Geniza Lab

Fragment of a draft letter in the name of the community of Fustat regarding the imposition of an excommunication, ca. 1035.

Legal document in Hebrew demanding a punishment of excommunication and three days of house arrest for Sabyan b. Saadya who libelled his kinsman Yosef b. Perahya as being a descendant of slaves. Fustat, 1043.

Letter from a Karaite to his community, asking for the proclamation of a ban against certain people who suspect him of stealing.

Miscellany containing formularies for excommunication (invoking the Shem ha-Meforash) on 74/70v, flowery rhymes for letter openings, etc. On 74/72r a copy of letter of interest to scholars of pilgirmage routes: a letter of recommendation for a pilgrim who came to Salonica from "Russia" (רוסיאה) and does not know neither Hebrew nor Arabic or Greek, but only "the language of Canaan", the local language of his homeland. On 74/71r a formula to be written on the last page of a daftar of the Torah when the copying is finished.

A few words in Judaeo-Arabic: "The copy of the great excommunication (ḥerem gadol) which is said...." On verso Hebrew alphabet jottings and a couple Arabic words.

Letter from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to Abū l-Barakāt, the uncle of Sitt Ghazāl. He writes of the terrible sickness that has not relented ever since he married. "I have perished. If you saw me, you wouldn't recognize me. I am thin as a toothpick and a ghost in my clothes." All his money goes to potions and chickens, and all the women who visit him tell him that he is the victim of a spell. He begs Abū l-Barakāt and Sitt Ghazāl's father Abū l-Faraj to intercede with the Gaon (Avraham Maimonides per Goitein) and Avraham b. Simḥa the judge and physician and obtain their agreement for a ban of excommunication against whoever bewitched Shelomo ("man or woman, Jew or Gentile, male or female slave, or whoever ordered them to cast this spell") and who does not reverse it. He hopes that the judge Avraham b. Simḥa will declare the ban of excommunication himself, or, failing that, another God-fearing elder. Greetings are sent by: Shelomo, Sitt Ghazāl, Shelomo's brother (Abū Zikri), his maternal aunt (Umm Abū l-'Izz?), her son (Abū l-'Izz?). Greetings are sent to: Abū l-Barakāt, his wife, his brother Abū l-Faraj (al-mawlā al-makīn), and his father (Abū l-Ḥasan). Information in part from Goitein's note cards. See T-S NS J223 for another note in which a person asks for a ban of excommunication against whoever bewitched him. There does not seem to be any way to determine if these two documents are connected. ASE.

Letter from a communal leader to a Nasi. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer reports that he fulfilled what had been requested of him in the letter that the addressee had sent him with a certain woman. He accompanied her to the two synagogues and informed the two congregations about an error in a recent court session (majlis al-ḥukm). It seems that a ban of excommunication placed on this woman is being retracted, and that she is owed 4 sanja dinars from public funds. The writer accompanied her to the ṣarf, where it turned out that the money the Nagid (sayyidnā) had given her was 5 qirats short of the 4 dinars, and the writer had no money, whether rubāʿīs or dirhams, with which to pay the balance. Her brother-in-law and David al-Najjār then accosted the writer in the market and 'cried out' (istaghātha) against him, saying that they won't pay a penny until they see the woman's documents. The writer asks the addressee to send the documents with her—and possibly the remaining 5 qirats (verso)—so that everyone will be spared "their evil" (of the brother-in-law and David al-Najjār; this reading is not completely clear). Merits further examination.

Letter/announcement addressed to the entire Jewish community of Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Probably from the office of the Nagid. Bears an 'emet' motto at the top. Dating: Probably 13th or 14th century. The purpose of the letter is to announce that Mūsā the beadle of the Iraqi synagogue has been placed under a ban of excommunication. The reason is given in line 7 but is difficult to read. No one is to interact with him or eat the meat that he slaughters. Whoever disobeys will be punished.

Letter from Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār, in Alexandria, to Abū Bishr Azhar b. Manṣūr (aka Avraham), in Fustat, ca. 1075. Mentions a shipment of silk to Fustat that got wet. The writer cannot come to Fustat, and he asks the addressee to handle some business and money matters for him. The reason for this is that he has numerous illnesses (amrāḍ shattā), the least of which is the jarab (probably trachoma, but the word can also refer to skin diseases), and so he cannot sit or ride. Furthermore, factoring in travel expenses, he does not think the gains will outweigh the losses in his money and his health. But if the addressee thinks it is absolutely necessary, he will bear the 'fasting and difficulty' and make the trip. Meanwhile, a rumor spread in Fustat about Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār, somehow involving Abū l-Faraj Dā'ūd b. Shaʿyā and the ruler Sayf al-Islam (=Badr al-Jamālī?). However, the person who was said to have been the source of the rumour publicly denied it in the synagogue, swearing truthfulness on pain of excommunication. A court decision denying the rumour was also issued. (Information from Gil.) ASE.

Letter from Salāma b. Mūsā Safāquṣī, probably from Mazara, Sicily, to Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār (Alexandria), ca. 1055. Salāma b. Mūsā intends to buy a house in Mazara. The letter describes the writer’s conflict with local Jews who are plotting against him, and mentions a ban of excommunication declared against them. Salāma b. Mūsā asks for goods to be sent with various people and expresses a wish to renew the partnership agreement with Yehuda b. Moshe b. Sughmār. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, p. 431. See also Goitein notes linked below.) There are photostats and an edition in Goitein's notes (to be uploaded).

Petition from a woman named Umm Hilāl bt. Ibn al-Muhandiz the ḥaver, who is living in the synagogue of the Palestinians. In Judaeo-Arabic, with the tarjama in Arabic script at upper left (عبدها ومملوكها وشاكر انعامها ام (ابو؟) هلال). This appears to be a draft or a copying exercise. The scribe's name appears in the right margin : al-ḥ[aver] or al-ḥ[azzan] Natan. She beseeches the addressee (the Head of the Jews?) to declare a ban of excommunication in the synagogue against all those who have taken food belonging to her (flour, wheat, oil, wine), for they have stolen her possessions (raḥl) and cut off her ability to sustain herself. She invokes the Torah and Moshe b. ʿAmram at the end. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Fragment (bottom half) of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic regarding a communal dispute over slaughtering. A certain person, likely a rival of the writer, came to the synagogue, took out the Torah scroll, and declared a ban against any Jew who slaughters in his place or anyone who eats the meat slaughtered by another person. Someone, perhaps the same person, believed that the entire congregation fell under this ban and required a release (hatara) from him. The writer is waiting for a letter from the addressee that will resolve the matter. They have also tried writing to R. Yiṣḥaq several times. In the meantime, the rival parades through the markets with "that which is in his hand" saying that so-and-so has been ruled against (? fulān maḥkūm) and the "slave of our master" (presumably the writer) deceived the people and let them eat unkosher meat and follow their inclinations and whims. Needs further examination.

See PGP 3783

Letter from Yeḥiel b. Yiṣḥaq ha-Ṣarfati, in Jerusalem, to a certain Menaḥem (probably the judge Menaḥem b. Yiṣḥaq b. Sasson), probably in Cairo. Dating: Early 13th century, likely 1219–29 CE (Shweka's assessment). See also T-S 8J33.4, a previous letter on the same matter. "At the beginning of the 13th century there were two communities in Jerusalem which were established after the city was conquered by Salah al-Din in 1191: the Ashkelonite community and the Maghrebi community. Beginning in 1210, a wave of pilgrims – known as the Emigration of the Rabbis – arrived from France and England. Relations between the various communities were very tense, as testified by Yehuda Alharizi, who visited Jerusalem in 1214. From letters of R. Yehiel the Frenchman to Fustat, we learn about a heated debate that took place in Jerusalem at the time. Because the Jews were not allowed to immerse themselves in the Shiloah spring, a campaign was held in Egypt to build a new mikveh, and a large sum was collected and sent to the community in Jerusalem for this purpose. But R. Yehiel, the leader of the community, objected to the construction of a new mikveh, preferring that the women of the community immerse in a private mikveh in his home – according to him, this would enable his wife to supervise the women’s immersion. R. Yehiel appealed to the local judge in Fustat, asking permission to change the the donation’s destination. However, members of the local community were not satisfied with this arrangement, and tried to build a new mikveh. The ensuing dispute split the community, until R. Yehiel and his group were forced to leave the synagogue. The two groups did not hesitate to involve the Muslim ruler in the conflict, which led to the arrest of some members of the community. The controversy spilled over into an interethnic struggle, with tensions caused by changes based on the French halachic tradition instituted by R. Yehiel. Until now, we knew of this story from two pages published almost a century ago. With the discovery of five additional pages, we now have a full description of this episode from the history of Jerusalem in the early 13th century." (Information from Roni Shweka.) Previous description: Four-page letter in Hebrew perhaps from Alexandria, concerning a dispute between prominent members of the Jewish community and the consequent expulsion of one of them from the synagogue. (Information from Mediterranean Society, IV, 384, and Goitein's index cards.)

Letter from the office of Yehoshua Maimonides to Avraham ha-Sar (for the same addressee, see T-S Misc.28.64 and T-S 8J40.2). He reports that he met with ʿAbd al-Karīm and that they 'parted ways in peace.' The addressee is to take the 'awrāq and ḥujaj' from Ibrāhīm and give them to ʿAbd al-Karīm. The upshot of the meeting is that if ʿAbd al-Karīm insults or beats his wife again, he will be excommunicated. Also, the Nagid learned that the synagogue was without a cantor for Minha and Maariv of Shabbat. The cantors Faraj Allāh and ʿAbd al-Karīm are to report to the addressee and declare a ban of excommunication against themselves (!) if they miss the prayer service without an urgent reason, and even then, the other one should substitute. If either one refuses to accept this condition, he will be fired, and if either one gives trouble, he is to be brought before the Nagid. Join by Oded Zinger. ASE.

Letter from Efrayim b. Ya'aqov. A man named Ibn al-Qābisī, who was banned from the Jewish community in four different cities in Iberia, arrived in Alexandria, and his relatives in the city demand that the local judge also apply the ban against him; the judge hesitates to do so, since he was informed that the man had threatened to embrace Islam if he was excommunicated again. The judge turned to Masliaḥ, the Head of the Yeshiva (probably Masliah ha-Kohen Gaon b. Shelomo, head of the Jews 1127–1139), in Fustat and asked him to place the ban on al-Qābisī. The writers of the letter ask other relatives to hurry and collect incriminating evidence again the newcomer so that the ban can be declared. (Information from Frenkel).

Question submitted to "sayyidnā," it seems the Head of the Karaite community, about a case that had come before the governor/chief of police (wālī) of Alexandria. One of the writer's opponents was Ibn al-Laḥḥām, who had been under a ban of excommunication for 25 years for having a child with a woman lacking kashrut (according to Karaite law). The son is now a member of the community. Information from Goitein's index card.

Form of excommunication. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 599)

Form of excommunication in Aramaic. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 599)

Form of excommunication written in Arabic. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 602)