Geniza Lab

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Possibly addressed to 'the dear brother al-Kohen Hadar ha-Soḥerim." Dating: Early 13th century. The writer mentions things that were lost during this travel (the ḥalīb/milk? and the 'qāriṣ'?). He advises the addressee to look after the boy and not to beat him (lā tasṭū ʿalayhi bi-ʿunf) and to tell him to look after his sister and mother (at least if "your mother" refers to the boy rather than the addressee). He complains about al-Raḍiyy. Regards to Samḥūn and his siblings and father; to Eliyyahu and his son; to Abū l-Faraj and Bū Mubārak and their wives. The letter ends: "Do not tell anyone our secret."

Letter from Avraham b. Shelomo b. Yehuda perhaps to Efrayim b. Shemarya. In Hebrew. Complains about a Coptic kātib (הסופר הערל, lit. "the uncircumcised scribe") and how "the Ishmaelites and the Qedarites" are demanding a heavy burden of taxes. He asks for help for the sake of the synagogues. The response should be secret and the kātib must not find out. NB: This does not seem to be the correct shelfmark, as DK 123 on FGP does not correspond to this document. The good news is that there is a photograph of the fragment in Scheiber, Acta Orientalia (Hung.), 27 (1973), p. 328.

Letter from Nissim b. Avraham to Nahray b. Nissim (Fustat). Dating: ca. 1050s. About a consignment of silk that was about to reach Fustat, owned in partnership by the sender and Barhūn b. Mūsā al-Tāhirtī. Nahray is requested to sell the silk as quickly as possible and to keep the sale secret. Nissim's travel plans imply that he writes from an important centre in the delta, possibly Būṣīr. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, p. 506-507.)