Geniza Lab

Legal document. Partnership. Dating: 1100-1138. Location: Fustat. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. This undated fragment concerns a partnership in money-changing; the active partner was Abū al-Surūr Peraḥya b. Menashshe, brother of Ḥalfōn b. Menashshe. The woman Nasab, mentioned on lines 10 and 13, is Peraḥya’s (and Ḥalfōn’s) mother. Peraḥya handed over some amount to his mother, which she acknowledged and recorded as a debt. These funds seem to have been a loan out of partnership capital, indicated by the mention of “the funds in his hands”. On the other hand, no description of the partnership itself is preserved here. The name of Peraḥya’s partner is also not preserved, though it may have been Ḥasan Eli b. Maṣliaḥ (mentioned in line13). It is unclear what role Eli played in the transaction. The signatories are not preserved. But the title "Mordecai of his time" (see line 1) is applied to Moshe b. Mevorakh alone; thus, although his name is not preserved, this document may refer to Mevorakh b. Saadiah and his son Moshe. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture", 277-278)

Letter of appeal for charity from Isḥāq b. Avraham to the Nagid Moshe b. Mevorakh (1112–26 CE). What remains is almost entirely in Hebrew, though the body of the letter was in Judaeo-Arabic. "Few petitions by individuals in distress entreating Moshe's assistance are extant. However, the 'broken-hearted' Jew whose torn letter to Moshe Nagid b. Mevorakh preserves, aside from the salutation and the address, some biblical verses about answering the prayers of the needy, was undoubtedly only one of many who sought Moshe's succor." Cohen, Jewish Self-Government, p. 278.

Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Drawn up under the authority of the Nagid Moshe b. Mevorakh (ca. 1112–26 CE). It is a testimony that was delivered before the two permanent judges in Fustat who were appointed by the late Nagid Mevorakh b. Seʿadya and by his son Moshe (for similar examples, see Cohen, Jewish Self-Government, p. 275 note 13). Concerning what happened after the death of Abū l-Faḍl ʿAmram b. Raḥamim. The continuation is mostly missing. Mentions the blessed congregation of Fustat; a woman who paid a large sum out of her own money; the mother of Abū l-Faḍl who is a widow; and someone called al-Rayyis al-Jalīl.

Very damaged legal deed by the court appointed by the Nagid Moshe b. Mevurakh (1122-1126). Amram b. Aharon Hakohen appears in court, but the actual content is unclear.

Very damaged minute fragment from the top of a legal deed written by Halfon b. Menashshe Halevi during the period of the Nagid Moshe b. Mevorakh (1112-1126). Sa'adya the elder is mentioned.