Geniza Lab

Letter from Nissim, in Qaṭya, Sinai, to Shelomo Iskandarānī, in Fustat. In Hebrew. Dating: First half of the 16th century, based on Avraham David's assessment. It gives an "account of conditions in the small and turbulent caravan station on the Cairo-Damascus highway. There is much about caravans. Robbers infest the way. The Muslims have demolished a synagogue(?) and a private house of the Jews. It is as hot as the nethermost Sheol, and the writer's pen is broken" (Gottheil-Worrell, Fragments from the Cairo Genizah, p. 229).

Letter from Ḥassūn b. Yiṣḥaq al-Safāqusī, probably in Būṣīr, to Abū l-Ḥayy Kalīla (the father of Mūsā), in Alexandria. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 1048 CE. Deals with business in flax. Mentions the ʿushāra of al-Qāḍī al-Yāzūrī, who would later become vizier in June 1050. The same writer wrote T-S 8J19.32, to Mardūk b. Mūsā. There are a few lines of accounts on verso. Information from Gil.

Letter from Avraham Castro (the grandson of the well-known minter) to a certain Shelomo. In Hebrew. Dating: Second half of the 16th century. Deals with business matters. The writer wishes the addressee to give employment or credit to a certain Yiṣḥaq Qājījī, "one of the influential men of Palestine," who suffered great financial loss due to bad figs. Ṭodros ha-Kohen adds a note in the margin affirming the veracity fo the letter's contents. Information from Avraham David via FGP, and in part from Gottheil-Worrell, Fragments from the Cairo Genizah, p. 237.

Recto: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment: only a narrow strip from the right side remains. Much of the translation by Gottheil & Worrell is speculative. The letter mentions the physician of the sultan; a price of 100 dirhems; something witnessed by all the elders of Aleppo; bonesetters (raddādīn); al-Nafīs Ibn al-S[...]; Abū l-ʿAlā' ibn al-[...]; and Ibn ʿUlayq. Verso: The letter was subsequently torn, and a cantor or some other person used the back to write out in a large cursive hand, as if for posting on the wall, what seems to be the first word or the first two words of certain prayers and pizmonim. Information from Gottheil-Worrell, Fragments from the Cairo Genizah, p. 100.

A letter addressed to a certain Avraham Skandarānī by his aunt, an unnamed lady who has fallen upon evil days and desires his assistance. In Hebrew. Dating: Late hand, probably no earlier than 14th century. Information in part from Gottheil-Worrell, Frgaments from the Cairo Genizah, p. 243.

Letter (or rather three letters) from Mustaʿrib sages, in Safed, to the Nagid Yiṣḥaq Sholal, in Fustat. Dating: 1510 CE, based on the assessment of Avraham David. These letters complain of the conduct of a certain R. Moshe, the dayyān of Safed in Galilee. If we are to believe the writers, he was a rather unusually vainglorious, selfish and unscrupulous person, guilty of many acts of tyranny, misappropriation and corruption, and responsible for the perennial Safed Meat Scandal." The paper apparently bears a watermark "of the familiar hand-and-star variety, employed by many manufacturers in France, Switzerland, and Sicily, between 1490 and 1590 CE." Information from Gottheil-Worrell, Fragments from the Cairo Genizah, p. 247.

Fragment torn from what seems to be the same Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic letter (but a different sheet of it) as F 1908.44W, with the verso reused in the same manner. See join. The content of the letter remaining on this sheet includes an eloquent Hebrew introduction, greetings to "our rabbis," and then perhaps the beginning of a letter of recommendation for Men[aḥem?], from the important men of a certain city. The dīwān charged him. . . 17 Nāṣirī dirhams. . . and now he is penniless and cannot support his children.

Informal note from the cantor Abū Sahl Levi to his son Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi (identification based on handwriting and typical content). In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Prior to 1211 CE. The writer gives repeated assurances that Moshe's brother Abū l-Ḥasan (Yedutun) is doing well. Abū l-Ḥasan even asked to write this letter in his own hand, but the writer feared this would tax him and make him weak. Abū l-Ḥasan is administering his own medicine. Another note on the same topic: ENA NS 32.14, in which the recipient is identified as Moshe and Abū l-Ḥasan is identified his brother. ASE.

Letter in the name of the yeshiva, probably by Eliyyahu ha-Kohen b. Shelomo Gaon, to the communities of Egypt, probably October 1057. NB: This shelfmark does not exist. Gil's edition is based on Harkavy's edition.

Bill of sale for a female slave named Waṣīfa. Fragment, containing the first half of 5 lines. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, probably from Damīra or Tinnīs to Fustat. Mercantile. The writer reports on the vicissitudes of purchasing flax and cotton in Damīra, Damietta, and Sunbāṭ. The writer has been unabel to hire a boat in Damīra, but wishes to return to Fustat as soon as he is able to do so. He asks the addressee to send three thiyāb to Fustat for him along with the thawb that the addressee bought in Caesarea. On verso he give supdates on various associates including Ibn Saḥqūn who was imprisoned and received lashes.

Business letter in Arabic script. Dated: 1119 AH, which is 1708 CE. Concerning a property dispute in Damietta. On verso there is a seal as well as a ẓidduq ha-din in Hebrew. Information kindly provided by Jane Hathaway. Line 3 mentions "الامير(?) محمد اغا" and other Ottoman officials throughout, line 4 "waqf"?

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Addressed to an important person; huge space between the lines. The handwriting is probably known. Describing a communal controversy with the blind cantor She'erit b. Yefet at its center. Needs further examination by someone familiar with liturgical controversies. On verso there is a well-preserved Hebrew poem.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Regarding events that happened in the court of Maṣliaḥ Gaon (1127-38) and perhaps some dispute over the distribution of 20 dinars. See Penn catalogue on FGP for further information.

Verso: Informal note, instructing the scribe of the court to write a promissory note on 96 dirhams—obviously the outcome of former litigation. Writtnen in Judaeo-Arabic in an oriental cursive hand, preserving seven lines. Avraham is asked to testify that Abū al-Faḍl owes Yaʿqūb b. Abū al-Surūr ninety-six dirhams. (Information from Halper Catalogue of Dropsie Geniza and Goitein's index card.)

Letter to Eliyyahu concerning the thirty-dirham balance of the capitation tax (jizya) owed by Abu al-Makarim, who is in great need of it because he is under house arrest, guarded by the hashir (rallier). The addressee is asked to arrange to collect money at the congratulation reception (wedding) of either Ibn al-Muzaghlil ('The Dazzler') or that of Bu al-Barakat. (Information from Goitein, Mediterranean Society, vol. II, p. 492.)

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. The addressee is called ha-Nasi ha-Gaon. A certain R. Yehuda is mentioned. The remaining content is almost entirely formulaic.

A letter from Eliyyahu al-Qustantini b. Shelomo, writing to Efrayim he-Haver b. Shemarya, head of the Ben Ezra congregation. Eliyyahu was held captive in Constantinople until the Fustat Jewish community paid for his ransom. He seeks the assistance of the head of the community, as all the money he had was a loan from non-Jews. (Information from Goitein’s index card)

Petition appealing for help from Shemuel ha-Nagid (1140-1159). A woman asks him for help paying the capitation tax for her husband, who is in detention for non-payment and the family has no food.

Letter fragment from ʿOvadya to an unknown addressee. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions Abū l-Faraj; asks the addressee to help al-Shaykh al-Rashīd in some legal dispute on behalf of the writer, because that would save the writer the trouble of traveling and the exhaustion; mentions Sayyidnā al-Rayyis and Shelomo and R. Shemuel ha-Dayyān (perhaps Shemuel b. Saadya ha-Levi, who served in Maimonides's court in Fustat, and appears in documents ranging between 1165–1203). Information in part from FGP. NB: Either the FGP images or metadata for Halper 380 and Halper 381 are assigned to the wrong shelfmark; see 381 for the description of 380 and vice versa.