Geniza Lab

Letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Early 13th century, as Eliyyahu the Judge is mentioned. The writer greets the addressee as 'brother' and gives him a report on his family members. It seems the addressee's mother is in a particularly poor state. Munā b. Ḥiyyā and Abū l-Tāhir b. al-Quḍāʿī were staying with the writer's family. The writer struggled to pay the capitation tax (12 dirhams). He complains that he is all alone ('I have no one to wet my throat or give me a thread of silk'). The addressee's brother Surūr had a son born to him, given the name Bū l-Faḍl, on the day this letter was written. "Tell us whether you have found a stable situation, so that we can take the old woman [and move?] to you." Regards from the addressee's sisters and brothers-in-law. The writer asks for news of Bū l-ʿAlā and says to tell him that his children are unemployed and their rent is due, "and if we the men have been overwhelmed, how should they be?" The writer complains about his own unemployment and rent due. He reports on prices for silk and wheat and at least one other commodity; it seems they were bad before, but have now somewhat improved. "Let the response be quick, lest you earn the sins of your mother." The addressee is asked to meet with Eliyyahu the Judge on the writer's behalf. ASE

Letter from Moshe b. Yosef Hamon of Istanbul to Yehuda al-Ashqar in Egypt. In Hebrew. Dating: Second half of the 16th century. For information on the Hamon family, see H. Gross, 'La famille Juive des Hamon', REJ, 56 (1908), pp. 8-26, 57 (1909), pp. 55-78; U. Heid, 'Moses Hamon, chief Jewish physician to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent', Oriens, 16 (1963), pp. 152-170. Information from FGP.

Letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer's name appears in the upper left corner but is very faded. He mentions having left Aden recently. Also mentions people including Bū l-Faḍl b. ʿAjamī and Ḥasan the paternal uncle of Dā'ūd.

Letter addressed to 'ha-Rav ha-Gadol.' In Hebrew. Mentions having to pay two dinars in Fustat. Needs examination.

Letter sent by Ḥayyim b. Avraham Skandari, probably in Cairo, to his son, probably in Alexandria. The date is the 2nd of Adar I, probably 1590 but could also be 1606, depending on whether the yod and vav are to be read in ישֿוןֿ. Information from Avraham David's edition (FGP).

Letter from Shalom, in Egypt, to an unknown addressee, probably in Istanbul. In Hebrew. Dating: Second half of the 16th century, based on Avraham David's assessment. Reports on a shipwreck outside of Beirut; the survivors had to make their way by land to Egypt. Turkish merchants arrived from סטליאש (David suggests Sitia, Crete, cf. שיטיליאש in Mosseri III,231 and שיטיליש in T-S 10J16.32). They reported that the ship of Sulaymān Kāshif had been shipwrecked but not before reaching land. The writer goes on to discuss the trade in tin. Information from FGP.

Letter from Yiṣḥaq ha-Levi to Ḥayyim. In Hebrew. Dating: Ottoman-era. Concerning business. The writer conveys a tale of underhanded dealings and bribes involving a çavuş, a judge, and a basha, and he requests the intervention of the addressee. Mentions a shipwreck and lake Burullus (near Rashīd). Information from FGP.

Business letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably no earlier than 14th century, based on the language. Deals in part with business in wine, with an interesting passage: "I was left a quarter of a human being. The smell of the wine was wafting, and the goy said. . . " Needs further examination.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Late. From Abū Saʿd(?) to Moshe, Yaʿaqov and Avraham. Mentions various business matters. There is an unusual simile at the top of verso, in which the sender apparently compares himself to a diver who will drown if his arms fail him. He then lists his weekly expenses (or perhaps these are orders?), including for meat, soap, a mantle, coal, firewood, rent, and wine. Needs further examination.

Letter from Shelomo Abū l-Khayr to his cousin (ibn ʿamm) ʿAlāʾ. In Judaeo-Arabic, with a couple words that look European. Late. Reporting on family and business matters. "Bābā" visited the sender for the holiday. Needs further examination.

Letter from קלדה the wife of Meir Ṭaras(?) to דייצה the wife of Avraham Ḥalafta(?). In Ladino. Needs examination.

Letter from an unknown writer, in Rashīd, to Yaʿaqov Malikī, in Fustat/Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Needs examination.

Letter draft from the wife of a drunkard to "sayyidnā." In Judaeo-Arabic, beautifully written. She reports that her husband took her belongings, demanded from her more; hit her with something unmentionable (his shoe); she had already once sent to the Nagid when he threatened to kill her in the evening. When her mother came on Sabbath, he demanded that she pay his capitation tax (jāliya); threatened to beat the mother so that she would be ill. His parents encourage him to beat her. Finally she left the house Saturday night. He had already taken from her 4 dinars and bought wine. Information from Goitein's note card.

Letter from the community of Jerusalem to the gabbay and treasurer of כארכוך (=Kirkuk?). In Hebrew. Dated: Adar 5603 AM, which is 1843 CE. This is a letter on behalf of the envoy (shaliaḥ) Yaʿaqov Aharon Cur[i]el. "The writers reproach the local leaders of Karkukh for not giving any money to their envoy (שלוחא דרבנן), whose name is written there in big letters — Ya’akov Aharon Koral — who came to the city to collect money for Jerusalem three months ago and was left empty handed. They accuse them of neglecting the holy city, against the tradition, and of not keeping their promises." Information from https://medium.com/@judaicadh/talking-the-talk-pretty-signatures-4e2f861cc4b4.

Pen trials, notes, and a drawing. In Persian and Judaeo-Persian. The least-faded text block reads in part, "I am the ẓaʿir Refa'el b. Ḥanuka(?). I wrote this. . . the month of Adar 5559 AM," which is 1799 CE.

Letter from a man to his son Shelomo Skandari. In Hebrew. Dating: End of the 16th century, according to Avraham David. The addressee spent time in Rosetta and Alexandria (l. 6). The sender complains about the lack of letters (ll. 7–8). The addressee also appears in MS 9160, fol. 1, MS 9160, fol. 8, and Moss. VII,20.1. (Information from A. David's edition via FGP.)

Letter from Yiṣḥaq to Avraham Krispin. In Ladino. Mentions Yiṣḥaq de Curiel. Needs examination

Letter to one of the communal leaders in Egypt (FGP)

Letter addressed to 'the dear brother' Hārūn. In Judaeo-Arabic. Rudimentary hand, with interesting (late) spellings. Mentions Yiṣḥaq Sāsī. Needs further examination.

Letter, possibly a draft, from a man to his family members Moshe and דאני(?). The relationship is unclear: at one point he addresses "my father" and at another point "my brothers." In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late. The currency שרפי is mentioned in the last line, which is probably the Ottoman sharīfī (first minted 1520 CE) but could also be the Mamlūk ashrafī (first minted 1425 CE). The western Arabic numerals on verso would support a later date. Nearly the entire letter is a moving description of the death of the sender's newborn boy, who did not even live long enough to be circumcised, and the sender's grief for "the noble creature" (khalīqa sharīfa). His heart burns; his eyes are damaged from copious weeping; he has no mind; he cries as he writes this letter. He may also say that he is near death himself. "Every time you wake up a little, and think on the little one, you cry and relapse." He complains about the lack of letters from the addressees. He hopes that Barakāt will stay with him instead of going to them ("if he leaves me, I will go mad"). In the next part, he might remind them to continue sending wheat. On verso there are jottings and accounts in Judaeo-Arabic and what look like western Arabic numerals.