Geniza Lab

Letter from the Nagid Natan Sholal ha-Kohen, in Fustat/Cairo, to Moshe b. Yehuda, in Alexandria. In Hebrew. Dating: Before 1502 CE and perhaps after 1498 CE (since Shalom b. Zaytūn lived in Safed before then). Issuing instructions concerning provisions for the orphans of R. Avraham b. Ḥisān, who previously lived in Alexandria but moved to Jerusalem to live with their mother upon the death of their father. Other people mentioned: the bearer of the letter Ḥayyim; R. Yaʿaqov Fransi (of Jerusalem) and his brother R. Yiṣḥaq Fransi; R. Ṣedaqa Nes (of Alexandria); and R. Shalom b. Zaytūn. (Information from Avraham David via FGP.)

Letter from Jerusalem to Avraham ben Yiṣḥaq Sholal in Egypt. edited by Avraham David in Ḥayyim Beinart Festschrift

Letter from Shalom ben Jacob of Damascus to Nathan Sholal

Letter (possibly) from Moshe b. Yehuda, addressed to a certain Saʿīd. Dated: 23rd of the ʿOmer מטר, i.e., 5249 AM (probably), which is 1489 CE. Mentions that Yiṣḥaq Sholal (not yet the Nagid) arrived in Rashīd on business. The sender previously sent one letter from Rashīd and another with Ṣedaqa Nes. He orders silk garments to be sent with David Sofer and his son Meir. He orders the Zoharand other books. He conveys instructions for what should be given to the wife of the Shamash for his own wife. Also mentions raisins. (Information in part from Avraham David via FGP.) For more on Moshe b. Yehuda, see Arad and Wagner, "Moses ben Judah – a 15th century bibliophile and gourmand" (FOTM June 2016) and Arad, "The Jews of Alexandria in the 15th Century in Light of New Documents" Peʿamim 156 (2018), 167–84 (Heb).

Letter (or rather three letters) from Mustaʿrib sages, in Safed, to the Nagid Yiṣḥaq Sholal, in Fustat. Dating: 1510 CE, based on the assessment of Avraham David. These letters complain of the conduct of a certain R. Moshe, the dayyān of Safed in Galilee. If we are to believe the writers, he was a rather unusually vainglorious, selfish and unscrupulous person, guilty of many acts of tyranny, misappropriation and corruption, and responsible for the perennial Safed Meat Scandal." The paper apparently bears a watermark "of the familiar hand-and-star variety, employed by many manufacturers in France, Switzerland, and Sicily, between 1490 and 1590 CE." Information from Gottheil-Worrell, Fragments from the Cairo Genizah, p. 247.

Court record concerning mint management. Dated: 1513 CE. Issued in the court of the Nagid Yiṣḥaq Sholal. Witnesses include Yaʿaqov Beirav and Nissim Biba. The issue centers on an oath that the Nagid took when he was running the mint (dār al-ḍarb) to the effect that Avraham Talmid would not do business with anone in the world for as long as Sholal remained at the mint. There are mutliple sections to this document, some of which are testimonies from witnesses. See Avraham David's edition on FGP for further information.

Legal document. Location: Cairo. Date: Tuesday, 12 Sivan 1814 Seleucid, which is 1503 CE. Under the reshut of the Nagid Yiṣḥaq (Sholal). Likely a release between two parties. Not included in the settlement are 4 dirhams and two qirats of pearls. But the coral and carnelian and syrups will go entirely to one of the partners. Witnesses: ʿOvadya [...]; Shelomo b. Binyamin.

Business letter addressed to Yiṣḥaq Sholal ha-Kohen. Dating: Beofre 1502 CE, because Yiṣḥaq Sholal was not yet the Nagid at the time this letter was written. The letter mentions Hebron and Gaza (the sender had previously sent letters from those locations). The specific business partnership has to do with wheat. (Information from A. David's edition on FGP)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Late. Addressed to Natan b. Avraham ha-Kohen Sholal (?). The writer expresses his longing for the addressee (r1–4). He gives news of family members such as the addressee's maternal uncle Moshe (doing well), news of the addressee's father ('sayyidak,' the next phrase is unclear), and news of business in his location (doing poorly: al-bilād fasadat) (r4–8). In the remainder of the letter he gives his own news (traveling to the 'west') (r9). Two people have died (r13) in addition to the writer's own wife (r14). He gives the addressee advice in case he enters Egypt/Fustat (r17), involving al-Ḥajj Qasim b. Tammām. Merits further examination ASE.

Letter written by the assistant of the Nagid Ishaq Sholal to Alexandria. (Info from FGP)

A letter from one of the leaders of Aleppo to 'Our master the Nagid', probably Ishaq Sholal. He informs that he is trying to raise money to ransom captives but find it difficult to receive community assitance. (Info by A. David, FGP)