Geniza Lab

Get (bill of divorce) dated 1058 CE (Nisan 1369) from Fustat. Nissin (!) b. Maḥbūb divorces Mubāraka bt. Ṭoviya.

Legal document dated 6 July 1564 CE (16 Tamuz 5324), Fustat, in which Sulaymān Ṣafiyy and the treasurers of the heqdesh of the Mustaʿrib congregation reach an agreement regarding the amounts owed by Sulaymān. He owes them ongoing rent payments for the līwān in an ʿaliyya belonging to the heqdesh in which he lives, as well as a prior debt of 123 muayyadis. In this document, he commits to paying 4 muayyadis a week, or 16 a month, of which 9 are for rent and 7 are for defraying his debt of 123 muayyadis. There are three different enforcement mechanisms: Sulaymān accepts a ban of excommunication upon himself if he fails to pay on time; he undertakes a vow; and he agrees that if he does not pay, the treasurers have the right to evict him through the Muslim court sytem, and he will have to pay the associated fees (by including this provision here, the heqdesh officers forestall the possibility that they will be accused of violating the halakha by resorting to the Muslim courts). The witnesses are ʿOvadya b. Avraham Ḥazzan and David b. Elʿazar Ḥonik (? חניך) ha-Levi (who also appears in ENA NS I.57 and ENA NS 29.11). On verso there is an archiving note: "the rental contract of Sulaymān Ṣafiyy, debt of 123 muayyadis to the congregation." Information from Dotan Arad's edition. ASE.

Confirmation of the payment of a loan, from Joseph, followed by an instruction to return the pledged copy of the Torah, both signed by Isaac b. Saʿadya. (Information from CUDL)

Fragment of a ketubba from Fustat probably from the year [13]93 = 1081/82 CE.

Tiny fragment from the end of a legal document, under the reshut of Shemuel ha-Nagid.

Power of attorney. In Hebrew. Location: Tiberias, Palestine. Dated: Friday, 1 Adar 4811 AM, which is 15 February 1051 CE. It seems that ʿAmram appoints [Abū] l-Faraj b. Salāma as his agent. Written and signed by Zekharya b. Moshe ha-Levi. Also signed by Mevasser b. Shelomo; Yiṣḥaq b. Shelomo ha-Levi; and Yiṣḥaq [b.] Avraham. (Information in part from Goitein’s index card and attached notes.)

Legal document. Location: Sammanūd. Dated: 1445 Seleucid, which is 1133/34 CE, under the reshut of the Gaon Maṣliaḥ. Names [...] ha-Kohen ha-Zariz b. Yosef ha-Kohen. The testimony is about a woman who "cries out and writhes in pain (tastaghīth wa-tataḍawwar) from her husband's beating of her with his foot." A group of Alexandrians then enters the story. The rest of the document is missing. ASE.

Legal document or letter. In Hebrew. Very faded. Seems to be dealing with monetary issues? Only few a phrases can be read: והיה על אביהם... באכסניה במקום רחוק... אצל יצחק... וארבעה עשר קיראט וחצי קיראט.

Legal document concerning the appointment by the court of an agent for orphans, who will collect what is due them from their mother when they reach maturity, and the postponement of their debts. Dated: Tammuz 1310 of the Seleucid era, which is 999 CE. (Information from CUDL and from Catalogue of the Jack Mosseri Collection, p. 193.)

This copy of a marriage contract from a record book from the Palestinian synagogue of Fustat is written on four pages of two folios consisting of page 1: Mosseri A 37 (=Moss. VII,37.2) and page 2: Mosseri A 76 (=Moss. VII,76.1). The marriage between Yefet b. Yaʿaqov and Ḥanna bt. Avraham mentions a dowry of 690 dinars which seems to be an exaggerated amount. The first page is in the hand of Yefet b. David, the second page by another scribe. Dated: September 7, 1043 CE (on New Year's eve). (Information from Goitein, Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 94, 446)

Legal fragment, concerning the return of marriage payments and goods. Sums are quoted in bunduqi (בנדקי) (probably 16th century). (Information from CUDL)

Legal document. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe? Involves a certain Rosh ha-Qehillot; the orphans of Tamīm ha-Kohen; a list of luxury goods (e.g. ambergris and pearl bracelets); and a certain Moshe. Needs examination.

Ishaq b. Avraham appoints Furat b. Yosef as a power-of-attorney against neighbors who had taken possession of the house he had inherited in the village of Manda in the Galilee. Dated ca. 1030 and written by Yefet b. David b. Shekhanya (Goitein) or by Efrayim b. Shemarya (Bareket). (Information from from Bareket, p. 147, and from Goitein's attached notes.)

Legal document in Arabic script. Dated: Dhū l-Qaʿda 419 AH, which is 1028 CE. Written transversely in relation to the text on the other side. Accompanied by Hebrew jottings (זכרון עדות, written twice, inverted in relation to the Arabic text). (Information in part from CUDL.)

Legal fragments. Recto and verso appear to be distinct but related documents. Recto: Mentions flax, and people including Abū Sahl, Yefet, [...] b. Mevorakh b. Naḥ[um?], and Maʿālī b. Khalaf. Verso: Manṣūr b. Khalaf the Tyrian. Mentions Yefet saying that Manṣūr ows him something.

Legal testimony. In Hebrew. Dating: Ca. 16th century. Yosef Ashraqī attests that he owes his wife 40 gold Venetian ducats. He will repay the total before the end of Iyyar. Scribed and signed by Yosef Ashraqī. Second witness: Sasson Zikrī. Information from Goitein's note card, though he read Florentine rather than Venetian (בנאדקה).

Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe, dealing with the affairs of a woman following a divorce. (Information from CUDL)

Legal testimony. Location: Fustat/Cairo. Dated: Wednesday, 12 Shevat 5321 AM = 29 January 1561 CE. Yosef ארוייויץ b. Yaʿaqov Toledano acknowledges that he owes his mother, Doña Masʿūda (the same as in ENA NS 49.20?), 40 large gold ducats, and he will repay them within 30 days whenever she asks. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Recto: partnership or other business agreement, mentioning Menaḥem Abū l-Saʿd. Verso: pen exercises, including alphabets. (Information from CUDL)

Legal document. Dating: Mentions the start of some period in Heshvan 1459 Seleucid, which is 1147 CE.