Geniza Lab

Letter from a cantor or teacher to his boss in Cairo. The cantor had been “accused of having assembled a group of young men and danced a zuhdī dance with them" — presumably an allegation of homosexual behavior. The cantor lived in a small place outside Cairo, but on learning that his boss had been informed, he immediately set off for the city. “I contracted fever and, following it, dizziness. When I was about to recover, I received a note from you that you had heard about me that I assemble young men and dance a zuhdi dance with them. When I learned about this matter, I became alarmed and relapsed. I decided to go to Cairo to clear my honor from that talk about me; but when I arrived at the Nile, I fainted. Such an occurrence is not unknown. But I wish to clear my honor against the one who told this about me. If people have indeed given witness about this, whatever I shall be obliged to do, I shall [not] dodge.” On the reverse side, where the sender would normally include well wishes for the deliverer, the cantor wrote “Cursed be he who does not bring this to the attention of R. Joseph.” Information from Goitein, A Mediterranean Society, Volume 5, 202-203, and from Alexandra Kersley ('19), seminar paper on homosexuality in the Geniza, Fall 2018.

Letter in Arabic script from a father to his son Abū l-Majd. "The fire was in our hearts because of you, how you spent shabbat over bread and cheese (i.e., without meat). If it weren't for Yaʿīsh and how he asked the Rayyis to 'send them something to eat,' we wouldn't have found anyone to bring you anything.... If every shabbat you get up and come on Friday, spend shabbat with us, and travel back on Sunday, the way is long...." On verso he mentions that he has managed to send a sweet (ḥalāwa, v2) and possibly peaches (khawkh, v3). "I want to come to you, but I don't know the way." He has also sent something which he wants the son to work on very carefully (wa-ʿaqlak bi-l-ghalaṭ) for Abū l-Faraj Ibn al-Dujājī, evidently for Abū l-Faraj's son, since he then writes that "his son's name is—"; he then switches into Hebrew for the blessing for a son (ha-malʾakh ha-goʾel) and reveals the name to be Shelomo b. Yeshuʿa ha-Levi.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic concerning the India trade. Apparently the second or the third folio of a very long letter. Mentions numerous people and family members and business matters and Sicily and Bijaya. The first folio may be T-S Misc.28.33 (identified by Oded Zinger).

Letter reporting the sinking of a ship in the Red Sea, dating probably from the 14th century or later based on the mention of the port city of al-Tur, which rose to prominence after the decline of al-Quṣayr. AA

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic with the address in Arabic script. Dating: 11th century. From Salāma(?) and Shūʿa(?) and Maḥfūẓ b. Būlus(??) to Abū Sahl [...]. Rudimentary handwriting. Mentions Syria, Latakia, and Antioch and several people's names. Merits further examination.

Letter from a physician in Arabic script giving detailed instructions for the care of a sick man, especially about diet, baths, and regimen. It concludes in the margin, "By God! Take care of him... [do not let him eat?] chicken until he becomes stronger, God willing, praise be to God alone." Excerpts of the surviving text: "[he must not be excessive?] in anything, not air, not food, not drink, and not bathing. As for his food.... pomegranate syrup and bread and sugar. And he should be cautious in the bathhouse and not tarry there too long, rather he should enter for one hour and not.... shave his hair and pamper him and serve him and wash his hands in pomegranate blossom(?)...." ASE

Narrative report in Arabic script. Letter, legal query, or literary? Mentions a Jewish man, perhaps named Yūsuf, who came before a governor (wālī). Then refers to "a group of physicians, Muslims and others... and he wished for me to grant him permission to treat...." Needs further examination.

Letter from a woman requesting help in receiving her share from her late husband’s inheritance, with various signatures of support. Mentions government interference as well as her husband's other (simultaneous) wife, the daughter of Abū l-Ṭāhir. Long, well-preserved, and full of interesting details. Should be edited. (Information in part from CUDL)

Large letter in Judaeo-Arabic about communal strife and denunciations. Abū l-[...] Ibn al-Dayyān told 'sayyidnā al-faqīh al-ḥāfiẓ' that the sender had said something derogatory about the Muslim jurisprudents (al-fuqahāʾ) in Hebrew, a phrase meaning "al-ẓalma al-athama(?)." (Information in part from Goitein's index card.) Should be edited. Same hand as T-S 10J6.4?

Long letter addressed to Mevorakh b. Seʿadya. Mentions al-Andalus, Bijāya, and Alexandria. Complains about a group of impious people. (Information from Goitein's index card.) Should be edited.

Letter from Sitt Dhahab, in an unknown location, to Abū Naṣr b. Karīm, in Qāʿat al-Fāḍil, Fustat. She refers to herself as his daughter. Goitein suggests that he is her elder brother, although in that case it might be odd for a sister to refer to "the house of your brother" rather than "our brother." She reports that Abū l-Faraj b. al-Rayyis (Judge Elijah?) has arrived, with 100 dirhams for them. He is interested in buying wheat. She confirms that several consignments have arrived, including the balālīn (?), a frying pan (ṭājin), a robe (shuqqa), yarn (ghazal), and silk in various forms. She suggests that he send silver to Sitt Iftikhār, who has been seriously ill ("she has not lifted her head") already two months. She uses the word "iltaha'at" (bi-ruḥihā wa-maraḍihā) to describe Sitt Iftikhār; this word also appears in the context of distress in CUL Or.1081 J5 and possibly T-S 10J12.14. It might correspond to التهى, meaning "to be occupied with oneself" (Dozy). She reports on the sale of a female slave for 10 dinars, but this deal may have fallen apart: when "the man" came to fetch her price, "they returned to your brother's house, and they said they wouldn't sell her," and the female slave herself had to be bound with ropes. She then gives an update on the door for the vestibule (kumm). Abū l-Surūr bought one, but it is not suitable. Another worker came and took its measurements and is interested in doing the work. As for the old door of iron, Ḥusām took it down, and Salīm the carpenter didn't lift a finger to help. She urges the addressee to be diligent in forwarding the letters of Abū l-Maʿālī, because his mother and grandmother (or: mother and wife) are worried about him. She urges him to not forget to give an update on Najm in each of his letters, because when he does not, everyone is worried. The address is in both Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic. Information in part from Goitein's note card. ASE.

Abū ʿAlī b. ʿImrān, Alexandria, writes to the son of his dead sister, to Abū Mūsā Hārūn b. al-Muʿallim Yaʿaqov, Fusṭāṭ, the shop of Abū Naṣr al-Tilmīdh. See T-S 8J17.22, same writer, same recipient. "The troubles caused by agnates—but endured with resignation—are vividly brought home in a letter from Alexandria, addressed to the sons of a dead sister in the capital. The writer must have had a number of children, for he reports the death of the youngest, a boy, only in passing, adding drily: "May God preserve the rest." Two aged sisters lived with him, together with an orphan boy from a niece whose recent death is also reported. Another niece staying with him had a suitor whom she could not marry because she was a divorcee and had not received the legal documents (barā'a) needed for the new marriage, probably proving that she did not possess anything from the property of her former husband. The main purpose of the letter to the nephews was to secure the missing papers (perhaps one of them had been married to the unhappy woman). As though that were not enough: two sisters of those nephews lived in a house belonging to their family in Alexandria. The house was ill-omened (mayshūm), probably because someone had been killed there, or had died an unnatural or premature death. No one came to visit the girls, and they lived in complete solitude, "the most miserable creatures in the entire city with no one to care for them." The writer was prepared to invite these nieces to stay with him, but their brother would not permit them to move, probably in order to have someone to look after the property. Having already been ill for five months, during which time he was able to go out to the bazaar only once, the writer had entrusted one of the sons of his dead sister, Ḥassūn, with some of his business, but he had completely wrecked it. "The complaint is to God alone" (for what can one do against a close relative?). Several other relatives are mentioned in the letter in a rather sarcastic vein." Med Soc III A 3, n.2 (p.34).

Verso: Draft of a petition in Arabic script. Needs examination.

Medical prescriptions for "the little one" (al-ṣaghīra) Sitt al-Bayt(?) and for her son. In Arabic script. There is a section at the top for what each of them should use, then separate sections underneath for each one individually. Cf. the one 'bulk' prescription written for multiple people edited by Lev and Amar.

Letter in Arabic script. Fragment. There is one name in Hebrew script (אלמהראני); the addressee is called "my son" (yā waladī); and the writer mentions "when I left the country" (kharajtu min al-balad). Needs examination.

Long letter from one government official to another. In Arabic script. The name Abū l-Ṭāhir appears in the address (likely the addressee). It seems that the sender is not happy in his current position (...ḥattā annahu ashghala nafsahu fī khidma lam yaʿlam mā hiya qabla yakhdum fīhā fa-lammā kashafahā wajadahā lā shayʾ...) and he is requesting intercession to change positions. Needs further examination.

Letter in Arabic script. From a (Muslim) spiritual authority who is firing a would-be disciple. The sender originally thought that this man was genuinely seeking the hereafter (al-ākhira), but he now knows that he is looking out only for his own, worldly benefit. There follow many lines of rebuke and exhortation, and the sender tells the addressee never to come to him again. (Information in part from Baker/Polliack catalog, though they read the letter as seeking a meeting with the addressee.) On verso there is a note in Arabic script in a different hand, together with several lines of accounts in Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals.

Recto: beginning of a letter (or report), followed by a poem in Arabic script, mentioning Baghdad, which may be part of the letter. Verso: rhymed continuation of the letter on recto, in which the writer recalls his meeting with the head of the Palestinian Yeshiva as well as other historical events. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Arabic script, beautifully written. The upper part and the lower part are missing. On verso there is part of the Passover Haggada. "We heard from a group of the merchants arriving from Fustat/Egypt that there arrived a lot of the merchandise (? al-ḥaml) which comes from Yemen, and it must be sold 'whether by money or loss' (in shāʾa bi-l-naqd in shāʾa bi-l-faqd). They have not been freed with it (? mā tatakhallaṣū bihi) from the Byzantines or the [...]." Might then mention brazilwood (baqqam) and lac. "And if the [...] does not sell (in kāna kāsid), by God, we have taken a beating (? ḍuribnā), I and Abū l-Barakāt, from distress and demands (al-ḍīqa wa-l-muṭālaba). We ultimately settled with the Maghribīs concerning the customs for the wheat which they must pay, 39 dinars [...]." (There are more specifics about the customs duties given, but they are difficult to read.) "And we wrote the receipts (al-wuṣūlāt), but they were not content, and this is part of the distress and demands. And there passed between Abū l-Barakāt...." When the letter resumes in the margin, there is a ṣalwala and ḥasbala, and the continuation is too fragmented to make sense of. ASE

Medical prescription in Arabic script. For a topical remedy. Written in an unusually beautiful hand and formatting, with the ingredients arranged in a list rather than a paragraph. On verso, the instructions for how to compound it and use it. Mentions "istiʿmāl al-iṭrīfal." It should be used for three days, at the same time on each day. Needs further examination.