Geniza Lab

Letter in the hand of Berakhot b. Shemuel to his father-in-law. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Early 13th century. He complains about neglect. He mentions al-Shaykh al-Rashīd, whom he forgives for neglecting him because he is usually so generous, and Abū Manṣūr, whom he does not forgive because he cannot imagine his excuse. He concludes by asking the addressee to conciliate his daughter (the writer's wife, ṣāḥibat al-bayt), because, as a result of his pain and his illness and the meager support he receives (or "care," as in the wife being remiss in household duties, which is Zinger's suggestion), his "character became constrained" and he became irritated (ḍāqat akhlāqī wa-ḍajirtu), and they had a fight. The addressee should do this in such a way that she doesn't sense that the writer told him. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, 188, 189.) Same writer as T-S 13J21.35, which is signed Abū l-Barakāt. There are many more letters in his hand. See Zinger's dissertation, p. 261. ASE

Letter from Abū l-Faraj the father-in-law of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to his son-in-law Shelomo b. Eliyyahu. In Judaeo-Arabic. Admonishing him to treat his young wife, Sitt Ghazāl, well and admonishing her to obey her mother-in-law and to be as industrious as her own mother had been. The writer adds that if the Muslim divine Jamāl al-Din travels to Fustat, he (Shelomo?) should accompany him. (Information from Mediterranean Society, IV, p. 360, and from Goitein's index cards.) Previous description for CUL Or.1080 J125 (old PGPID 8895): A loss of 54 1/4 dirhems on house repairs reported to Shelomo by Abū l-Faraj of Alexandria-- see Goitein Nachlass material. Joins: Oded Zinger.

Letter sent to Sitt al-Ghazal, wife of the judge Eliyyahu b. Zechariah (?), by her elder son (?), Abu Zikri, asking her to put up a newly acquired friend, Abu l-Faraj Hibatallah, and his wife. Information from Mediteranean Society, V, pp. 36, 515. Mentioned in Rustow, "Formal and Informal Patronage," Al-Qantara (2008), p. 363. [Goitein's identifications here are not completely certain. The individuals named and the content support the identification with Abu Zikri. It is not his usual handwriting, so Goitein suggests that he dictated it. Judge Eliyyahu's wife in other documents was Sitt Rayḥān. Abu Zikri's younger brother Abu l-Barakat Shelomo was married for a time to a woman named Sitt Ghazal. If Abu Zikri is the writer, could he be writing to Shelomo's wife intead ("the mother," not "my mother")? It seems that Shelomo is currently with him (lines 19-21), so he couldn't have directed this request to Shelomo. And he opens, "God give you joy with the precious boy, the master, the brother" (line 5), consistent with a letter to a sister-in-law. ASE.]

Family letter from the end of the 12th century to Abu al-Faraj b. Abu al-Barakāt, a doctor in Fustat, from his brother in Alexandria. The letter mentions forceful collection of the capitation tax (jaliya) in Alexandria. (Information from Frenkel. See also Goitein, MEd. Soc. 2:372, 2:372, and 4:61. Goitein describes the document as following: Family letter from a physician in Alexandria to his brother, also a physician, who had traveled to Fustat without having paid his poll-tax (or having forgotten to send the receipt back). The writer had to pay a certain sum every day to the Muslim authorities (tarsim) until he would pay the poll-tax for his brother. After two days of refusing to do so, he was confined to prison and paid the poll-tax.

Large fragment of an interesting family letter in the handwriting of Toviyya b. Eli addressed to Avraham b. Saadya and another recipient. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Suhayl, in an unknown location, to his wife Umm Wuhayb and to his son, in Fustat. He asks in the most urgent terms that they return to him. He is seriously ill (marīḍ ʿalā khuṭṭa) and may die at any moment. If they do not return, they will regret it when regret will not do them any good. He alternates between addressing his son, who is probably meant to read the letter to his mother, and his wife. Information in part from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 339. ASE.

Letter probably from Yedutun ha-Levi, in Fustat, to his brother Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, in Qalyūb. (Identification is tentative, based on handwriting and typical phrases and names.) Someone, possibly ʿImrān (but not their paternal uncle of the same name), recently died in or around the addressee's location. The 'kabīra' (old woman?) has arrived back safely. Abū Zikrī (=Sar Shalom??) is making a big fuss and swearing that he saw Moshe in Cairo on Wednesday with two baskets of apricots. Yedutun complains about how everyone repays him with ingratitude, and he seems to refer to his activities as a physician (although Goitein read יטבהם in line 9 as יכצהם). Yedutun had to swear to Abū Zikrī that he must have been mistaken about seeing Moshe in Cairo and that Moshe doesn't know Ben Shaʿya either. Abū Zikrī apparently gave an exceedingly long sermon (דראש) on Shabbat. Tāhir is asking about Moshe's news and wants him to know that the new wālī is a relative of the old wālī, and he will take revenge on people who defy him (or defied his predecessor?), so Moshe should watch out. Moshe should also pass on Yedutun's prescription to Yaḥyā al-Khuḍarī, because Yedutun owes him a favor. He is very sad about ʿImrān and can't even eat bread (a standard phrase to express grief). He asks Moshe to pass on condolencees to ʿImrān's brother. And if Moshe wants the family to come visit him at the end of the month, he should let them know with a day's notice. Previous description: Warm letter by a man in Fustat to his brother in the countryside, mentioning an old woman, probably the bearer of a message, best not confided to paper. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 338). ASE

Letter from a man who might be Perahya b. Yosef Ibn Yiju, probably in Fustat, to his wife, in al-Maḥalla. She is the daughter of the judge of al-Maḥalla. The sender reports that he was given the honor of delivering a sermon before the two congregations of Fustat. He implores his wife, with both sweet words and threats, to join him in Fustat. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, 218, 567, 568; III, 219, 220)

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.)

Family letter addressed to a place north of Qus in upper Egypt, beginning with two Hebrew verses from a poem, in which a woman with a child asks her sister and mother to take more interest in her because of her condition. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 172, 221, and from Goitein's index cards.) Same sender and addressee as L-G Ar. II.129 and T-S 8J24.4. In fact, this is probably addressed to Fustat (based on L-G Ar. II.129), though the family has business dealings in Qūṣ.

Family letter from Sālim to Bū Manṣūr b. Sukkarī (or Zikrī?) in Alexandria reporting that the Rūmī cheese had arrived and that the writer had sent the pottery (or clay pipes, fukhkhār) desired. Greetings to Mother and both grandparents. The address is in Arabic script on verso. Information from Goitein's note card.

Letter addressed to Sitt al-Khayr. It seems that the writer had learned that Sitt al-Khayr's daughter was going to get married and expresses her expectation in the letter to receive an invitation. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from an unknown sender, in Fustat, to his nephew (ibn ukht) Mūsā, in Qalyūb. Dating: Unknown, but perhaps dateable on the basis of the reference to Rabbenu Yiṣḥaq or on the basis of the capitation tax policies described in the letter. Subject: Mainly dealing with the case of an unhappy (maghbūna wa-maẓlūma), newly married young woman. The writer urges his nephew not to come to Fustat. He reminds him of the education given to him (tarbiya), the obligations towards his family (ahliyya), and the love between them (maḥabba). Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 25. Further information from Goitein's note card: The writer had made peace between a young man (perhaps the son of the addressee) and a young woman (perhaps the sender's own daughter or granddaughter). Then the young man fell ill. His capitation tax was restored (?) to him by the authorities (the letter mentions arbāb al-dawla, al-sulṭān, al-ṣāḥib, the qādī of Qalyūb, and the wālī) on condition that the young man remain in Qalyūb instead of traveling to the Levant as he had intended. ASE.

Letter addressed to Menaḥem the physician, in the horseshoers' market (fī al-musammirīn) in Fustat or New Cairo. Mainly in Judaeo-Arabic, with the first five lines written in Arabic script. The sender conveys everyone's grief over the death of the addressee's mother. He says they have sent 10 letters with Mukhalliṣ the tax farmer, but they have received no response. He asks for small quantities of silk. Umm ʿAjam also asks for news and tells the addressee to return as soon as he has finished his work. "If we had known you would stay in Cairo for a year, we wouldn't have let you go." Greetings to family members and from ʿAjam and ʿIwāḍ. ASE

Letter sent from the Egyptian capital by a man to his brother in the countryside, reporting that their mother is well and praying for him and requesting him to buy as much flour as he can carry. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 244)

Letter addressed to the Nasi Shelomo b. Yishay-Jesse from the town of Bilbays containing local news and sending greetings to the Nagid David b. Avraham b. Moshe Maimonides and members of his family.

Letter from a woman to an unknown addressee. Around 1060. Mentions details about Nahray b. Nissim’s family. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #293) VMR

Letter, extensive and profuse, by a cantor in a provincial town to his widowed mother named Umm Farjun, inviting her to Cairo(?) to visit him and her grandson who yearn for her. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 242, 338, 479, 503). The letter is sent to the 'house of my master al-Hemdat b. Pinhas' in New Cairo. Connected to T-S 8J22.19.

Letter sent from Minyat Zifta by Abu al-Baha b. al-Mashmia to his father. The writer reports that his brother was caught by capitation tax collectors and that he had to pay for the entire family. The receipts were written in Ashmum, as they were inhabitants of that town. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Yaʿqūb b. Isḥāq to Abū ʿImrān [...] and perhaps ultimately to the writer's son (li-waladī). In Judaeo-Arabic (for the letter) and Arabic script (for the address). The writer complains about his distance from his family and his financial straits and inquires about the well-being of his relatives, especially the old woman: "Has she recovered from the illness of her eyes? Has she started to make out things from a distance or from nearby?" Verso: Apart from the address of the letter on recto, there is a second letter, written in Arabic script. Perhaps the response. Needs further examination. ASE