Geniza Lab

Letter from a merchant to his business partner. Mid-11th century. Regarding a journey to Spain, the Sultan’s ship, and some information about the wheat’s price. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #803) VMR

Letter from Mūsā Mosseri. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 18th or 19th century. Verso: Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic.

Letter of friendship sent by Yitzhak Villareal (FGP)

Letter addressed to Eliyyahu the Judge. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions Avraham Maimonides on verso. Needs examination.

Letter fragment addressed to a son. In Judaeo-Arabic. Torn vertically down the middle.

Letter from Abū Sahl Levi probably to his son Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer conveys the news that the adressee's brother Abū l-Ḥasan (Yedutun) is doing well (in his illness). Another note with the same writer and recipient on the same topic: F 1908.44Z. Identifications based on handwriting. ASE.

Letter from חצרייה(?) and her mother to פוצילא. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably no earlier than 14th century. The writers report on the condition of the neighborhood, which is stricken with an epidemic (magefa) and, barukh ha-shem, various people in the addressee's family have been stricken (inḍarabū). No one is left in the house except for the writer, the daughters (באנת = בנאת?) and the female slave. There is a postscript, "Do not blame your mother, because your mother has no sense. This is Shuml (=Shemuel?)." Needs further examination.

Note in Judaeo-Arabic informing the recipient that the bearer had a good reason for his tardiness this week, and please forgive him.

Fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic, with a poetic Hebrew introduction, to a certain Ḥaver. The story is difficult to reconstruct as the left half is missing, but it may be that a group of people were intent on apprehending the writer, and he tried to run away.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: No earlier than 1425 CE. The writer seems to be beseeching the addressee for a loan of a certain sum of ashrafīs (a gold coin first minted by the Mamluks in 1425 CE)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Very faded. Mentions Tamīm, al-qāḍī ṣāḥib al-dīwān, Abū Zikrī, and the king. Needs further examination

Letter from [...] Sulaymān Kohen to [...] b. Mūsā. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions Abū l-Raḍiyy; the purchase of an ʿarḍī cloth from Fustat; 'the prices of the country'; [...] b. Elishaʿ; Makhlūf. Possibly related to the India traders.

Letter from Efrayim b. Nissim, probably from Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Dating: ca. 1050. The writer tried to get money from Abu Mansur (who is Aaron b. Yashar ha-Tustari) but did not succeed. Musa b. Abi al-Hayy gave the writer books to keep them from the mice while he is traveling. The writer mentions a disagreement that he has with “the Alexandroni”, probably Avraham b. Farah. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #712) VMR

Letter fragment (lower left part). In Judaeo-Arabic. The handwriting seems familiar. ". . . betroth her and take her, and let him not be absent for a week or. . . tell me what should be done, for I am perplexed. . ." Regards to: mawlāy al-levi and his brother-in-law beḥir ha-kohanim; Abū Isḥāq and his brothers; Abū l-Makārim; Abū l-Faḍl Rosh ha-Medabbrim; Abū l-Makārim b. Nufayʿ and his son. There is a postscript regarding the son of the faqīh Abū Ṭālib, who came and asked the writer to pass on his gratitude to al-Fakhr.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Rudimentary handwriting. The name [...]r b. Dā'ūd appears in the address. The body of the letter mentions pullets (farārīj) and a certain Yiṣḥaq. Needs preservation; more of the text could be uncovered.

Letter from Yeshuʿa to his father Saʿīd. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 14th century or later, based on handwriting and abbreviations used. This letter was written around the period of the High Holidays. Perhaps this is why Yeshuʿa asks his father to forgive him. Needs further examination.

Letter or letter draft in Judaeo-Arabic. Addressed perhaps to Ḥananel ha-Dayyan (but this is not completely clear). The writer complains about his poverty and unemployment. The handwriting is quite difficult. It may belong to Shelomo b. Eliyyahu.

Fragment from the beginning a letter in Judaeo-Arabic, in lovely and distinctive handwriting. The writer has been forced to stay in a funduq due to an illness, and there is no one there to help him. At one point he visited the house of al-Kohen al-Ṣiqillī, presumably a physician, to take a medicine. Most of the rest of the letter is lost. He mentions Umm Muslim and in the margin reiterates that he has been living in the funduq. ASE.

Late letter in Judaeo-Arabic; either a fragment preserving only the greetings, or a letter that consists entirely of greetings. Mentions ʿAzīza, Avraham, and Binyamin.

Letter of appeal for charity. In Hebrew. Dating: Late, probably 16th century. Written by Yehuda al-Ashqar b. Yiṣḥaq b. [...], a resident of Jerusalem who, when circumstances became difficult, decided to approach the Gedolim for help, "setting my face as flint not to be ashamed." The name is partially missing and thus the reading is not certain.