Geniza Lab

Recto: Letter probably from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to his father-in-law al-Shaykh al-Makīn Abū l-Faraj. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (beginning only). The sender's wife is very sick. He mentions her mother. The next part of the story is lost, unless a join is found.

Letter from Mevorakh b. Natan to Thiqat al-Mulk. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mevorakh describes his financial difficulties and asks for help obtaining wheat. He complains that al-Shaykh al-ʿAfīf Masarra had failed to provide wheat to Mevorakh's family during his absence on a journey (r9–11). When Mevorakh returned, he found his family sick and perishing of hunger (r6–7). (Information from Mediterranean Society, IV, pp. 243, 439)

Letter from Abū Yūsuf, unknown location, to Rabbi Elʿazar (body of the letter) who is likely identical with Abū l-Manṣūr b. al-Muʿallima (address), presumably in Fustat. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in Arabic script. Goitein makes much of the addressee's matronymic and also reads the address as kanīsat al-muʿallima, "literally, "the synagogue of the woman teacher" (since school often was held in the synagogue compound, the school itself came to be called synagogue)." But it is also possible that the letter is addressed to the neighborhood of the Hanging Church (Kanīsat al-Muʿallaqa) and that the addressee is Abū l-Manṣūr b. al-Muʿallim, that is, the son of the male teacher. Goitein identifies the addressee with Abū l-Manṣūr b. al-Muʿallima who (according to another document that Goitein summarizes but does not cite) volunteered to send money to Ashqelon that was collected to ransom the Jewish prisoners who been taken and the books that had been looted when Jerusalem was conquered by the Crusaders in July 1099. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 356, 506.) As for the content of this letter: The writer is unemployed and asks for help "in this difficult year." Otherwise, the letter is almost entirely taken up with expressions of preoccupation and urgings to write. Regards to a woman named Qaḍīb, who is sick, as well as several other people. ASE

Letter from Abū Zikrī to his father Eliyyahu the Judge. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late 12th or early 13th century. The letter conveys eloquent greetings for Hannuka (recto). Abū Zikrī was sick ever since arriving in [...], but he has started to recover, and now he suffers only the remnants of the illness. He sends regards to numerous family members and friends (verso). In a postscript, he writes, "You know, my master, that the reason for my illness is the death of R. Avraham." And he claims that the reason he has been unable to come in person is that he does not want to [see?] a Fustat that is bereft of Avraham. (Information in part from Mediterranean Society, V, p. 395 and from Goitein's index cards.) ASE

Letter in the hand of Berakhot b. Shemuel. Possibly addressed to Avraham Maimonides. In Judaeo-Arabic. The letter is an extremely polite reminder to give the writer some money, perhaps as reimbursement or as a wage from the public funds. "When I observed some delay on the part of the master, which is not his custom. . . . I attributed it to his honor's (al-ḥaḍra) preoccupation with the illness of the master (al-mawlā) and the distraction of his mind and his distance from his country. . . ." It is not entirely clear whether the ḥaḍra and the mawlā are different people or not. "The proof, by God, will be from Sunday onward, and tomorrow is Friday, and I have not received anything except for 2 1/4 raṭls of [bread?]. What I received from the jāmikiyya only lasted through the end of the day today, Thursday, the 2nd of Dhū l-Qaʿda." Someone titled ʿAlam al-Dīn gave the writer 9 1/2 (dirhams?). The writer emphasizes the urgency of his request, "for I am among the dead/perishing." He appends an account of expenses for the week, again referring to the jāmikiyya. The expenses include many foodstuffs as well as the fee for the bathhouse and the launderer. The transcription below includes only the words, not the Coptic numerals given for each item. ASE.

Letter from Yaʿqūb b. Isḥāq to Abū ʿImrān [...] and perhaps ultimately to the writer's son (li-waladī). In Judaeo-Arabic (for the letter) and Arabic script (for the address). The writer complains about his distance from his family and his financial straits and inquires about the well-being of his relatives, especially the old woman: "Has she recovered from the illness of her eyes? Has she started to make out things from a distance or from nearby?" Verso: Apart from the address of the letter on recto, there is a second letter, written in Arabic script. Perhaps the response. Needs further examination. ASE

Letter from Abū Is[ḥāq?] to his father Abū l-Ḥasan ʿEli b. Hillel. Written in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe, the addressee's brother-in-law. Discusses various business and family matters, including a potential marriage and the writer's anger at the addressee. Someone has ophthalmia (r16) and a certain girl "went mad" when she heard something (r23)—perhaps the prospect of marrying Faḍā'il. The addressee is asked to send wheat urgently (v3, v7). ASE

Letter from the cantor Abū l-Majd (Meir b. Yakhin), in Fustat, to his brother Abū l-Najm Hilāl, presumably in Alexandria. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Early 13th century. Hilāl had recently departed from a brief visit after a prolonged absence ("being away for 10 years and visiting Fustat for 3 days—a person would not believe it"). Abu l-Majd fell sick with unnamed illnesses after his departure. Probably based on a low quality image, Goitein read the margin as stating that he was unable to go down to the synagogue to lead the congregation in the prayer for their sick sister because he himself was not well (Med Soc, V, 537). However, the final letter of the word that Goitein read as דעא cannot be an aleph, and the first letter is closer to Abu l-Majd's distinctive כ than his ד. The best fit may be אלכפץ. Moreover, the word לאכתי fits the context better if it is read לאנני. Thus, a more likely reading seems to be, "I was delayed in going down below (to see you off) because I was unwell...." On verso, Abu l-Majd continues, "...[I went] after you to the water, and I searched the boats and could not find you—it was like you had flown away. By God, by God, send me a healing letter and tell me when you arrived, and how your arrival was, and tell me all of your news." He also asks his brother to inform the teacher Abū l-Futūḥ (Yehuda b. al-ʿAmmānī) that Abu l-Majd sent him the selihot, a letter, and a fatwa, and he wishes to know if they were received. Information in part from Goitein's note card. ASE.

Letter, possibly a draft, from a man to his family members Moshe and דאני(?). The relationship is unclear: at one point he addresses "my father" and at another point "my brothers." In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late. The currency שרפי is mentioned in the last line, which is probably the Ottoman sharīfī (first minted 1520 CE) but could also be the Mamlūk ashrafī (first minted 1425 CE). The western Arabic numerals on verso would support a later date. Nearly the entire letter is a moving description of the death of the sender's newborn boy, who did not even live long enough to be circumcised, and the sender's grief for "the noble creature" (khalīqa sharīfa). His heart burns; his eyes are damaged from copious weeping; he has no mind; he cries as he writes this letter. He may also say that he is near death himself. "Every time you wake up a little, and think on the little one, you cry and relapse." He complains about the lack of letters from the addressees. He hopes that Barakāt will stay with him instead of going to them ("if he leaves me, I will go mad"). In the next part, he might remind them to continue sending wheat. On verso there are jottings and accounts in Judaeo-Arabic and what look like western Arabic numerals.

Letter from Abū Sahl Levi probably to his son Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer conveys the news that the adressee's brother Abū l-Ḥasan (Yedutun) is doing well (in his illness). Another note with the same writer and recipient on the same topic: F 1908.44Z. Identifications based on handwriting. ASE.

Letter from חצרייה(?) and her mother to פוצילא. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably no earlier than 14th century. The writers report on the condition of the neighborhood, which is stricken with an epidemic (magefa) and, barukh ha-shem, various people in the addressee's family have been stricken (inḍarabū). No one is left in the house except for the writer, the daughters (באנת = בנאת?) and the female slave. There is a postscript, "Do not blame your mother, because your mother has no sense. This is Shuml (=Shemuel?)." Needs further examination.

Fragment from the beginning a letter in Judaeo-Arabic, in lovely and distinctive handwriting. The writer has been forced to stay in a funduq due to an illness, and there is no one there to help him. At one point he visited the house of al-Kohen al-Ṣiqillī, presumably a physician, to take a medicine. Most of the rest of the letter is lost. He mentions Umm Muslim and in the margin reiterates that he has been living in the funduq. ASE.

Hebrew letter from Yiṣḥaq b. Zeraḥya known as Faryol (?), a physician, to Avraham Talmid (known from other letters, fl. ca.1600). The first part of the letter deals with business matters. The writer mentions that he wished to examine some books, but the bookseller refused to untie them. He then asks the addressee to look after and mentor R. David ha-Kohen who is visiting Damascus with 200 gold pieces to exchange them for other gold and silver. The second part of the letter conveys information for al-Shaykh Ghāzī who left his wife in the hands of the writer to cure her from her illness. Thanks to the medicines sent by the husband and others that the writer gathered, the cure has been successful—her face has completely healed, and her legs, thank God. "Please remind him to send me a suitable gift, something suitable. In truth it has been nine months since I have seen my home (or: wife). Now, for Purim, they have begged me to come, but the sick woman, his wife, did not wish to let me go, and I could not go against her will. Copy out these words for him. . ." Information from Avraham David's edition. ASE.

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.

Family letter in Hebrew. May be in the hand of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi. The writer sends wishes for the recovery of a woman in the care of the addressees (possibly from an illness of heart rather than a physical illness—ואתם חכמים תדעו לרפות את לבה . . . הקבה ישים רפואתה על ידכם). He adds the conventional "may I be a ransom for you." He discusses the matter of a קוטרוס—a qonṭres or writing-book? On verso he mentions someone who needs to pay the capitation tax but does not have any money; sends regards to his uncle ʿImrān and his wife and her "gevira"; and sends more well wishes to the ailing woman, רפאה שוכן {מ}רומה; and sends regards to his uncle Moshe. ASE.

Letter of appeal. The writer states, "The illness was enough for me, and then the capitation tax assailed me." The tone is aggrieved; he complains about Abū ʿImrān al-Kohen and mashāyikh al-balad who get together to drink in the evenings. The writer wishes to get through to "Rabbenu," but he has not been allowed access, and he is ashamed to appear before al-Shaykh al-Thiqa, the brother-in-law of Rabbenu, and Yūsuf b. al-Tilmīdh. Merits further examination.

Business letter from Abū l-Ḥusayn al-Ṭulayṭulī to Abū al-Najm Hilāl b. Yosef ha-Qara. In Arabic script. For other Qaraites from Toledo, see T-S 13J9.4 (PGPID 1236, discussed in Rustow, "Karaites Real and Imagined," Past & Present 2007). In line 7, instead of Aodeh's "وقد يخصك السلام," read, "وقد دخل الحمام," yielding, "Your son is in good health; he has entered the bathhouse (i.e., he has recovered from his illness)." ASE

Letter addressed to Sitt Shaʿl, in Dār al-Nāqa, Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. The handwriting is distinctive, with stylized loops at the end of all the descenders. Dating: Perhaps 12th century; more precise dating may be possible based on the people named in the letter (e.g., Abū l-Murajjā Sālim and Rabbenu Zakkay). "The holiday has attacked (i.e, is upon us). You cannot stay by yourselves, and neither can I stay by myself. I know that the community will not let me leave the town, and also there will be a pesiqa on the holiday. Give to Abū l-Murajjā Sālim your relative the goods that you cannot carry, and send your sister's jar (zīr) with the bearer of this letter so that he can treat himself with it{s contents} (? yataṭabbabu fīhi). If my father asks for any wheat, give it to him." The writer expresses commiseration with a certain woman (his mother?) and then perhaps describes his own illness, but this section is damaged: ". . . on Friday, but only with a dirty body, and I was bled. And [my?] illness. . . ."

Letter of a woman, who was seriously ill, requesting her sister to provide her younger daughter with a proper education. Concerning the illness: "This is to inform you that I have become seriously ill with little hope for recovery. I have dreams indicating that my end is near. . . . Let Abū l-Barakāt come and treat me, for I am in a serious condition. . . . God knows how I wrote these lines." Concerning her daughter's education: "My most urgent request to you, if God decrees my death, is to take care of my little daughter and make efforts to give her an education." She repeats several times not to separate the Sudanese female slave from the little girl and to give nothing but the younger female slave to the elder daughter Sitt al-Sirr. "Cursed be he who acts against my dying wish." ASE

Business letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Appears to be the handwriting of Yiṣḥaq b. Simḥa Nīsābūrī. Dating: 11th century. Mentions ships from various places including three from al-Mahdiyya and others from al-Andalus. The writer had three successive illnesses over the last month and a half, but he is now better and back to work (al-yawm anā mutaṣarrif), "unless another one comes over me." The writer has sent with Abū l-Ḥasan al-Mazīdī a flask of quince oxymel (sakanjabīn safarjalī) and a "nice" flask containing an unripe-grape rob (rubb ḥiṣrim) and a little quince. Alas, "the ḥiṣrim here is not like the Levantine ḥiṣrim" (cf. T-S 13J23.17, also featuring ḥiṣrim shāmī). Further down, the writer discusses the price of silk.