Geniza Lab

Letter from the head of the court of Palermo (perhaps Maṣliaḥ b. Eliyya) to his counterpart in Qayrawan, ca. 1050 CE. The letter details a legal suit between Shemu'el/Ismaʿīl, who is overseas, and his brother Abū Zikrī, who has been in Palermo and managing Ismaʿīl's store, and it seems that Abu Zikri or his mother sold Ismaʿīl's courtyard. Ismaʿīl appointed Shemuel b. Ḥayyim to represent him (?) in the case against Abū Zikrī. Part of the issue was whether Abū Zikrī had been conducted business as a partnership with his brother or with his own money. One witness, Ṣāliḥ b. Yūsuf al-Ṣabbāgh, witnessed and took an oath that it was a partnership. Abū Zikrī's brother-in-law is attempting to mediate a settlement involving a transfer of 20 gold coins and 800 qelafim (sheets of parchment?), which have already been sent with Nissim b. Menaḥem. Ismaʿīl is now to draw up a document in Arabic ("let it be witnessed by Gentile witnesses in Mahdiyyah and Qayrawan") and in Hebrew ("in the beit midrash of rabbenu," i.e., the recipient) releasing Abū Zikrī from all claims relating to the store and the courtyard. However, if Ismaʿīl does not accept this settlement, he should write as much, and the court in Palermo will proceed with the implementation of justice. Information from Menahem Ben Sasson's edition. ASE.

Recto: beginning of a draft of a marriage document from Fusṭāṭ dated 1091 CE. Verso: Writing practice in Hebrew and Arabic script.

Recto: Obscure sentences in Judaeo-Arabic. Verso: Practice signatures in Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic of Yeshuʿa b. David ha-Levi.

Letter from Avraham ha-Parnas b. Menaḥem to the brothers Yiṣḥaq and Yehoshuaʿ b. Khalfa(?). On vellum. Extremely ornate, calligraphic, scribal hand, vocalized Hebrew. It is torn off before the substance of the letter begins. On verso there is also a legal document, a release (שטר פיצוי). Unclear if this is a draft or not.

Letter from Khalfūn b. Benaya(?) to Abū Zikrī Yaḥyā b. Mūsā Majjānī. (The names are very difficult to read; these may be not exactly right.) In Judaeo-Arabic. On vellum. Dating: 11th century. The letter itself is very faded. An 'iqtiḍā'" is mentioned twice, and perhaps the addressee's cousin (ibn ʿamm) Abū Ibrāhīm Isḥāq. ASE

Business accounts, mentioning goods from India, myrobalan, and pepper, among many other things.

Formulary for a legal document of ḥaliẓa (rejection of levirate marriage). On vellum.

Letter from a scribe to a certain Yosef. (The names Yosef and Avraham appear in the address on verso, but the surrounding text is very faded; the letter opens with a verse from Genesis about Yosef and his two sons, and the letter itself blesses the addressee and his two sons.) In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Written on vellum. Dating: Probably no earlier than 14th century, based on the hand and the names. The letter mentions R. Muvḥar and R. Shemuel b. al-Gati and discusses the copying of a muṣḥaf on parchment. On verso there is a piyyut in the hand of the writer. There is also a second letter in a different hand, in Judaeo-Arabic.

Recto: List of books that have been pawned. With Abū Saʿīd b. Levi: three booklets (ajzāʾ) for 2 dirhams. With Bū l-[...]: some books of Hippocrates (kutub Buqrāṭ) for 5 dirhams. With Abū ʿAlī b. [...]: one book for 5 dirhams. With the dyer (al-ṣabbāgh): 1 book containing Kitāb al-Miʿda(?) and Kitāb al-Aghdhiya for 5 dirhams. With the physician (al-ṭabīb al-[...]): 1 book for 1 dinar. With Ibn Muʿammar(?): two books. The list continues at the bottom of the page at 180 degrees, in a different pen and ink. On verso there may be another text block of the same; there is a recipe in Arabic script, probably medical; and there are some pen trials in both Hebrew and Arabic script. ASE