Geniza Lab

Recto: A Karaite betrothal document from Fusṭāṭ 1048 CE (Kislev, 1360 Seleucid) for Maḥfūẓ b. Menaḥem and Fāḍilah bt. Avraham b. Muslim. The dower (mohar) is 50 pieces of silver (dirhams). The early marriage gift (muqdam) is 25 dirhams. Verso: Three recipes in Arabic. The first may be medical ("Smear it on the place. Effective.") The second, which occupies the bulk of the page, may be a recipe for red ink. The third, written sideways in the margin, is unclear. Its first ingredient is shelled walnuts. ASE

Legal document. Probably from a calligraphic Qaraite ketubba in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Unfortunately the name of the bride (Sitt ...) is cut off. What remains is part of her long, luxurious trousseau list.

Betrothal (erusin) contract, Karaite. Fragment (upper right corner). Groom: Yehuda b. Khalaf(?). Bride: Miriam bt. Shelomo, a widow. Although she is a widow, she has a paqid (representative), Faraj b. Shelomo. (Information from Goitein’s index card)

Formulary for a Karaite marriage document, edited by Judith Olszowy-Schlanger.

Letter: draft(s) in the hand of Efrayim b. Shemarya (11th century), in Fusṭāṭ, probably to the Gaʾon Shelomo b. Yehuda, in Jerusalem. One draft contains a report, in Hebrew, on a joint Karaite-Rabbanite collection made in the capital of Egypt on behalf of the Jews of Jerusalem to assist them with their taxes. Ezra b. Yishmael b. Ezra is mentioned, and the document refers to Yusuf ibn ‘Awkal with his honorific title ‘Rosh Kalla’ (‘head of the assembly’ of students at the biannual scholarly convention in Baghdad). (Marina Rustow, Heresy and the Politics of Community, 196, 278; From a Sacred Source, 309-10; S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 2:472) Another draft explains that, contrary to the malicious and false accusations made against him to the gaʾon by some members of the Jewish community in Fusṭāṭ, he will indeed be sending a generous donation for the Jerusalem academy in response to a fundraising mission by the gaʾon’s son Avraham. Efrayim also mentions that he retains the support of an influential Fatimid official, the Qaraite David ha-Levi b. Yiṣḥaq, who will also be sending a donation. Written on the verso of an Arabic -script letter discussing philosophical theology and mentioning the raʾs al-mathība (see PGPID 33676).

Translation of Numbers 1–3 (somewhat jumbled up) into Arabic, in Arabic script. Mostly a translation, presumably Karaite, with occasional transliterations at the beginnings of verses.

Karaite marriage contract. Fragment. Mentions a mill and the elder ʿAmram. Witnesses: Mevorakh b. Yiṣḥaq and [...] b. Ḥayyim.

Recto: Letter from the Qaraite Mahbub b. Nissim, Ramla, to Abu al-Faraj in Fustat, middle of the 11th century (12 Iyar). Mahbub has traveled from Fustat via Alexandria by ship, but he suffers a loss worth 13 dinars en route and arrives in Alexandria with only a few things. He then boards a ship to Laodikea (Syria), but he persuades the ship's captain (bribing him with a package of parchment) to deviate from the route and let him disembark instead in Jaffa. He arrives in Ramla on Erev Rosh Hodesh Marheshvan, and then arrives in Jerusalem on Erev Rosh Hodesh Kislev.

A Karaite (specifically Tustari) post festum calendar listing the dates of the new moons (by observation) for the years 1357–59 Seleucid, corresponding to 1045–48 CE. Edited by Gil in his book on the Tustaris. Cf. T-S NS J609, a similar calendar from ~5 years later. (Information in part from Goitein’s index card)

Recto: part of a large letter to the courtier Avraham b. Yashar (Abraham b. Sahl Tustari). The writer wishes him recovery from his illness, and has been praying for his health. He sends greetings to Avraham’s son Yefet (Abu 'Ali al-Ḥasan), who is to be married soon. The date is unknown but must be earlier than Avraham's death in 1047 CE. Biblical quotations are vocalised. The writer had sent a previous letter with illness-related quotations from the sages, and this letter presents illness-related verses from the Bible. The theme is that God sends illness as a trial only to the most righteous. Verso: a calligraphic Karaite legal document (engagement deed or ketubba?). Dated Sunday, the 11th of Nisan xxx4, from somewhere on the Nile (Pishon), probably Fustat. The groom is the Nasi David Yedidyah b. Yoshiyahu b. Shelomo b. [Da]vid b. Bo'az b. Yeshoshafat b. Yoshiyahu b. Sha'ul b. 'Anan. The bride is Bahiyyah bt. Shelomo b. Se'adyah. Information in part from the Cambridge University Digital Library. ASE.

Appeal to the Karaite Jewish community for the establishment of a special prayer for keeping away the spirit of the war from Egypt as requested by King Faruk I, and the Muslims will perform the prayer on the 15 of Shaʿbān, and the Jews will establish the prayer on the first day of Tishrei Rosh Hashanah and the day of atonement "Yom Kippur" – September 29 1940CE / 27 Shaʿbān 1358AH / 27 Elul 5700AM – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 281) – in Arabic and Hebrew. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 42). MCD.

Invitation from the administration of the Paḥad Isḥak Synagogue (Kraïem) for attending the celebration which will be held in the synagogue on Passover between Saturday 29 March and 9 April 1955CE – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 294) – in Arabic and French. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 44). The synagogue had the alternate title of Kraïem after its builder Zahi Kraïem. MCD.

Short story by Yūsef Zeki Marzūq about a mother enduring the torment of her spouse throughout the process of her son who growing up marrying and forgetting her, thus all of her dreams have died – undated – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 70) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 58). A photograph of one Yūsef Mūsa Marzūq appears in: El-Kodsi, The Karaite Jews of Egypt, 257). MCD.

Part of a newspaper "al-Klīm" published by Karaite Jews discussing the visit of the Chief General Muḥammad al-Nagīb to the Karaite synagogue on Saturday October 25 1952 – 1 November 1952 – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 77) – in Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 59). The Latin-script rendering of this journal on its heading was "Al-Kalim Revue Israelite Caraime" and was published at 15 Torsina Street. Images of this visit by Chief General Muḥammad al-Nagīb appear in: El-Kodsi, The Karaite Jews of Egypt, 90-94. MCD.

Legal document. Karaite court record in Judaeo-Persian from 951 CE signed by [...] b. Ismāʿīl, Abraham b. Padāwī (פדאוי) and Saʿīd ha-Le[vi]. "The present document derives, like the legal deed from Ahwāz of 1020, from the Cairo Geniza. It is earlier by 70 years than the Ahwāz document, being dated to 951 C.E. Its special interest lies in the fact that it is the first Judaeo-Persian document that is explicitly identified as Karaite. A text published not long ago by D. N. MacKenzie (BSOAS, XXXI, 1968, pp. 249—269) has been identified by J. Rosenwasser (The British Museum, Handlist of Persian Manuscripts 1896—1966, London 1969, p. 41) as being a fragment from a Karaite Sefer Miẕvot. This identification seems substantiated by parallels in Anan's Book of Precepts. The new document, which positively shows the use of Judaeo-Persian by Karaites, may help to remove whatever other doubts could be felt on the subject. The present text is also a legal document, and contains a number of features which are common to early Judaeo-Persian texts. It shares with the British Museum fragment of Sefer Miẕvot the peculiarity of using zayin to express j; it also uses gimel for the same purpose, whereas the British Museum fragment employs ṣade as an alternative letter to express j. These observations somewhat complicate the picture drawn by G. Lazard in a table showing how Persian phonemes are represented in different Judaeo-Persian texts (Studies in Bibliography and Booklore, VIII, 1968, p. 83), but in the absence of geographical indications with regard to the Karaite documents no conclusion can be drawn from this peculiarity. Features which occur in this document and which are shared by other Judaeo-Persian texts of the early period are the following: the prepositions ō (written either '-, 'w, or w-), 'zmr (usually followed by r' as postposition), mr (?). It may be observed that these prepositions have an original dative meaning, but tend also to be used for the accusative, and that 'zmr is attested in the Jewish-Persian colophons from K'aifeng (D. Leslie, Abr-Nahrain, VIII, 1969, pp. 1—35) as a postposition with a genitive effect. The expression gan 'eden ba(h)r 'who has a share in Paradise' occurs as a constant epithet for the deceased, and is reminiscent of the epithets 'eden bereḵ, 'edenī (or 'adanī), employed in a similar manner in the Judaeo-Persian tomb-stones from Ghūr (Afghanistan), published by G. Gnoli (Le iscrizioni giudeo-persiane del Gūr (Afghanistan), Rome 1964) and E. Rapp (Die jüdischpersisch-hebräischen Inschriften aus Afghanistan, Munich 1965). One may point out the words 'by, tys, zwyšt, pzyšt and the interesting use of zyst=Classical and Middle Persian jastan 'to jump', hence 'to occur, happen' and here in a sense like 'to accrue, to be added to an account'. (The Ahwāz document may also be Karaitic: it concerns the Tustarī brothers, according to Professor Goitein, and they are known to have been Karaites.) Translation of the document: "There were present [at the court of] the Karaites at this time(?) Samuel, Ḥayyim and Aharon, and they put a question before us (??) for admonition (?) on the 16th of Ab in the year 1262 Sel. The said Samuel made a petition to Ḥayyim and Aharon, trustees of Ḥasan the Custodian, whose share be in Paradise, their maternal uncle, and he said: 'He made a thing which accrued to me, who am Samuel, and which was to be debited to Ḥasan the Custodian, may the spirit of God put him to rest.' We said to them: 'We draw (an agreement) between you, so that we make a settlement incumbent upon you, (by the terms of which) whatever we do to your persons or for your sake, you should accept and should not act otherwise, and should not go to court other than this for (any) demand.' They agreed to this pact and condition, and the said Samuel took (?) this condition, and confirmed it upon himself by oath to wit, if (he does) otherwise than what they tell him in this court of the Karaites [the oath is left uncompleted]. Then we said to the said Ḥayyim and Aharon: 'Just as this Samuel undertook it upon himself, it should also be incumbent upon you.' They said: 'Yes, it is incumbent upon us.' And then the said Samuel made a petition concerning (the property of) Ḥasan the Custodian, whose share be in Paradise. Much talk went on between the three of them in this matter, and the said Ḥayyim and Aharon presented the books of Ḥasan the Custodian, whose share be in Paradise, and we saw that there resulted for us by research into it nothing, viz. that there would accrue anything to Samuel's credit against the said Ḥasan. Finally, the said Samuel consented and was agreeable thus, by his own choice, and said: 'I consent and am agreeable that these Ḥayyim and Aharon, my brothers, make by themselves a search in our uncle's account-books, and whatever they say they have found there, whether it is for me or against me, their word will be true and accepted, and they are trustworthy in whatever they say concerning which they are well informed and which they have found in our uncle's books of that I owe. If they say that they have found some thing in his book which I owe, I shall pay it without refusal and without delay and without excuse.' The said Samuel gave an extension to Ḥayyim and Aharon his brothers to make a search in those books till the month of Marḥeshvan in the year 1263 by his own will. The said Ḥayyim and Aharon were also agreeable to this manner and departed from the court of the Karaites (with agreement) as to this manner. We made it two parts, and gave one to Samuel and two to Ḥayyim and Aharon, so that it should come to the hand of each one of them as memory, choice and proof. ... ʿAlī . . . Bū Ismā'īl ... Sa'īd... Abraham b. Pādōy, witness." The letter is labeled "L16" in Shaul Shaked's (unpublished) classification of Early Judeo-Persian texts.

Late letter in Judaeo-Arabic (16th century per FGP) from Yosef b. Adīda (?) to Yefet b. Farḥān regarding flax shipments. People named include ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Maḥlāwī and ʿAbd al-Qadīr. The writer asks the addressee that when he comes from Fusṭāṭ he should bring letters from the children of Yiṣḥaq b. Adīda. He then may give his address: Rubʿ al-Ḥamzāwī, the alley of the Karaites.

Legal document. Qaraite betrothal deed for Amat al-Qadar and Khalaf b. Mahfuz. Dated 1357 Sel. (1045 CE). Joins: Judith Olszowy-Schlanger (three fragments, 1998) and Mordechai Akiva Friedman (upper left fragment, 2006).

Fragment of a Karaite ketubba, 11th-century Fustat. Information from FGP.

A Karaite legal deed in which the bride, Dhukhr, who is in Tyre, appoints her father, David b. Ishaq ha-Levi, in Fustat to betroth her to any man he wishes. Published by Gil, Addenda to Palestine. Mentions Abu Nasr ha-nasi. The bride's sister's husband is named Adiyya, known as Abu Sai'd b. Menashshe. The two witnesses in court are Moshe b. Sib'a and Aharon b. Faraj. Signed by Shemuel Hakohen b. Wahab, Musafir b. Simha, Yosef Hakoen b. Efrayim, Yosef Hakohen ha-haver b. Ya'aqov the scribe, Eli b. Shelomo. Join: M. A. Friedman, JMP, I, 218, n. 5 (see Ashur, PhD diss., p. 65. n. 54).

Prenuptial agreement between a Karaite bridegroom and a Rabbanite bride, stipulating a fine to be paid to the Rabbanite and Karite poor by the bridegroom Abu Sa'id, scion of a family of Karaite bankers, should he break any of the stipulations of the contract.