Geniza Lab

Informal note. In Judaeo-Arabic. "This is the copy, yā sayyidnā, that I had said to the mawl[ā] . . . . " The other side (technically recto) has a Talmudic discussion regarding a witness who forget his testimony. This seems to have been cut down to size before the note on the other side was written, so the 'copy' must refer to something else.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (the left side of recto is missing). The marginal text is written (somewhat unusually) at 90 degrees to the main text. The sender is asking Sayyidnā Sar ha-Sarim and al-Rayyis to help a woman and some orphans. Alexandria is mentioned.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Small fragment. There are a few words in Arabic script on verso.

Letter by the son of the judge (dayyan) of Minyat Zifta to a certain Peraḥya, requesting his intercession with a certain sayyidnā David. Dating: If this David is David Maimonides, the letter would be dated 1237 CE at the earliest. The letter is a litany of the the troubles of the writer's father and the acts of his enemies against him. The father's troubles include the following. His creditors are demanding that he turn over his house to the Muslim authorities (sulṭān). He fell sick one week (parshat Ki Tetze) and wished to take out the Torah scroll and say the blessing—evidently this was thought to be helpful against illness. But his rival humiliated him and took out and made the blessing over the Torah himself. Information in part from Goitein's note card. ASE.

Letter in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Small fragment. Wide space between the lines.

Verso (probably the original use): Letter fragment. In Arabic script. Written in a formal style and reporting that the bearer (al-wāṣil bihā), a certain Muḥammad, has been diligent in "service" (mulāzim al-khidma) for two and a half years and has not (missed?) a single day. There may follow a request for a favor on his behalf. Needs further examination. Recto (probably the secondary use): Letter from Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi (d. 1212), in Qalyūb, to his family members in Fustat. This is the beginning of the letter and conveys concern for some trial (taʿab) that he heard afflicts his brother Abū l-Ḥasan.

Letter of appeal or recommendation addressed to Moshe ha-Kohen. The introduction is in Hebrew and the body in Judaeo-Arabic. The writer reports that the bearer of this ruqʿa is a stranger from the people of al-Maḥalla. [It seems the letter here switches to the voice of the bearer]. He had generously opened his house to all, and among those who have stayed with him are Yiṣḥaq al-Sofer al-Siqillī (the Sicilian) and Mikha'el al-Rav. But fortune turned against him. Now, ever since Tammuz, he has been in this city (Fustat?). He never burdened anyone, but now he has been ill for a month and a half, and nobody look after him except Abū l-Faḍl Sar ha-Leviim. . . [the remainder is lost].

Letter. In Hebrew. Late.

Two responsa written by Yosef Hakohen b. Ya'aqov from Tyre (Date 1011-1037). AA

Multifragment. Fragment 1: Document in Judaeo-Arabic. Probably medieval. Only one line, very faded, is preserved. Fragment 2: Business letter, fragment. In Ladino.

Fragment of a bussines Letter. Unusual hand, probably Italian. Venice is mentioned.

Letter fragment, probably. In Judaeo-Arabic. "The conditions that are between us and R. Yehuda. Do not delay them a single hour." On verso there is the signature "I am Sasson b. Yosef," which is then repeated in Arabic script.

Fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Possibly a letter, as catalogued on FGP. But these may also be praises for Moses, if the first two words are Mt. Sinai and the rest refers to the reveleation of the Torah.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions Cairo and a Miṣrī(?) dinar. Regards to the addressee's mother.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions a loan and selling something; the rest is mostly formulaic.

Letter fragment addressed to Yiṣḥaq b. Sh[ānjī?]. In Hebrew. Dating: Late, perhaps 15th–17th century.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Perhaps 13th–15th century, based on handwriting. Mentions al-Shaykh al-Rashīd, the brother of ʿAb[dallāh?] and someone planning to do something important (shughl muhimm). The addressee is urged to come quickly.

Letter fragment. In Hebrew. Wide space between the lines.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Wide space between the lines. Mentioning many names: Abū ʿAlī b. Barukh; Moshe ha-Kohen ha-Zaqen; Avraham ha-Zaqen. Also mentions Fustat.

Letter from "Sāsī" to R. D[...]. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: After 1517 CE (uses the term 'basha' twice), but not long after (Avraham Castro appears in the letter). Dealing with business matters. Complaining about someone who mistreated the writer. Mentions Avraham Castro; Ibrāhīm al-Kalaḥ; Mūsā Ḥaqqān. Mentions taxes incumbent on "all who arrive from Hind and Sind and the lands of the Arabs," more than the tithe (ʿushr).