Geniza Lab

Letters in Ladino and Spanish reused for an index to the Teshuvot of the Rosh. ASE. Letter in Ladino on III.D.31 (3) of scan is dated as Ḥeshvan 5404 or late 1643 CE. The Ladino letter on folio (2) of scan may be from a different hand and is signed Yiṣḥaq b. Asgar[?]. MCD.

Ladino magical recipes.

Ladino letters or copies of letters from 1788 CE (Shevat 5548). One is addresed to a Martinelli.

Letter in Ladino, sent from Salonica (שילאניקי) to Cairo (spelled erratically as מישרייאם). To be delivered to ("en mano de") Yiṣḥaq Qatin[?] (אין מאנו די ס׳ יצחק קאתין), who is "the boy" (מושו) of David מיאפילדו(?). The sender's name looks like it includes גֿיליבי הקואין, but this is probably not right (maybe הקואין means הכהן?). Dated April 19, 1785 (it is unclear where this dating comes from). In the opening lines of the letter, the author mentions having not received correspondence from the recipients in 5 (or 2?) months. There is recurring reference to a certain Ḥayyim, who is possibly a shared correspondent of the letter's sender and recipient. The word כוכור that appears several times may also be a name. The sender mentions "a bride to marry" in ll. 6–7. Later on, the author's discussion shifts to the listing off of specific commodities, one of which may be "leather/כואירוש" (l. 12r). Various people send regards ("kiss the hands of X"). According to FGP, some names associated with this fragment are Reuven, Miryam, and Avraham Krispin (Crespin). MCD. ASE.

Letter in Ladino (fragment) which the heading addresses Nissim Ḥayyim Rafael Aharon de Segura and opens with the warm phrase: "despues de bezarle las manos" or "after kissing your hands". The letter recipient is none other than R. Nissim Ḥayyim Rafael Aharon b. Meʾir de Segura, one of the leading rabbinic leaders in Cairo at the turn of the nineteenth century whose published work can be traced, for example: Nissim Ḥayyim Rafael Aharon b. Meʾir de Segura, Sefer Shaʿare Ḥayyim (Thessaloniki: 1807). Line 10 mentions Eretz Israel "ארץ ישראל" and the locational adjective "Candiote/קאנדיוטי" most likely in referencing an individual's surname. Line 18 mentions "Egypt" or possibly Cairo/Fustat as "Miẓrayim". Date: 18th c or 19th c. MCD.

Letter from Yosef Mir to Efrayim ʿAda. In Ladino. Dating: Late 18th or early 19th century, based on the names mentioned and the overall appearance. The address gives the name of Alexandria on the right side and the name of Fustat/Cairo on the left side, however both are prefaced with "to." Perhaps it was sent to Alexandria to be forwarded to Cairo, or perhaps the first "to" is an error, and it was written in Alexandria and sent to Cairo. The ends of all the lines are missing, making interpretation somewhat difficult. Yosef is about to set sail for Izmir as soon as the weather turns favorable; in fact he may already be embarked. He makes excuses for failing to write earlier. There is very little, if any, discussion of business matters. Mainly Yosef sends regards ("bezo las manos...") to the addressee and various other people: סי׳ רוביסה, Rubi [...], Shabbetay אספנדאהשי, Rubi Ṣevi, Rubi Ḥezqel(?), and Eliyyahu Frances. Rubi/רובי might be a title rather than a name since it appears before most of the names. MCD. ASE.

Letter in Ladino. Lines 14-15 mention one Shelomo Azulay as the recipient of another letter: "que venga un [sic] carta que mando al aḥīnu Shelomo Azulay." The usage of "aḥīnu" ("our brother" in Hebrew) could indicate familial ties with the sender and recipient yet must also be considered alternatively as a possible term of endearment in non-familial ties of friendship. MCD. Verso has been reused for various jottings, including excerpts from prayers, writing practice, and geomancy markings, some labeled with names of months.

Letter in Ladino dated September 1777 (Elul 5537), from Yiṣḥaq Sigan or Bigan (?) in Alexandria to [address torn] in Rashid. Among the individuals mentioned in the letter are: Eliyyahu Romano (l.4), Moshe Bibas (l.16), Yiṣḥaq Crespin (l.16). In line 23 a quantity of "cotton/אלגודון" is recorded with the unit "onsas/אונסאס". MCD.

Letter in Ladino dated 19 April 1785 (9 Iyyar 5545), from Rubi[?] Mores to Avraham Crespin in Cairo/Fustat "Miẓrayim". Two other individuals are mentioned within the letter: Yaʿacov Naḥmias (l.4), Yehuda Gaʾon (l.5). Line eight mentions the cities Rashid and Ancona and line 13 mentions Izmir. MCD.

Letter in Ladino dated 19 November 1790 (12 Kislev 5551) from Av_[?] Sogre[?] in Alexandria to David Mili in the Bulaq neighborhood of Cairo. In lines 8-9 the sender discusses a good relationship with his brother-in-law "kunyado/cuñado": "syendo ke mi kunyado le tyene muncha amistad" or "being that my brother-in-law has amicable feelings". The writer's brother-in-law is mentioned again in the margin of the letter which is advising David Mili to look after "my dear[?] sister": "cuidado por mi karina[?] ermana/קויידאדו פור מי קרינה אירמאנה". This latter statement could imply that the letter recipient and sender are themselves brothers-in-law. MCD.

Copies of letters in Ladino dated 9 December 1811 (23 Kislev 5572), likely a fragment from a broader letter copybook. Senders and recipients are unclear because the header sections that normally list recipients have been omitted for the copybook and senders' names likewise do not appear at the base of each entry. On the verso, however, two individuals' names appear after the dates: Shelomo ben Yehuda (l.5) and Mordechai Kohen (l.10). Likewise, one Moshe Fernandes is mentioned on the verso scan (l.13). The correspondence connected to the former individual may be mentioning the trade in coffee: "mandare otro caffes" (l.7v). "Miẓrayim" appears as a place name (l.14v) as does Rashid on the recto (l.10) and Salonica (l.18r). The last line of the recto mentions "oka/אוקה" as a unit of measurement. MCD.

Letter in Ladino dated 21 July 1813 (12 Av 5573) to David Gatenio from Yehudah Gatenio (also written as Gatenyo). In the body of the letter (l.31r) a fragmented name appears for one Shmuel b. Vin_[?] (...וינ), as does Moshe al-Bohir (l.41r), a husband and wife pair "su filio kon su mujer" (l.44r), and multiple individuals including a "captain/קאפיטאן" (l.3v) and Daniel Mondolfo (l.4v) on the letter's verso. On the recto (l.15) there is discussion of the placement of fault "kulpa/culpa" because of breakdown in the flow of communication during the previous month of Temmuz "dyeron kulpa porke no avizen todo __ro de partikular y mas ke no no resibi maystro... [q]artas por respondernos otro ke bi-Temmuz..." (l.15-16r). There is also mention of monetary payment: "dyeron paras" (l.21r) which may be referencing a more general term for money in the Ottoman empire (or possibly a specific coinage type known as "para" or "pare" in early nineteenth-century Egypt). Further down the monetary label "gurushim" (l.33, 35, 39r) is in use indicating a specific type of silver coinage. MCD.

Dowry list for Hannah bt. Yakov Bibas. This document is undated but specifically titled as a "nota del ashugar" (l.1r) or "note of dowry" in Ladino. On the right margin, a column is titled with "gurushi[m]/גרושי" followed by a numerical value 1500 that is labeled "kontante y boda" which could mean that the monetary dowry alone is valued at 1,500 silver gurushim (or "guruş" in Turkish) before factoring in the value of the itemized material gifts. This seems plausible because once the list ends a final monetary value is offered of 8,500 guruş, which implies that the contents of this "nota de ashugar" are altogether valued at 7,000 guruş. Some of the material gifts listed are: "panyo" (l.12r), "ropa franca" (l.12r), "kamizas... de seda" (l.13r), "estanpa" (l.15r), "fezes mughrabis" (l.15-16r), "sabanas" (l.25r) (or in English: cloth, French clothing, silk shirts, stamp, Maghribi Fez hats, and bedsheets) MCD.

Letter in Spanish from Eliezer Bisque[?] to Sig. Mose Bisque, sent in June "Giunio" 5480[?] possibly Sivan 1720CE. The year is slightly fragmented in the heading with a final digit that is somewhat ambiguous. The place name "Casanova" appears in the letter's address section along with the phrase "En[?], nave que dios salve/by boat that God protects." The closing line on verso includes "tu padre" and suggests that Eliezer is writing to his son, as does "querido yjo [sic]" in the fragmented heading on recto. The closing lines also include code-switching to Hebrew blessings such as "ברכה" and "ושלום". The letter makes use of occasional Italianate spellings such as "biliete" (l.7-8). Lastly, Venice or "Venezia" is mentioned in line 22. MCD

Letter in Spanish from Jacob Nuñes de Paz to Los S[eñore]s Alpalas & Costa Aires in Alexandria (see tag for others in the group), probably ca. 1720 (25 Nissan is clear in heading but the year is lost). Discusses a variety of "caxas" and "caxetas", or "boxes" and "little boxes" of commercial goods as well as monetary payment, for example, in "fonduclis" (l.15r) an Ottoman gold coin that was commonly minted beginning in the early decades of the eighteenth century (which helps estimate the shelfmark's dating). On the recto there is also mention of the rental of a maritime vessel with terminology that was common for the caravan shipping system of the early modern Mediterranean. The author speaks of "procurando de nolejar una polaca" (l.21), which indicates his intent to formally rent a "polaca"-type maritime vessel (the verb "nolejar" in Spanish being a derivation of the more common Italian "noleggiare"). MCD.

Recto: Accounts in Ladino and Hebrew and sums of large numbers, giving the names Ibrahim, Yizhaq, and Yaʿaqov, who seem to be contemporary business associates, but could also be the patriarchs, and all the math on this page could actually be numerology. Then again, the main line of text seems to say: "salió de revaḥ ducados — 76777." Verso: Two pages of a kabbalistic treatise in Hebrew, including a menora made of text.

Recto: Accounts in Ladino in muayyadis, naming Shelomo, Hakham Moshe, Yizhaq M[...?], Shemuel Ḥarran, Reuven, and amounts owed to and received from different parties. On the facing page there are mysterious symbols—triangles, circles, lines, and dots, along with the name "ha-Za'ir Moshe" and a note in Judaeo-Arabic. Verso: Continuation of the accounts, mentioning Yizhaq the uncle (tio) of Shelomo. And what appears to be the address of a letter, in Hebrew, from Rashid to Fustat for a certain Shalom Refu'a (?!). Perhaps this was the envelope, came apart from the letter, and was then reused for accounts.

Letter in Hebrew and Ladino from Nehoray (?) b. Moshe Ṭoron[.]ah (?) to Shabbetay ʿAdda regarding a new business partnership between them. The date is given at top: 27 Shevat 5[.]57. The century digit appears to be a 5, giving a date of February 1797, but could conceivably be a 4 and therefore a century earlier. After an obsequious introduction in Hebrew, expressing gratitude to Shabbetay for bestowing the honor of this new partnership between them, the writer switches to Ladino (albeit with Hebrew mixed in throughout) and gets to the purpose of the letter. The writer has an existing business venture in mastic (אלמאסטיגה) that would violate the terms of the new partnership—namely that he and his agents are not to trade at all in מתא מצרים (= Fustat?) with the exception of business arising from his preexisting partnership with Ḥājjī Dāwud in Alexandria—and so he seeks dispensation to continue with the mastic venture, or perhaps he wants Shabbetay to buy him out of his share. One of the writer's partners in the mastic venture is Avraham Shimʿon and the other is [Yiẓ?]ḥaq Agi. These partners apparently have friends in high places (יען שהגבירים הנז״ל סון טוקאנטי למלכות). Other traders mentioned are Binyamin de Curiel and Moshe Pallache. A writ of power of attorney (sheṭar harsha'ah) is mentioned several times. Needs further examination

Letter in Ladino in which most of the heading has been damaged but could indicate the year [5]419CE or given that the latter two digits are clear and the ligature of "4" is present (l. 1r). A possible reading of the date is thus 1659CE. Most of the signature is also lost along the bottom tear of the fragment but the remnant of one flourish is present indicating where the author signed. The folding of this fragment also suggests that it was likely sent, and did not remain in the possession of the author as a draft. In the text itself the author mentions their brother "a mi ermano sr. Yeḥezqel / יחזקאל" (l. 13r). The name of the letter carrier is also mentioned "יאודה אטיזו" or "Yauda Atizo/Atezo" (l. 5r). The author also mentions his brother-in-law (l. 11r) and his sister (l. 15r). MCD.

Letter in Ladino to Muʿallim Ḥabīb from Simḥah de Mordukh (?). He requests money to be sent with Mordekhai Shamano. The writer's location may be named in the first line (conceivably Aleppo: it looks like חליב). The writer's uncle is in Safed. The writer's nephew Shemuel ha-Kohen sends his regards. Several people in the household and family of the recipient are named. The fragment also contains some text in Hebrew and Arabic. Damietta and Mansurah (?) are named in the address.