Geniza Lab

Legal document. Power of attorney, Fusṭāṭ. A freedman, Mukhtār, is named as one of the parties. He was formerly an attendant of the Gaon Ebiathar ha-Kohen. (Information from Goitein's index card and Mediterranean Society, Mann's Jews in Egypt and Palestine, and Shaked's A Tentative Bibliography)

Legal document in which Abu al-Khayr b. Naji ha-Parnas releases Yiṣḥaq 'Amid al-Dawla b. Yosef from any obligations for goods sold by the latter on his behalf in the Dar al-Wakala. Dated Kislev 1454/ November- December 1142. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Deed of guardianship given in the court of Eliyyahu Ha-Kohen Gaon b. Shelomo, August 1065. (Information from Gil, Palestine, Vol. 3, p. 25.)

Deed of guardianship given in the court of Eliyyahu Ha-Kohen Gaon b. Shelomo, August 1065.

Legal document, written under the authority of the Nagid Samuel, concerning the repayment of a loan. Mentions people including Abū l-Ḥasan Yefet b. Mevoraḵ (known as Ibn al-Ḥaver), Abū Faḵr the perfumer, and Abū [...] Abraham. Signed by Abraham ha-Kohen b. Aaron and Yefet b. David, and dated 1457 of the Seleucid Era (= 1146 CE). (Information from CUDL.) See also Goitein's index card.

Legal document written and signed by Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Dated: Monday, 15 Iyyar 1440 Seleucid, which is 1129 CE. About the valuable goods (aʿlāq) from a ketubba which were with a wife who stayed with her sister (l. 15). Her father Avraham ha-Kohen had some of them. The fragment opens with the end of the list (ll. 1-8). The role of Peraḥya is not clear (l. 18). Signed also b. Natan b. Shelomo ha-Kohen and Natan b. Shemuel he-Ḥaver. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Court record mentioning Abū Mufaḍḍal Menaḥem and Ibn ʿAnbarī. Written under the authority of Abraham Maimonides (b. Moses Maimonides) and dated 1536 of the Seleucid Era (= 1225 CE). (Information from CUDL.) See also Goitein's index card.

Legal document. Record of release. Dated: February 1172. Location: Fustat. The record, emerging from the court of Maimonides, involves Ghalīb al-Bilbaysī b. Ṣedaqa, agent of Sayyid al-Kull Moshe b. ʿAbdallāh (ʿOvadya) Ibn al-Ḥallā the ḥazzan, who releases Abū al-Makārim Nadiv ha-Levi b. Moshe ha-Levi and his son Abū ‘Imrān from a partnership. At the time of release, Nadiv paid Ghalīb some hundreds of dinars, of which 10 dinars had come from his son from a deposit which Moshe had left with him subject to the laws of partnership (torat ‘isqa). Nadiv seems to have collected a debt from Abū ‘Alī al-Qarā in Upper Egypt on behalf of Moshe; these may have been funds due the partnership. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 207)

Legal document. Location: al-Maḥalla. Concerning the sale of a piece of land. Involves Nāshī b. Menaḥem, Mevorakh ha-Sar, ʿOvadya the Elder b. Fahd and Isaac b. Judah. Written by Judah b. Samuel b. Judah and witnessed by Solomon, Aaron b. Yešuʿa the doctor, Jacob (?) ha-Kohen b. Mubḥar and Yefet ha-Levi b. Mevoraḵ. Dated 1420 of the Seleucid Era (= 1109 CE). (Information from CUDL.) See also Goitein's index card.

Legal document(s). Very faded/damaged. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Dated: 1 Ḥeshvan 1450 Seleucid, which is 1138 CE, under the authority of Maṣlīaḥ Gaon. A court record for a release given by Sitt al-Nasab bt. Yūsuf. Probably involving her husband and support he provided while away. There is another document on the other side of the fragment, also involving Sitt al-Nasab and mentioning her husband ʿAmram b. Avraham. (Information in part from Goitein’s index card and from CUDL)

Legal document. Dated: Tishrei 1483 Seleucid, which is 1171 CE, under the authority (reshut) of Maimonides. Sitt al-Ḥusn bt. Moshe, the widow of Abū l-Khayr wishes to marry Abū ʿAlī b. Abū l-Ḥasan al-Kohen and asks her elder son Abū Naṣr to release her. The court warns him that he will be responsible for his younger brother. Unsigned. (Information from CUDL and Goitein's index card.)

Testimony fragment of a loan from 1224 in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu.

Legal document in the form of a letter written and signed by Yiṣḥaq (b. Shelomo b. Meʾir) he-Ḥaver, grandson of Meʾir Gaʾon (in office 912–21, the father of Aharon b. Meʾir of the calendar controversy). Addressed to Efrayim b. Shemarya. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Ca. 1030 CE or shortly thereafter, since Efrayim is titled "ḥaver." Gil deduced that Yiṣḥaq lived in ʿAkkā (Acre) based on identifying him with the Yiṣḥaq he-Ḥaver mentioned in T-S 10J20.9, r8, 10. The content is quite tricky to understand. It mentions Abū l-Ḥusayn Ibn al-Andalusī, ʿAllūn al-Ṣahrajtī, and Abū Khalaf, the friend/partner (ṣāḥib) of Abū Saʿd. Also mentions the judge Yosef b. Azhar. Bareket says the letter is about business matters and that it attests to Efrayim b. Shemarya's stature as a businessman in addition to being a communal leader. But in fact this seems to be a court record within a letter (as Goitein's index card suggests). It mentions testimonies, a power of attorney, and it has two witness signatures. Apart from the signature of Yiṣḥaq, there is the signature of [Avraham?] b. Yaʾir ha-Shofeṭ. On verso there are a few undeciphered lines in Arabic script (another address? names of mail carriers?) at 180 degrees to the name of Efrayim b. Shemarya. (Information in part from CUDL and Bareket.)

Draft of a resolution to appoint the cantor Abū Sahl Levi b. al-Ahuv after he distinguished himself during a period of trial. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Writ of agency which was written in Tarablus al-Sham between 'Ulla Halrvi and Yeshu'a Pride of the Communities. Signed by Yehuda Hakohen b. Nathan, Halfob Hakohen b. Aharon, Ibrahim b. Salih, Nahum b. Yanai, Mushafir b. Zedaqa, Shelomo b. Halfon, Shmuel b. Aharon. The qiyyum is signed by Yater Levi b. Shilo, Shelomo b. Ishaq b. Meir Gaon, Saloh b. Yivhar ha-Haver, Ya'aqoc b. Yosef. AA

Fragment from the end of a legal document, dated Adar II 1366 (= 1055 CE), mentioning [...] b. Bahlūl and Joseph b. Jacob. Witnessed by ʿEli he-Ḥaver ha-Meʿūlle b. ʿAmram and Abraham b. Solomon b. Ezra. (Information from CUDL and Goitein's index card)

Divorce settlement and release form between Ḥusayn b. Abraham and Sabā bt. Yiṣḥaq the dyer; witnessed by Shemuel b. Yaʿaqov and Shandar (?) b. Shabbetay. Dated: Kislev 1321 Seleucid, which is 1009 CE. (Information from CUDL; see also Goitein's index card.)

Betrothal (erusin) document. Location: Cairo. Dated: 19 Sivan 1418 Seleucid, which is 1107 CE. Fiance: Yosef ha-Levi b. Berakhot. Fiancee: Sitt al-Kull bt. Yefet. Wedding to take place two years later. Early marriage payment: 10 dinars. Delayed marriage payment: 30 dinars. One half of the early marriage payment is given at the time of betrothal. Witnesses: Seʿadya b. Shelomo; Avraham b. Shabbetay; Ḥalfon b. Dā'ūd. (Information from Goitein's note card.)

Court record dealing with a disagreement about a delayed dowry payment to the divorced wife of al-Qaysarani. Ten dinars were supposed to be paid in monthly installments of 2/3 dinar, but only 3.5 dinars had been paid over the last 25 months. Names mentioned in the document: Natan b. Phineas; Sedaqa ha-Levi b. Shelomo; Moshe b. Saadya. Dated 1107 (Iyyar 1419-Adar 1420). (Information from Goitein's index cards.)

Legal document: partnership agreement. Dated: July 18, 1107. Location: Cairo. Partnership agreement between Nethanel b. Tiqva and Eli b. Mevasser in a clothing and tailoring shop. Nethanel and Eli will both sell the clothing, which Eli will sew. Nethanel contributes 10 dinars, expecting to contribute more once the shop is in operation, and is the shop keyholder. He will receive two-thirds of the profits and losses; Eli is to receive the balance. Lines 1 and 4 mention God’s role in guiding the partnership and in bringing about profit, which is common in such documents. Four diagonal lines run through the entire text; it is unclear whether this indicates that the partnership was terminated. The document is signed by Shelomo b. Mevorakh. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 210)