Geniza Lab

End of a late letter in Hebrew from Avraham R[...], in which he describes how he successfully made a match for the daughter of [...] with Shemuel Brodoy (?), and the wedding took place on such-and-such date, and now the addressee is urged to pay promptly for the service.

Letter fragment. In Hebrew. Late.

Letter of appeal. The writer states, "The illness was enough for me, and then the capitation tax assailed me." The tone is aggrieved; he complains about Abū ʿImrān al-Kohen and mashāyikh al-balad who get together to drink in the evenings. The writer wishes to get through to "Rabbenu," but he has not been allowed access, and he is ashamed to appear before al-Shaykh al-Thiqa, the brother-in-law of Rabbenu, and Yūsuf b. al-Tilmīdh. Merits further examination.

Small fragment of a document in Hebrew, probably late, mentioning someone who betrothed a woman (erusin).

Letter, fragment (lower left corner), from Shalom b. Sīd. In Hebrew. Dating: First half of the 16th century. The writer reports on business progress to his employer or partner. He mentions Yaʿaqov Shānjī in line 6 and a Venetian ship in line 7. Information from Avraham David's edition on FGP.

Letter from Ḥayyim. In Hebrew. Dating: Late 16th or 17th century, based on Avraham David's assessment. The language is very flowery. The writer mentions Manzal = Manzala, a town on the lake of the same name near Damietta. Also mentions business in she-asses.

Recto: Business letter. In Ladino. Currency: muayyadi/medin. Verso: Table filled in with numbers, presumably for lots.

Tiny fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic.

Recto: Letter from an unknown writer, in Jerusalem, to Moshe Zussman, in Cairo. In Hebrew. Dating: 1566 CE or not long after. The letter concerns the inheritance of Moshe's mother Rachel, who died in early 5327 AM (1566/67 CE). It seems the writer is responsible for disposing of Rachel's estate. He tells Moshe what he will send him to Egypt with two men, one of whom is Yehuda Masʿūd. He also reports on what he has spent in Jerusalem to repay the debts of Rachel. There are quite a few Yiddish letters from Rachel to her son Moshe preserved in the Geniza; see tag. Verso: Book list.

Fragment (middle vertical third) of a late letter in Hebrew, mentioning al-Khawāja ʿUthmān.

Verso (original use): Fragment of an Arabic-script business letter. Someone is bringing a bit of yarn and someone should use it, and the proceeds should be sent with whomever is available. Recto (secondary use): A Hebrew blessing or spell or amulet for someone's wishes to be fulfilled and to be like a warrior and a wise man.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Only the beginning is preserved. The name of the addressee may be very faintly visible. Handwriting of Berakhot b. Shemuel?

Letter. In Ladino, with the address in Hebrew. Needs examination.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Perhaps 12th century. Conerning business in saffron and ambergris.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Likely in the same hand as T-S 13J7.24. Describing some kind of dire period of war or the like. "The slave of the king came . . . 30,000 dinars on the two wakālas(?) and the dīwān and all the merchants, and the country is closed (maghlūqa), and the exchange is 42.5 [this is tentative], and no one has a dinar any more, and the collection (istikhrāj) of all the remaining capitation taxes, and the poor are in perplexity, I have informed the master [this]." The surviving portion of the letter on verso is much more quotidian, consisting mainly of the standard closing salutations. Mentions the fatwā (jawāb al-faqīh) for the writer's cousin (ibn ʿamm) Maʿānī. Needs further examination. ASE.

Business letter from Zekharya b. Yaaqov b. al-Shama, from Tripoli (Libya), to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1065. The writer is about to travel to Sfax to sell textiles. With the money he will receive, he plans to buy oil and needs 100 jugs for that. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #670) VMR

Tiny fragment in Hebrew script.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: probably early 13th century. The writer complains that the Rayyis does not trust him to deliver letters for him, thus he gave leters to R. Yūsuf to deliver, who then lost them. The writer gathered the courage to write to Rabbenu Avraham and al-Ḥaver about this matter, but he has not received a response from 'his Majlis', thus he writes the present letter. On verso he discusses the case of a (his?) wife, the daughter of Bū Saʿd b. Maqdūnsa (an Ibn Maqdūnsa is also mentioned in T-S Ar.54.91). Her husband sent her a get from Damascus with Muẓaffar. She then remarried in Fuwwa (?) Yūsuf b. al-Yaqṭīn. "And the purpose of your letter to Damascus is that perhaps you can give him a ruling regarding (re-)marriage. The story is confusing and would likely be clarified by the missing part of the letter. An Abū Zikrī is mentioned in the margin. ASE.

Letter fragment from Khiyār b. Yaʿqūb to Abū l-Afrāḥ ʿArūs b. Yūsuf. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late 11th century. Reused for business accounts on verso. On the writer, see India Book II, 6 (DK 230.3) and II, 9 (Moss. II,160). Very little of the content of this letter remains.

Letter from Daniel b. ʿAzarya possibly to Yoshiyyahu b. ʿAzarayahu ha-Kohen. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: ca. 1055 CE (per Gil). Verso is covered with Arabic-script jottings of many kinds (mainly drafts of legal and epistolary formulae). May also join with ENA NS 2.33.