Geniza Lab

Late document from the records (some sort of constitution?) of the Azouz synagogue in Alexandria. There is writing on Page 1 and 3, and a few lines on Page 4. Page 1 deals primarily with the leadership of the community, divided between riyāsat al-diyānīyah (religious leadership, or perhaps oversight of judges?) and riyāsat al-maṣāliḥ (perhaps financial oversight?). It partially reads as follows: "... that are in Alexandria without regard to their origins or countries. . . a single congregation, and this congregation will have religious leadership... for the benefit of the citizens. On the religious leadership: . . . the transfer of authority will be determined with the majority of votes. . . He will especially observe the religious materials (? mawādd) . . . and the rulings (istiftā') of ḥalāl and ḥarām according to the religious principles. . . and the religious judgments. . . He will be paid 10,000 qirsh taʿrīfī annually from the fund of the community (ṣundūq al-ṭā['ifah]). . . His dwelling will be suitable for his position. . . . [. . . the son of] Shelomo Ḥazzan. On the leadership of the maṣāliḥ: . . . his election will be determined with the majority of votes. . . ." On Page 3, the sections in the right-hand column are somewhat opaque. They deal with matters such as the job of the community's secretary and burial expenses for members of the community. Halfway down the left-hand column, there begins a summary of a particular election (date unfortunately missing). "Resolved:: On the 17th day of [. . .], the congregation present in the Azouz synagogue . . . the election of the council of representatives (majlis al-nuwwāb) . . . according to the majority of votes." The winners of the election were Khaw[aja] Zakito Luria with 60 votes; Moshe [...] Mikha'el אדלנציר with 47 votes, and the Rāyis (?) with 45 votes. Runners up were Moshe Naḥman with 25, Fereira [...] with 18, Menaḥem סוולרן (?) with 12. Merits further examination.

Letter from ʿAmram b. Yiṣḥaq, in Alexandria, to Ḥalfon b. Netanel ha-Levi, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Middle of Adar (1451 Seleucid) = February 1141 CE. The letter deals with the illness of ʿAmram's wife (evidently a familly member of Ḥalfon's) and the way she was treated. She had been suffering lethargy, palpitations, and fainting spells for over a year and a half. She was treated for “the obstruction of the heart (inqifāl al-qalb) mentioned by al-Rāzī in the Manṣūrī,” but the medicine only made matters worse. Midwives were summoned to treat her for "the illness of women”—hysteria—by the application of oils and fats. When this, too, failed, she was overwhelmed by black bile (melancholia), rendering her “a piece of flesh, yearning for death but unable to attain it.” ʿAmram asks Ḥalfon to convey his wife’s medical history to the physicians of the capital, so that “perhaps she will attain relief.” (Information in part from Frenkel, and Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV—Hebrew description below.)

Personal letter from the head of the Babylonian community in Jerusalem (Adath HaBablim) to Mr. Yiṣḥaq Mordechai [Gabbay] seeking an explanation for why he has not been writing letters and similarly about items sent to Alexandria that have not arrived – 13 Iyyar 1922CE – Museum of Islamic Art – (number 10) – in Judeo-Arabic. (information from Ḥassanein Muḥammad Rabīʿa, ed., Dalīl Wathā'iq al-Janīza al-Jadīda / Catalogue of the Documents of the New Geniza, 52). This may be the same Isḥak Mordechai mentioned in MIAC 212. An original scan of the typewritten letter and Arabic-script edition of it appear in Al-Janiza wa-l-maʿābid al-Yahūdiyya fī Miṣr (pp. 166-169). Although the letter sender's name is not included in the MIAC catalogue it is mostly legible in the scan as "Eliyyāhū Menaḥem Shemuel Zofiēl[?]." A portion of the letterhead is in English and states "Registered by the Jerusalem Govern. under act 3939/239." MCD.

Business letter from Alexandria to Fustat. Only the top right preserved. Late. (FGP)