Geniza Lab

Letter of Abū l-Maḥāsin b. ʿAlī the trader, introduced by citations from Proverbs 3:4, Psalms 37:11 and 119:165. Mentions consingments of medical commodities such as betel palm (fawfal), amomum (qāqulla) and quince (safarjal), a doctor’s visit and names such as Naḥūm the perfumer and Abū Manṣūr Ibn al-Ṣāʾiḡ (goldsmith), cousin of the writer. (Information from CUDL.) The writer excuses the poor appearance of his letter ('my mind is not present') on account of his great preoccupation for his two friends who are sick, Naḥum al-ʿAṭṭār and his cousin (b. ʿammatī) Abū Manṣūr the son of the tax farmer of ברמא. The writer leaves the shop and visits each of them 5 or 6 times a day, because they are 'cut off' from anyone who can go to the physician for them. ASE.

Accounts, mentioning several sums of dinars and names such as Ibn al-Majjānī. Hebrew numerals. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document mentioning a certain Ibn Mihnab (?) ("son of the idiot"). In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Refers to moving from a man's house to somewhere else. Also to 'the rent of the middle.' (Information in part from CUDL)

Halakhic work, possibly a responsum, concerning betrothal and marriage. Features the proverbial Reuben and Shimon. (Information from CUDL.) Reuven engaged or betrothed the daughter of Shimon without seeing her. "As the time of the wedding approached, Reuben demanded to see her first. At this point, the manuscript is badly damaged, but it appears that Shimon rejected Reuben's demand and argued that a man should see his bride only after he marries her." See Ashur, A. (2008). T-S AS 149.178: A Legal Query in Judaeo-Arabic concerning a Bashful Bride. [Genizah Research Unit, Fragment of the Month, October 2008]. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.48230.

Accounts, mentioning Cairo and names such as Ibn Miska, Ibn Abū l-Surūr, Abū l-Khayr and Abū l-Ṭāhir, and quantities of currency. Hebrew numerals. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document(s). In the hand of Efrayim b. Shemarya? Recto is written in Hebrew and mentions Elḥanan Resh Sidra. Shemuʾel Ḥemdat ha-Yeshiva b. Abraham, verso is in Judaeo-Arabic and mentions the Jews in Fustat and Ibn al-F[...] and [...] al-Dawla. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions a basket or container (qafaṣ), 550 dirhams, and balances (mawāzīn). (Information in part from CUDL.)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, probably sent by Abū l-Surūr. Damaged and quite wrinkled. Dating: Looks like 12th or 13th century, based on hand and layout. (Information in part from CUDL)

Last lines of a legal document. (Information from CUDL)

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer conveys longing for the addressee and reports that his wife and Ismāʿīl and Bū Surūr and Mufaḍḍal are all well. Regards from his father and brother and 'the students' (al-talāmidha). Regards to a certain ḥakīm (this seems more likely than ḥarīm/harem) and to Abū l-Faḍl and his wife. (Information in part from CUDL.) ASE.

List or accounts, repeatedly mentioning niṣf (‘half’ and also the currency ‘half dinar’) and Ṣedaqa. (Information from CUDL)

Accounts (?). (Information from CUDL)

Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Deed of a gift, granted by the wife of Abū Saʿīd to her daughter. It might specifically be a wedding gift. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Accounts for different days with Hebrew numerals. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document mentioning a bridal gift and the name Abū l-Faḍl. (Information from CUDL)

Letter mentioning [Abū] Zikrī and illnesses. Small fragment. (Information in part from CUDL)

Accounts, mentioning names such as Abū l-Faraj and al-Naṣrānī (‘the Christian’). (Information from CUDL)

Small fragment of a mercantile letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Cut diagonally across the text to make a rectangle. Mentions a dinar and a sixth, the price of the commodities, a request to send something to someone, an empty musk bag (nāfija fārigha) and half of something, and someone complaining of something.

Small fragment from the lower left corner of a legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Dated: Friday 21 [...] 1436 Seleucid = 1124/25 CE. No details preserved. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document. In the hand of Hillel b. ʿEli? Involves Abū l-Qāsim, Maʿālī, and secret plottings. (Information from CUDL)