Geniza Lab

Letter from the daughter of the head of the Yeshiva to Nahray b. Nissim. Ca. 1060.

Letter from David b. Azarya (Gil: David b. Daniel) to a personality in Fustat asking him to settle the matter between Mufarraj b. Sulayman and his wife, who wants to divorce him.

Letter from Mardūk b. Mūsā from Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. August 10, 1047. Regarding shipments of goods and money. Mentions events related to the Bedouin in Egypt. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, p. 778.)

Letter from Bū Yaʿqūb(?) to ʿAmram (aka Bū ʿImrān) ha-Talmid, c/o al-Shaykh al-Nafīs. The addressee may be the brother-in-law of the writer (the address includes the word صهر). In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in Arabic script. Many names are mentioned, including the officials Mushārif al-Balad and the Amir ʿAlā al-Dīn, and the women Sitt Nadd, Sitt Kāfūr, Sitt Ghuṣn, Sitt Suʿūd, Sitt al-Naṣr, and Sitt Zaynihim.

Letter from a communal leader to a Nasi. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer reports that he fulfilled what had been requested of him in the letter that the addressee had sent him with a certain woman. He accompanied her to the two synagogues and informed the two congregations about an error in a recent court session (majlis al-ḥukm). It seems that a ban of excommunication placed on this woman is being retracted, and that she is owed 4 sanja dinars from public funds. The writer accompanied her to the ṣarf, where it turned out that the money the Nagid (sayyidnā) had given her was 5 qirats short of the 4 dinars, and the writer had no money, whether rubāʿīs or dirhams, with which to pay the balance. Her brother-in-law and David al-Najjār then accosted the writer in the market and 'cried out' (istaghātha) against him, saying that they won't pay a penny until they see the woman's documents. The writer asks the addressee to send the documents with her—and possibly the remaining 5 qirats (verso)—so that everyone will be spared "their evil" (of the brother-in-law and David al-Najjār; this reading is not completely clear). Merits further examination.

Letter from Yeshua b. Ismaʿīl al-Makhmūrī from Alexandria, probably to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1056. In the handwriting of Yeshua b. Isma’il, with an addition in the handwriting of Musa b. Abi al-Hayy Khalila. Information about transferring money, including money that was hidden in a book cover. Also mentions different goods: lead, almonds, cloth, wood, camphor, cheese, Bible codices, flax, and incense. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #311)

Letter In Judaeo-Arabic. Long and interesting. Mentions a certain פושע, i.e., a convert to Islam; the community of Sahrajt; and an oath (or ban of excommunication) on a Torah scroll or codex. The writer complains that no Jew will drink with him, and he refers to 'those pigs,' perhaps the people who excomunicated him. Abū Saʿīd Khallūf b. al-Ashqar is mentioned.

Letter, probably 11th century Babylonia. The content is unclear, It's probably dealing with a death of a Rabbi. The line spacing and the script is common to letter sent to and from the Yeshiva.

Letter from Natan b. Nahray (Alexandria), probably to Nahray b. Nissim (Fustat). Ca. 1062. Talks about business links with Spain. Mentions a number of commodities: indigo, lead, turbans from Susa and cloves. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, p. 416.)

Letter, fragmentary, from Eliyya b. Yehuda b. Yaḥyā, in Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim. Around 1052. The letter contains details about purchases and payments. Eliyya greets the addressee (probably Nahray) for his marriage and sends his greetings to Yehuda b. Seʿadya and his brother Mevorakh. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #705)

Letter, minute fragment. Mentions a reply to a letter from sayyidna

Recto: Letter from a son, in Qūṣ, to his mother, presumably in Fustat. Written in Judaeo-Arabic and a cipher (lines 7-12; noticed by OZ; probably this is also in Judaeo-Arabic). The portion of the letter not in cipher mostly consists of regards, and a complaint that the addressee had sent no letter ever since Abū Manṣūr had left her, and he is angry at her. Verso: Another letter, in Arabic script mixed with Judaeo-Arabic (e.g., الכתאב, وשלום רב والسلام), possibly written by the same pen, but not by the same hand. Needs examination/decipherment.

Letter from Abūn b. Ṣadaqa, Jerusalem, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Abūn conveys a detailed tale of a serious falling-out with another merchant and urges Nahray not to associate with him. Abūn describes his reclusive lifestyle in Jerusalem (v25–30) and mentions in passing that he fell sick (r7–8).

Letter from an unknown writer, either in Gaza or near Jerusalem, to Yishmaʿel, in Fustat/Cairo. In Hebrew. Dating: Second half of the 16th century. The writer describes his persecution at the hands of judges and police in Palestine, specifically in the city of Gaza. It began with a debt owed to the writer by a shāwīsh/çavuş, who denied owing anything (r10–12). The matter came before a judge from Jerusalem, who came to Gaza (r10), and, thanks to bribes and false witnesses, ruled against the writer (r12–15). The shāwīsh continued persecuting the writer, trheatening him with imprisonment or extradition to Damascus for the sake of bringing the case before the Basha there (r15–18). The shāwīsh maintained that the writer owed him 427 Venetian gold coins (peraḥim banādiqa) (r32–33). But the community of Gaza came to the rescue of the writer and agreed to stand security for the loan (r28, v14) that he would need to take out in order to pay off various people to avoid being dragged off to Damascus (r19–31). The writer is now in unbearable financial straits (r31, v6) and asks the addressee to help defray his debts to the community of Gaza (v7–38). The writer has also turned to Yaʿaqov de Villareal and Moshe Porekh(?) for help in transferring the money (v22–25). Information from Avraham David's edition on FGP.

Letter in Hebrew. Very faded.

Letter, minute fragment.

Letter from a woman to a communal official. In Hebrew. The purpose of the letter is to advocate for herself in her marital dispute that has already come before the addressee in court. "They brought [...] to my master and said, 'Here are some of my possessions that she has destroyed,' but my master knows that when we came before you in court, he did not mention that I destroyed this shawl, and all of this is 'Perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord' (Proverbs 6:14)." She flatters the addressee (חכם כמלאך האלהים) and reminds him that her (ex?)-husband is just trying to return to his divorcee, and that he hates her daughter.

Letter from the Yeshiva to the community of Hazor (Caesarea), ca. 1025 (?)

Letter to the community of Mahalla, two lines of the opening. Only the poetical praises survived. On verso part of the address.

Letter in Hebrew, very faded and torn, late.