Geniza Lab

Letter sent by the head of the Jews, Sar Shalom ha-Levi Gaon b. Moshe, to the community of Qalyub confirming Moshe b. Levi as slaughterer, cantor and teacher. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Legal document. Small fragment from a bill of sale. On parchment. In the hand of Yosef b. Shemuel b. Seʿadya ha-Levi. Drawn up under the authority of the Gaʾon Sar Shalom ha-Levi (dates: 1170–95). Abū l-Surūr is mentioned. AA

Letter of congratulations to the Gaʾon Sar Shalom ha-Levi, after his reinstatement in the office of head of the Egyptian Jews. Dating: possibly ca. 1176. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from the office of the Gaʾon Sar Shalom b. Moshe ha-Levi (in office ca. 1176–95) to a certain community. Mainly in Judaeo-Arabic. Written by Mevorakh b. Natan, with the signature of the Gaʾon at the bottom. Dated: Iyyar 1497 Seleucid, which is 1186 CE. Concerning two teachers, saying that both of them would continue to receive "ṣibbur" (pledges for public charity), but that one of them was permitted to act as a teacher and as a slaughterer, while the other was only entitled to receive fees for writing marriage and divorce contracts and other legal documents, and for performing circumcisions. Lines 1–6 can be found on T-S 10J 29.4, lines 7–16 on T-S 10J 24.7. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 122, and from Goitein's index cards.)

Recto, and lower part of verso: Legal document in the hand of Yosef b. Shemuel b. Seʿadya. Location: Fustat. Drawn up under the authority of the Gaʾon Sar Shalom ha-Levi. Dating: No later than 1193 CE (the legal document came before the letter draft, since the letter draft is crammed into the remaining margins). Sitt al-Ḥusn bt. Abū l-Makārim al-Tājir al-Kohen known as Ibn Qasāsa, who is the widow of Ṣāʿid b. Abū Manṣūr, declares before the court that she had previously reached a settlement with her half-sister (from the same father) Sitt Khafar, the wife of Yehuda al-Ṣāʾigh al-Maghribī, regarding the inheritance of their brother (from the same father) Abū ʿAlī al-Kohen al-Ṭabīb al-Muwaffaq. Several lines are missing here, but it seems the settlement was for 3.25 dinars, and Sitt al-Ḥusn acknowledges receipt of the money from Sitt Khafar. She has also received an unspecified sum from Sitt al-Maʿālī, the widow of the deceased brother Abū ʿAlī. She releases Sitt Khafar and Sitt al-Maʿālī from all further claims. On verso there are two more drafts of legal documents in the hand of Yosef b. Shemuel b. Seʿadya; these are damaged and difficult to read. The first involves a woman named Sitt al-Sāda and mentions "70 dirhams every week." The second involves a physician ('al-ṭabīb al-sadīd) Abū l-Faraj b. Moshe Ibn al-Kharrāz and perhaps a power of attorney. (Information in part from CUDL.) AA. ASE.

Margins of recto, and upper part of verso: Draft of a letter written by Shemuel b. Seʿadya ha-Levi, the father of Yosef b. Shemuel, the scribe of the legal document on recto. The text of the letter is written in two columns. Dated: Sivan 1504 Seleucid, which is 1193 CE. The letter is addressed to the Head of Jews and was written before Passover ("may we all be able to celebrate the Feast of Maṣot"). (Information in part from CUDL.) AA. ASE.

Fragment from a legal deed written by Mevorakh b. Nathan, from the year 1170 (only the two last digits ae preserved), under the authority of Sar Shalom Halevi. The deed is damaged, so the actual context is unclear. A lady appeared in court and declared that she gave someone what she had to give. AA

Legal document drawn up in Fustat, dated either 1173, 1183, or 1193 CE (Adar 14[.]4 Seleucid), under the reshut of Sar Shalom ha-Levi. Regarding Abū l-Maʿālī's rental of a property from Yosef ha-Zaqen.

Legal document in the hand of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi. Small fragment (upper left corner). Location: New Cairo. Dating: No later than 1195 CE, as it was written under the authority of the Gaʾon Sar Shalom ha-Levi. The document concerns Yūsuf al-Ḍarīr ("the blind"). On the scribe, see A. Elbaum, "Assembling a Life: Several Dozen New Fragments on Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi" (FOTM April 2020). Several documents indicate that although Moshe lived in Qalyūb, he regularly came into Cairo for work (e.g., as a scribe) and to Fustat to see his wife and father and brother. AA. ASE.

Part of the heading for a highly decorated ketubba (in Hebrew, although the ketubba text would likely have been in Aramaic). All of the main text has been lost but the heading refers to Sar Shalom ha-Levi, leader of the Jewish community in 1170 and 1177-1195 CE (brother of Gaʾon Nathaniel ha-Levi). (Information from CUDL)