Geniza Lab

Letter from a certain Abū l-Khayr, probably in Minyat Zifta, to a certain Shemuel. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragmentary (only the upper margin of recto and the address are preserved). He sent the letter with Abū ʿAlī.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Perhaps 13th or 14th century, but this is a guess. The sender bemoans his or her wretched fate: "My son died in a foreign land... my son-in-law was slaughtered... do not ask, my brother, about our debts... if I could have written this with my tears, I would have done so." The name Hārūn appears on verso.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragmentary (horizontal strip cut from the middle section). Concerning the sender's efforts to 'liberate' an estate/inheritance from the diwan.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Legible phrases: "...idol worship... I have no way to... all kinds of death... he behaved excessively... and peace. וחי בהם (Leviticus 18:5)... in a good place..." On verso there are calendrical writings.

Letter fragment, possibly. Contains only blessings for a certain elder in Hebrew.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Portions of the last 8 lines are preserved. Includes the phrase "I would have made him vow." Regards to all of "aṣḥābunā" present with the addressee. The name Yehuda b. Moshe b. Yiṣḥaq appears in the penultimate line.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions having sent quires containing "Purim" (piyyutim? the book of Esther?)

See also: ENA NS 8.4. Recto: Fragment of a letter from Yosef b. Musa al-Tahirti, from Alexandria, to an unknown person. Around 1060. The addressee is not Nahray, as Nahray’s name is mentioned in the letter. The letter contains details about shipments of different goods. The letter is written on the other side of a different letter, that Nissim b. Yishaq al-Tahirti wrote around 10 years earlier. Verso: Letter from Nissim b. Yishaq al-Tahirti from Mahdiyya, probably to Nahray b. Nissim. Around 1050. Nahray buys flax in Egypt and is about to travel to the Maghreb. Nissim writes him details about different goods. He is worried because he did not hear from the ship b. Bader, which his goods are on it. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #376) VMR

Business letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late, probably no earlier than 15th century. Mentions ginger.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Moderately wide space between the lines. Quite faded. Reports on something that occurred after exiting the synagogue with the congregation. There is a man who says he is the nephew (sister's son) of Rabbenu Meir who arrived in the land of Egypt in the days of Rabbenu Moshe Gaon (ZL); this man knows the addressee and sends greetings to 'sayyidnā.'

Verso: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Last 5 lines only. "...If you can find a fat kid or sheep or myrobalan, please send it to me with him. And write to me with your news and the news of the congregation (may they be blessed). Whatever goods you can obtain, I will be pleased. And peace."

Fragment of a letter from Alexandria to Fustat. The recipient was ill when the writer departed Fustat.

Small fragment from a letter in Judaeo-Arabic.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. From a certain Farajallāh. Dating: ca. 15th–17th century, based on handwriting and reference to the currency "bunduqīs"/Venetian (ducats). Needs examination.

Recto: A few words from a document in Judaeo-Arabic, mentioning a sale by weight. Verso: A few words from a document in Arabic script possibly including the phrase احسن الله خلقتها ("may God improve her character").

Letter, fragment, 8 lines in a fainted script. Mentions a congregation (ijtimāʿ). Some lines read as "inna-nī law sirtu ʿalā".

Letter fragment, probably. In Arabic script.

Recto: Petition or letter from Ḥasan b. Ṣāliḥ the Rabbanite Jew (al-Isrāʾīlī al-Rabbānī). Only the upper left corner has survived, with later jottings in Arabic script on top of it. Verso: Complete note in Arabic script, not yet deciphered.

Small fragment with names in Arabic script. Part of the address of a letter? Yaʿqūb b. Nissim and Ismāʿīl.

First two lines of a letter in Arabic script.