Geniza Lab

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.

Recto: Letter from (or written on behalf of) a woman to her son Avraham ('Rabbenu'). In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably no earlier than 14th century, and conceivably much later, based on script and vocabulary. Mentions an area called ḥawsh al-maghāriba in Fustat, where Avraham's sister lives. The letter contains cryptic exhortations about associating with Gentiles, directed at Avraham as well as a certain Raḥel (his wife?). The letter also informs him that his sister's daughter Ḥabība is "stricken" (maḍrūba) and is on the verge of death. "Every day brides and grooms go forth from the neighborhood. I do not wish to confound you by telling you who they are nor how many there are. My son, by God, by God, do not enter the neighborhood until God lifts this affliction from Israel." Is she referring obliquely to an epidemic, and to the victims as "brides and grooms"? Verso: Avraham's response to his mother. He expresses his distress at the death of his sister's husband Yaʿaqov and at the news of Ḥabība's condition. He also mentions the harrowing night he spent on a Nile boat after leaving Ḥayyim's house, which he thought he would not survive. Even in the morning, he [vomited?] from time to time and could not hold any food down until God had mercy. The particular words used to describe his symptoms are obscure, possibly as they are late colloquial Judaeo-Arabic. (Information in part from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 242, 479; IV, pp. 228, 431, and from Goitein's index cards.) It is possible that Avraham's letter came first and his mother's letter is the response. ASE.

Letter from a woman to her husband (ṣāḥib al-bayt). In Judaeo-Arabic. After the greetings, which include wishes for the husband's recovery from illness, she continues, "Don't ask what I suffered on the road due to riding. Ever since I arrived, I have been sick (mariḍa). Your father certainly quarreled with me in the middle of al-Muṣāṣa (a neighborhood in Fustat), and not all that was said needs to be repeated. Don't ask what I suffered with the wife of your father, and Abū l-Surūr who was exceedingly generous, and everyone treated me well (are these euphemisms?). May God repay each servant according to his deeds. He (it seems one of her own family members) said to me, 'Divorce him, and I will take care of all that is necessary.' Now, if I divorce you. . . ." The fragment cuts off here. Information in part from Zinger; this translation differs slightly from his. ASE.

Letter from Araḥ b. Natan (aka Musāfir b. Wahb), in Alexandria, to the Nagid Mevorakh, in Fustat. The sender and addressee are not named in the letter, but Frenkel identified them on the basis of handwriting and content. Dating: toward the end of Mevorakh's tenure as nagid (1094–1111; Frenkel). This long letter, written between the lines of the Arabic text on recto, mentions disputes in the Jewish community, especially an ongoing dispute with the Maghribi community over the payment of the capitation tax. The Banū Naḥum family is involved (a well-known family from Alexandria). The letter also expresses the dissatisfaction of the community with its muqaddam. Araḥ functions in the letter as the 'nā'ib' (deputy) of the Nagid in Alexandria. (Another interpretation of the word niyāba in line 31 would be that "they [Araḥ's enemies] have destroyed the community in the name of representing you.") In a postscript, Araḥ reports to the Nagid how he dealt with a case of a widow who was exploited. Araḥ complains in passing about the severe illness that he contracted while traveling (lines 14–15), perhaps to support his self-presentation as someone who takes care of the community despite all that it costs him. Information in part from Frenkel. Note that this letter is written on an enormous sheet of paper that originally contained an Arabic state document, subsequently reused for a copy of Shemuel b. Ḥofni's Kitāb al-Shurūṭ on verso, and ultimately torn up and reused for this letter and other documents. Joins: T-S Ar.18(2).193 + T-S Ar.30.306 + T-S Ar.30.314: Marina Rustow. T-S 24.21: recorded in FGP from the Sussman Talmud catalogue.