Geniza Lab

Late certificate in Hebrew, probably issued in Fusṭāṭ, attesting that R. Yiṣḥaq known as Hoja (?) Shtiwi, who has since moved to Alexandria, has been examined and is an expert in kosher slaughter and the checking of the lung.

Very interesting late letter in (middling) Hebrew from a certain ʿOvadya (or [... b.] ʿOvadya) currently in Hamadan (!) and planning to travel to Yazd. Only the bottom part (perhaps 2/3) of the letter is preserved. The writer is explaining why he did not go to Sina (?), stating that the congregation refused to let him go and told him he would lose his wages. Furthermore, there was no business there, and he had understood that the power of attorney (sheṭar harsha'a) the addressee had written was in effect in any place where revenue for congregations in Palestine could be raised, but there was no business there. "By the help of God and the merit of Rashbi (!) and by the goodness of the land of Israel, when I return, God willing, I will go there. With your permission, I will go to my city and gather [my belongings?] and leave quickly. Send me letters by way of M. Menashshe b. A(gha?) Yaʿaqov, and he will send them to me, and tell me where you are (?) so that I can send you letters there. If you go to Baṣra, send a letter with M. Shukri to Shiraz, and he will send it to me in Yazd. By my life, do not withhold the 'small powers of attorney' (?): enclose them with the letter and send them. Furthermore, for you to understand the account: I have acquired 600 Qurans (!?). I bought 20, which are for me (?). The remaining 580 Qurans will be taken by מ׳ א׳ Elazar until (or when?) ʿAbbās arrives. Forgive me, for time is pressing . . . if I have erred in the writing, [it is because] I wrote in a hurry. I cannot elaborate. Peace." Above the name ʿOvadya appears the word "qadisha." ASE.

Legal document from Fustat dated 24 April 1798 (8 Iyar 5558), stating that Me'ir ben Naʿim has invested 5500 muayyadis with the Karaites ("bnei mikra") Moshe Kagicha (?) and [blank].

Probably from a letter in late Hebrew. AA

Late. A fragmentary document dealing with excommunication and oath. Hebrew. AA

Letter or legal query/responsum. Fragment. In Hebrew. Late. Concerning a theft or somebody accused of a theft.

Either a letter or a legal query. In Hebrew. Late. Describing the legal arrangements following somebody's death.

Draft of a court record. Location: Fustat. Mentions Mordekhai Ḥefeṣ, who was a ḥaver in the Bet Din of the Nagid in Egypt at the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century. "Adonenu" in line 3 may be Natan Sholal or Yiṣḥaq Sholal. On recto there is a text in Hebrew, possibly documentary.

Letter in Hebrew. Dating: Late, 16th or 17th century. (More precise dating should be possible based on the names mentioned.) Mentions Moshe Conforte, Yiṣḥaq Dayyan ha-Levi, and a certain Palomba.

Legal document, fragment. In Hebrew. Mentions a payment of 3 muayyadis/medins per month. There is a Yaʿaqov. It looks like the document was abandoned at the point where the date was about to be written.

Possibly a letter; late, in Hebrew.

Two copies of a late Hebrew letter (?).

Hebrew document(s) of some kind, dated Adar 1819 CE (5579).

Letter sent from Alexandria to Avraham ha-Rav ha-Sefaradi. (Perhaps the same Avraham ha-Sefaradi as in ENA 2558.13, who corresponded with the Nagid Yehoshuaʿ Maimonides in the first half of the 14th century.) In Hebrew. The sender conveys the plight of a woman who is his neighbor, presumably urging Avraham to intercede. This woman comes from a distinguished, educated, and wealthy family from Barcelona. After she had been a widow for 12 years, a man named Yosef arrived from "the city of Castile" (Toledo? or does it just mean "one of the cities of Castile"?). He said that he was a great sage and physician, and the widow's parents delightedly took him as their son-in-law. It turned out that he was a liar, a fraud, an ignoramus, and a great heretic ("Who commanded us to wear tzitzit? Who commanded us to put on tefillin? God did not command these things.") Her parents are inconsolable; she is their only child. The husband has already swindled them out of 500 pieces of silver. He does not even give her food to eat. The pair have since gone to Fustat. ASE.

Fragment of a 16th-century business letter. Faded and damaged, so the contents are difficult to determine. Appears to be a letter from an agent to his employer reporting on his business activities. Mentions Fusṭāṭ and Alexandria (line 7) and Sariel the Judge who owes the writer 84 peraḥim (line 8). Information from Avraham David's edition.

Responsum. In Hebrew: Dating: ca. 16th century. Concerning two partners who sue a third ex-partner. Currency: Mentions 1700 grossos (silver coins).

Letter from Yiṣḥaq b. Yeḥiel. Dated: Friday, 23 Ḥeshvan 5310 AM, which is 1549 CE. In Hebrew, with phrases in Yiddish and many words in Judaeo-Italian. The sender rebukes the addressee for various lapses in business correspondence, including for sending partial documents and writing in terms of the currency "perahim" instead of "gerushim." This letter mentions Avraham Kolon (the sender of ENA 2727.45, Moss. IV,93, and HUC 1034). See also T-S Ar.30.232 + T-S NS 83.19, an account register by Yiṣḥaq b. Yeḥiel from later in the year 5310 AM (spring of 1550 CE). And see Avraham David's transcription and extensive notes on FGP.

Text in Hebrew. Dating: After the Spanish expulsion, per Avraham David. Describing how all the "maʿamad" that oversaw all the communities of Egypt did something (appointed someone?) for the purpose of imposing discipline and obedience to the law, because the situation was dire.

Letter in Hebrew, late. Needs examination.

Late document in Hebrew, probably a legal declaration, in which the writer seeks to absolve himself from the complaints against him from Shemuel and Avraham regarding business dealings.