context: the warehouse? See verso, l. 21). He then reports how much it cost him to transport each good to Rashid, whence they were presumably transported to Fustat/Cairo. Avraham paid 29.5 Venetian ducats for the five sacks of raisins—it seems this is equivalent to 60 muayyadis per qintal—and he is pleased to have gotten the best raisins from the ship at such a good price. He paid 100 Venetian ducats and 100 coronas for the "mersa" (? מירסה) and asks his father to write quickly [if he wants any], because mersa is in high demand. He also purchased some more raisins, and five qintals of cheese (? קיסה) for 1 corona per qintal. Avraham asks his father to send him some of the capital, because he needs to put it to use "between now and Sukkot" during the mercantile season, otherwise "large groups like those that come from Venice" [will outcompete us? the sentence seems incomplete], and it is better for his father to live on his earnings rather than on the business capital ("el cavdal"). Avraham further reports that the [...] of the city died yesterday after two days of suffering from the plague. 'The young son of the teacher (al-muʿallim) is wounded. The Muslims ("moros") are fighting once again ("de nuevo se hieren").' Avraham then gives instructions for what Bunyal should buy on his behalf ("not lentils, but rather a piece of רוודי מתלוק"). Avraham asks his father to inform Yaʿaqov b. Ḥabīb that Moshe b. Hīnī arrived and told Avraham that he had abandoned the gum (la goma) in Rashid, because he could not find cameldrivers and because it was too heavy to transport any other way. He left the gum there in trust ("encomendado"), with enough money for cameldrivers and other expenses for it to be transported onward. "When it arrives, we will be diligent to sell it, do not have any preoccupation." Avraham must have taken a break, because the next thing he writes is, "The gum has arrived." He concludes the letter with kisses for his mother and for Yizhaq and for Nissim. In a first postscript, he asks his father to go and examine Khuḍayyir's sacks of raisins and see if any bear the sign of the anchor and [...], and to write to Avraham with this information. In the second postscript, he asks his father to send good, big, "Qaitbey" [...]s (coins minted under Qaitbey?) with either Ibn Ḥabīb or with Bunyal, whoever comes, and that he is to leave them for Avraham in the גֿירמאס. But if neither of them plan to come, then the goods should be sent with Shemuel Kohen, "and write to him that they belong to Raḥamim." The last line of the letter mentions a cryptic good (linen? firewood? לינו די סאפאר) and says "do not write his response" (?), perhaps because it is a sensitive matter. Date: Plausibly written in 1513/14 CE, based on (1) a reference to Yaʿaqov b. Ḥabīb, who may be identical with the famous author of the ʿAyn Yaʿaqov who died in 1516 CE, and (2) a reference to a plague victim, and (3) a known recurrence of the bubonic plague in Egypt in 1513/14. On the other hand, there is at least one other Yaʿaqov b. Ḥabīb in Geniza documents from the early 18th century (see AIU VII.D.104 and AIU VII.E.30). Then again, Moss. VII,16.2 is a fragment of a Hebrew document from 1544/5 CE centered on an Avraham, a Raḥamim, and the raisin trade. Information largely from Grace Masback's edition and translation in her Junior Paper, "Avraham Mayo’s Egypt in the Age of Exploration." ASE.

Business letter in Ladino from Yehudah Fariente to Yehudah Gatenio, dated Kislev 167 (= 5567) of the Era of Creation (= 1807 CE). Mentions people including Shelomo Barukh, Abraham Crispin, Isaac de Quriel, Musṭafa and the writer’s wife Palonba. (Information from CUDL)

Late letter in Ladino written to Shemuʾel b. Soshan, dated 1st of Ḥeshvan. (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).

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)

Letterbook of Alpalas y Costa, preserving mainly (or entirely?) letters addressed to Daniel Bonfil in Livorno. Dating: 5841 AM, which is 1721 CE. Mentions Ancona several times.

Letter in Ladino, sent by Isaac Baronito to his father Abraham Baronito, Mitzrayim. (Information from CUDL.) Isaac addresses his father as "the crown of my head" (la corona de mi cabeza). It concerns books with "glosses in his hand": sabreis komo he hallado ke tienen los libros haga'ot eskeritura de su mano y me recelo y si kereis aun kon todo esto ke os los envie os los enviare mas ha de saver ke no los vendas a ningun modo por amor de la dicha ke tiene ... y si keres os man dare los libros komo kedamos haya de ser kon este partido ke no los haveis de vender a ningun por la razon. Information from Elazar Gutwirth, "The Family in Judeo-Spanish Genizah Letters," 213. Isaac goes on to offer his father three options for when to receive certain shipments, including the books, the 3 ducats, and the proceeds from the sale of a Torah scroll (? ס״ת). He insists several times that his father must not sell or send the Hagahot/books to anyone else, ve-ha-maskil yavin. He tells his father to write and tell him which of the three options he prefers. He asks after Perla who has gone to Mitzrayim with her husband, and after Shemuel and Rivkah and her husband. Gutwirth suggests that Perla and Rivkah are Isaac's sisters. He sends regards on behalf of Rachel and Michael; Gutwirth suggests these are Isaac's daughters. And he mentions in the penultimate line "las encomiendas de mi parte y de parte de Esther que la cono[ces]"; Gutwirth suggests that Esther is his wife. ASE.

Letter in Ladino. Dating: possibly 16th century. The letter seems to have been dictated by a blind man. He says: ,Rabi Jacob dijo ke afilu ke tuviera ojos podia enganarme kuanto mas ombre sagi naor. And elsewhere he says: ,ke no tengo ojos y no tengo kien me mire*. He continues and says: ,tengo miedo ke me akontesca lo ke me akontesio' and ask his wife: ,venid a Misrayim ke una mujer kon ojos esmas mejor ke mire, por dos vezes adije a meterme en barko y no tope conpania . . .' This blind man, then, lives in Cairo, separated from his wife who seems to live in the Holy Land. He hopes his wife will sell her clothes and jeweils (alajas) to support him." Elazar Gutwirth, "The Family in Judeo-Spanish Genizah Letters," 214. There are also sketches of leafy plants.