Geniza Lab

Large letter from "the two congregations" of Alexandria to the Palestinian community of Fustat, and particularly to Efrayim b. Shemarya, regarding fundraising for the ransom of captives. They convey gratitude for 200.5 dinars that had already been sent. The tale is rather convoluted, but they are clearly in need of money again. In particular, "one of the Arabs" named Yubqī (or Yabqā?) b. Abī Razīn recently arrived with a new set of seven Jewish prisoners from Byzantium (מארץ אנטאליה), four Rabbanite and three Qaraite, demanding 33 1/3 dinars per captive. The head of the Alexandrian community, Netanel b. Elazar ha-Kohen redeemed one of them and suggested writing to all the communities of Egypt to raise the remaining total. Thus they have sent letters to both Rabbanite congregations and the Qaraite congregation of Fustat, to the elders in general, and to the Rabbanite and Qaraite congregations of Tinnīs and Damietta and Ṣahrajt. Some of the sermon included in the remainder of the letter seems intended for public reading in the synagogue (an insight from Frenkel, ha-Ohavim ve-ha-Nedivim, p. 190). There are ~17 signatures in addition to that of the scribe, Yeshuʿa ha-Kohen b. Yosef ha-Shofeṭ, and that of the head of the community, Netanel ha-Kohen b. Elazar. ASE

This is the famous epistle/sermon generally attributed to Daniel al-Qūmisī, in Jerusalem, to his "brethren" the Qaraites, urging them to come to Jerusalem (along with a great many other matters). One passage: "Since the beginning of the exile, the Rabbanites were princes [sarim] and judges, in the days of the kingdom of Greece, the kingdom of the Romans and the Persian Magians, and those who sought the Torah could not open their mouths with the commandments of the Lord out of fear of the rabbis . . . until the arrival of the kingdom of Ishmael, since they always help the Qaraites to observe the Torah of Moses, and we must bless them [for it]. Now you are amidst the kingdom of Ishmael, and they favor those who observe the month according to the new moon. Why, then, do you fear the rabbis? . . . For by means of the kingdom of Ishmael God broke the rod of the rabbis from upon you." (Translation from Rustow, Heresy, p. 117.) This text was originally edited by Jacob Mann, and later edited and translated by Leon Nemoy in "The Pseudo-Qūmisīan Sermon to the Karaites," Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research Vol. 43 (1976), pp. 49-105.

Letter from a Qaraite probably of Persian origin. His location is unknown (perhaps Ramla or Fustat), as are the identity of the addressee and his location (perhaps Jerusalem). In Hebrew. Dating: First half of the 11th century. The letter opens with extensive good wishes for the addressee, including for his recovery from an illness. The sender is writing on Tuesday the 20th of Sivan "according to the observation of the new moon." Several months earlier, the addressee had asked him to go up to Jerusalem and meet with the (now deceased) Nasi.The sender had excused himself at that time by citing his difficult circumstances. He is writing the present letter to report on recent developments: Abū Naṣr David b. Yiṣḥaq ha-Levi (active ca. 1020–55) arrived; Mikhaʾel went to greet him, but the two of them quarreled. Someone said something about the sender being in Egypt (or Fustat), and someone said something about Abū Sulaymān David b. Bapshād. The continuation of the letter is missing. On verso there are seliḥot. (Information in part from Rustow, Heresy and the Politics of Community, p. 154.)

The first document is a fragment of a letter from the Qaraite community of Fustat to the Qaraite community of Alexandria. On recto, only the flowery Hebrew beginning seems to be preserved, and a few fragmentary lines in Judaeo-Arabic in the margin. On verso, there is the address in calligraphic Hebrew and four lines of text in Judaeo-Arabic in a different hand, mainly blessings for the addressees but perhaps also encouraging them to give charity. Following the letter are two leaves of piyyutim. ASE.

Letter, first part, flowery, from the Qaraite community of Egypt to that of Damascus. Later than the classical Geniza period.

Qaraite exegesis

An interesting Qaraite legal testimony (zikhron ʿedut) dated 20 Adar 5442 (1682 CE), scribed and signed by Avraham ha-Rofe ben Ṣaʿīr, one of the messengers sent from Jerusalem with news of the barley crop (aviv), together with Mordechai b. Ḥayyim ha-Kohen. As the barley was fully mature, the coming year, a leap year for the Rabbanites, will not be intercalated for the Qaraites. Messengers have been sent both to Damascus and to Fustat. The writer notes that, for the first time "in a long time," this means that the calendars of the Rabbanites and the ʿarelim (western Christians? Muslims?) have coincided, while the calendars of the Qaraites and the Franks and Maronites have coincided. The term ʿarelim, or uncircumcised, normally refers to Christians in earlier Geniza documents. However, in this context, the ʿarelim are being contrasted with the Franks and Maronites, so the writer is either drawing a distinction between western and eastern Christians, or between Christians and Muslims. ASE

Recto: Deed of sale. Rabbanite. In Hebrew. Dated: Tuesday, 14 Elul 5321 AM, which is 1561 CE. A woman named Qamr, the wife of Yosef al-Aḥdīb(?), sells to Doña Esther, the widow of Avraham Tortos (טורטוש), her small qāʿa, the ʿaliyya, and the quwayʿa that serves as a kitchen, all of them located in the Qaraite neighborhood, at the head of the alley facing the well where the saqāʾiyyīn draw their water. The price is 20 gold Venetian ducats. Qamr has received payment in full except for 4 medins. In the continuation, we learn that this is actually a sort of mortgage. Qamr will remain in the house for a period of 12 months for a monthly rent of 12 medins. If she can come up with 20 ducats during that year, Esther will sell her back the house. All this was decided with the consent of Qamr's husband Yosef. There is then a confusing clause which says that it was also decided with the consent of the "aforementioned" Yaʿaqov b. Yosef (no such person was aforementioned) and his wife Esther bt. Doña Qamr (the buyer? the daughter of the seller? both?). Written and signed by Eliyya b. David Ḥabariyya, who also signed T-S AS 145.85, BL OR 5544.11, BL OR 10590.1, and T-S 13J4.17. Probably also in his hand: T-S AS 146.25, BL OR 5561B.13, and T-S 8J8.13. This document was also signed by Natan b. Yiṣḥaq Damūkh(?). This document was edited by Avraham David, but his identification and transcription were mistakenly attached to ENA 2562.1 in FGP. Verso: Another legal document. In Hebrew. Perhaps a draft of a partnership agreement between Seʿadya Lubi(?) b. Ḥalfon and Yiṣḥaq b. Nissim. MCD. ASE.

Qaraite-Rabbanite polemic

Letter addressed to ʿAbd al-Karīm. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late, probably 14th century at the earliest. The writer and addressee are Qaraites. Very long. Conveys information about conflicts and disputes and the lashing of women by a court. Altogether a detailed report of communal affairs. Recto. The writer reports on the charge against a certain woman that she went to see an astrologer (munajjim), and that the addressee's mother went as well and protected the other woman. The ḥakīm himself gave the woman 20 strokes with a cane. The writer is very agitated about this and urges secrecy ("these are matters that should only be spoken in the grave"). The next couple dozen lines are damaged and difficult to read. Some time later, Naṣrallāh b. ʿAbd al-Raḥīm b. the addressee's paternal uncle אבן אלנשו was going up the stairs when Ṣadaqa b. Ibrāhīm al-Ṣaghīr accosted him. It seems that Ṣadaqa upset Naṣrallāh, who went crying to his mother, who spoke angrily without realizing that the guards (shomrim) were listening, and word of what she said reached Ṣadaqa, who confronted the mother of Naṣrallāh and called her a fājirat kalb (!) who goes around seducing (tatabahraju) other men's husbands. The next couple lines are difficult to read; they mention "al-khāziniyyīn" and the addressee's parents. Subsequently, all the protagonists gathered in Dār Ben Sameaḥ (=Dār Simḥa, the main Karaite synagogue in Cairo from roughly the 14th century onward—see tag) on Saturday night for the reading of the Torah (al-talāwa). Ṣadaqa got up to read the Torah. The addressee's cousin ʿAbd al-Raḥīm (the father of Naṣrallāh and the husband of the woman whom Ṣadaqa had insulted) got up together with ʿAbd al-Raḥīm al-Shurayṭī, and they vehemently objected that a person who curses elders could ever read the Torah in the synagogue. Ṣadaqa then verbally abused them ("half of your prayers are heresy, you ass. . . .") and did the same to the others who confronted him (al-Melammed, al-Ḥakīm, his father and maternal uncle). The brawl continued until "the cameldriver was in the riverbed" (al-ḥādī fī l-wādī) and the community missed the chance to read the Torah. Eventually Ṣadaqa and Naṣrallāh's mother were summoned to continue their argument in the house of al-Muʿallim Sharaf al-Dīn, where Ṣadaqa was convicted of making oaths in vain and cursing elders/ancestors, and he therefore lost his right to pray before the congregation or read the Torah (yaṭlub sefer). The marginal note belongs here ("Why did you curse the khāziniyyīn?" "I only cursed them because of ʿAbd al-Raḥīm. . . "). It seems that a group (Ṣadaqa's gang?) was then overheard threatening to beat the muʿallim. The story winds down around here; the writer repeats that these matters are only to be discussed in the grave. Verso. The writer asks the addressee not to show this letter to Ibn al-Melammed, and also to take it with him to Cairo. The writer excuses the addressee for his failure to write, but, "When you went up to Jerusalem, you had no excuse left" or, "When you go up to Jerusalem, you will have no excuse left." He then gives detailed reports on the sightings of the new moons of Elul and Av. He mentions in passing "Yūsuf b. ʿAlam [who] was traveling through the lands collecting the jāmikiyya." Unpublished, uncited in the literature, and requiring much more work. ASE.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Not complete. Dated: 8 Tammuz יֿהֿ אֿבֿ כֿֿשֿ, which may be 5338 AM, which is 1578 CE. The writer is surely a Qaraite, since he refers to 'the damned bastards' of the בני משנה, that is, the Rabbanites. The letter contains a detailed description of a legal case. "They took the four fatwās/responsa and me to the Shāfiʿī (Muslim) judge. . . he is very important, and they showed him the fatwā of the Shafiʿī (jurisconsult?) and said, 'Judge this Jew. . .'" It seems that the writer had a Rabbanite enemy seeking his downfall, but the enemy failed and the writer triumphed. There are several lines praising God for His goodness and calling down curses on enemies and schemers and anyone who has pity on a Rabbanite—"may he taste his medicine." The letter concludes with various greetings. ASE.

Ketubba, Qaraite. The bride's name is Ḥusnā.

Qaraite bill of divorce formulary

Letter of request for money addressed to the Qaraite community on occasion of a circumcision. (Information from Goitein's index cards). Goitein may have identified it as Qaraite becuase of the blessings to the Nesi'im

Letter mentioning sums of money, the qadi, the qayyim, and Sulayman the khadim (FGP)

Letter from Avraham b. Shemuel ha-Levi, Jerusalem, to Nissim ha-Kohen Ṣefanya b. ʿOvadya ha-Kohen, Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 6 Kislev 5439 AM (בקשו ענוה), which is November 1678 CE. Both writer and addressee are Qaraites. This is a long letter; needs further examination.

Business letter from Abū l-Ḥusayn al-Ṭulayṭulī to Abū al-Najm Hilāl b. Yosef ha-Qara. In Arabic script. For other Qaraites from Toledo, see T-S 13J9.4 (PGPID 1236, discussed in Rustow, "Karaites Real and Imagined," Past & Present 2007). In line 7, instead of Aodeh's "وقد يخصك السلام," read, "وقد دخل الحمام," yielding, "Your son is in good health; he has entered the bathhouse (i.e., he has recovered from his illness)." ASE

Letters. Copies. The first letter is in Judaeo-Arabic, from the Shāmiyyīn to the Miṣriyyīn. The second letter is in Hebrew, from the Miṣriyyīn to the Shāmiyyīn. Dating: Probably no earlier than 15th century. The second letter gives a detailed explanation of the intercalation of the calendar and the observation of the aviv (barley crop), meaning that the writers are probably Qaraite. The first letter indeed mentions דת בני מקרא (line 17). Needs further examination.

Letter from Eliyyahu b. Seʿadya, in Fustat/Cairo, to the Ḥakham Avraham ha-Levi b. Moshe ha-Levi the Qaraite, in Jerusalem. Scribed by Yaʿaqov Ḥayna (? חיינה) al-Ḥazzān. Dated: Wednesday, 5 Tammuz 5587 AM, which is 1827 CE. (There is a problem here in that 5 Tammuz 5587 was a Saturday, not a Wednesday, but perhaps this can be explained by the discrepancy between Qaraite and Rabbanite calendars.) The introduction is in Hebrew and the body is in Judaeo-Arabic; the address is in Hebrew and in Arabic script. The letter concerns the visit of the addressee to Egypt and a cryptic business matter involving a payment of 11 maḥmūdiyya (gold coins minted by Maḥmūd II). Needs further examination.

Testimony signed by Aharon ha-Kohen b. Amram and two others regarding the kashruth (ritual lawfulness) of some cheese made by the Karaites (of Samaritiqa), ca 1050.