Geniza Lab

Account of the expenditures, recorded by Judge Shemuel b. Saadya, made on one day in Dar al-Zayt, ca. 1182. The note is for building materials, utensils and labor. More than three years later, he started to list sums collected for clothes for the poor on the same leaf, but left the list incomplete after only two lines. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 362 #93)

Account of revenue and expenditure for Tishrei, Ḥeshvan, and Ṭevet. Dated: 1495 Seleucid, which is 1183–84 CE. This extensive accounting is written on two and a half leaves of the notebook of Shemuel b. Seʿadya. It lists the last expenditures for Tishri, and then the account of revenues for Heshvan, Kislev, and Tevet. It contains details of the rent from 22 apartments and compounds, which totals 715 dirhams. Several payments do not cover the whole period of three months, and refer to shorter periods. Then comes a very large list of expenditures reflecting large-scale reconstruction and repair operations. Involves Abū l-Bayān the collector. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 350 #89.)

List of expenditures of the Qodesh ca. 1169-70. An accounting written in the hand of Judge Shemuel b. Saadya ha-Levi, on both parts of a leaf from a notebook, mentioning several houses of the qodesh. Most items refer to building operations, but there are also sums spent on nightwatch and gifts to Muslim officials. The Synagogue of the Babylonians is one of the main beneficiaries in this accounting. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 309 #72)

Money order of the Qodesh. Ca. 1162-63. The judge Shemuel b. Saadya ha-Levi wrote and signed an order to pay 9.5 dirhams to the children of a certain Hiba, the brother of Abu Ishaq al-Mukari, said to be thier share in the revenue of the "Estate of the Jerusalemites." (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 308 #70)

Legal statement, signed by Nethanel b. Moshe and Shemuel b. Saadya ha-Levi, who is also the scribe, concerning a lawsuit regarding a house. One of the parties 'had had a writ drawn up according to Islamic law, which benefited him. Dated Tammuz 1477/ June 1166

Upper part of list, in the hand of judge Shemuel b. Saadya (see Bodl. f56.43c), on the reverse side of a document issued on the authority of Maimonides in spring 1172 (and copied by Mevorakh b. Natan). The contributions are partly in dinars (one-fourth - two, the latter sum appearing four times), partly in dirhams. Practically all the names recur in contemporary lists of donors to charity, but because of the dilapidated state of the manuscript no general conclusions are possible. Of the 16 persons whose names are discernible in the left column, four give together with their partners. Dated to last third of twelfth century (see Mediterranean Society, II, App. C 116, Bodl. f56.52, where Goitein speculates that this and other stray lists might have formed part of one booklet). (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, 485, App. C 35)

Legal document. Agreements on prepayment of rent ca. 1180-81. Twenty years after agreements on repairs to be made jointly were signed between the qodesh and al-Nadiv, Abu'l-Makarim, we have such agreements now with Judge Shemuel b. Saadya, and three elders signing for the qodesh. These are three consecutive agreements covering together a period of four years. Again, the matter of repairs made jointly is settled. Abu'l-Makarim first advances the rent owed by him for a period of two years for the lease of al-Burj; this compound, as shown by its name, was probably originally some stronghold and was no completely owned by the qodesh. Abu'l-Makarim rents it both as a dwelling place and for the purpose of his business, which is mainly rose water. The first of the three agreements is for a period from June 1180 to June 1182; the third is from May 1183 to 1184. The second of the three is missing, but certainly covered the lunar year from June 1182 to May 1183. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp.314 #74) (Probably written by Mevurakh b. Nathan. AA)

Letter and notes (verso) about a young woman. Probably written by Shemuʾel b. Seadia ha-Levi, the judge (Ha-dayyan) who was a pharmacist before being a judge. (Information from Goitein index card). VMR

Account for Nisan and Iyyar 1494 sel. ca. 1183. The revenue from only eleven apartments and compounds of the qodesh for two months is listed in the first part of this document. The total is 352.5 dirhams. For some reason, Abu'l-Bayan collected the rent from only half of the usual number of houses. There follows a list of expenditures, including the usual items, which total 125.75 dirhams. There is also a list of payments received by the qodesh from Abu'l-Bayan (some of them through the beadle, Makhfuz). (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 337-338 #84). The scribe is Shmuel b. Sa'adya Halevi (Date: 1163-1204)

Account for Elul 1494 and Tishri 1495 sel. ca. 1183. This document contains the last part of the expenditures for Elul. Then additional revenue from rent for the month of Tishri is listed. Here we have 24 items, totaling 174.5 dirhams. Afterwards, we find the usual additional expenditures for the same month, among them some sums paid in advance for the following one, Marheshwan. The accounting contains relatively high sums spent for making travel arrangements for the widow of the Nasi. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 347 #88). (Written by Shmuel b. Sa'adya Halevi. AA)

Account for Nisan and Iyyar 1493 sel. ca. 1182. This account deals with another part of the qodesh estates and the names of the 12 apartments and compounds in it differ from the ones in the previous accounts. The total revenue from these apartments, for two months, is 372.25 dirhams. There are two different categories of expenditures; a) the usual items whose purpose is specified, and b) major sums deposited with the parnas himself, and a certain Abu'l-Makhasin, apparently the beadle of the Synagogue of the Babylonians. Whereas the revenue total accords with the sum of the items listed, there is no way to check the total of the expenditures; apparently only some of the operations are noted on this sheet. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 332 #82). Written by Shmuel b. Sa'adya Halevi (Date: 1163-1204). AA

A, b, and c of this folded piece of paper contain List. 'Distribution of money and clothing,' superscribed 'The rest through Abu'l-Bayan' (the parnas). Since this heading is not followed by a sum, it does not represent the balance of an account, but indicates that one or more preceding distributions were carried out by other officials. Nine persons receive 5 (dirhams), eight, 3, and one, 2, altogether 18 recipients, all women, except for 3--2 of whom are characterized as foreigners. Verso, four distributions of a muqaddar (an item of clothing; three to male persons) and four of a jukhaniyya. Among the recipients a freedwoman and 'the orphans' of one household. In the handwriting of Shemuel b. Saadya, who wrote in the margin an item of another type dated Tishri (Sept.-Oct.), 1183. 14c, ll.5-6 are in the different handwriting of the man, Elazar b. Michael, who wrote this confirmatory note. Entries marked with an asterisk have a wavy line above them, at the beginning, resembling a sine curve, perhaps meaning 'claimed' one entry on 14b is overlined, meaning deleted.

Conditional bill of divorce. In the hand of Mevorakh b. Natan. Dated: Av 1480 Seleucid, which is 1169 CE. The trader Bū Saʿd Moshe b. Yefet gives this conditional divorce to his wife before setting out on a journey to Yemen. Signed by: Mevorakh b. Natan and Shemuel b. Seʿadya. See also T-S 12.585 recto and verso. (Information in part from S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 3:192, 467; Amir Ashur and Ben Outhwaite, “Between Egypt and Yemen in the Cairo Genizah,” Journal of Islamic Manuscripts, Vol. 5 (2014), 213.) EMS.

Leaf from a file of responsum, written in the hand of Shemuel Ha-Levi b. Saadya.

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.

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.

Account for Av and Elul 1494, and Tishri 1495 sel. ca. 1183. A double leaf, taken from the notebook of Judge Shemuel b. Saadya, this document contains two accoutns of revenue from rent, for the period Av 1494-Tishri 1495 sel., in which Elul 1494 appears twice, each time with different items. Each list of revenues is followed by one of expenditures for the same period. The first list of revenues includes 26 items, totaling 373.5 dirhams, and the second 20 items, totaling 367.5 dirhams. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 343 #87)

Account for Shevat and Adar 1495 sel. ca. 1184. This is a single leaf from the notebook of Shemuel b. Saadya, written in two columns. A revenue list beginning in the first column continues in the upper part of the second one, and is followed by a list of expenditures. There are 19 items of revenue preserved, with a total for the two months of 441.5. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 359 #91)

Account for Marheshwan and Kislev 1495 sel. ca. 1183. This is a double leaf of the notebook of Shemuel b. Saadya. The first part is a list of the revenue from 25 apartments and compounds for two months, which totals 346.5 dirhams. Then a list of expenditures follows, mostly, it appears, for charitable purposes. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 357 #90)

Account for Tammuz and Av 1494 sel. ca. 1183. Only the revenue part of this account is presevred. It contains the sums from 22 apartments and compouns, the total being 374 dirhams, to which 15 dirhams are added, from the account of the preceding month, all of which is to be handed over by the parnas. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 342 #86) Written by Shemuel b. Saadya. AA