Geniza Lab

Short letter in Judaeo-Arabic from [...] Goren to David ben Naʿim dated 9 November 1820 (3 Kislev 5581). Reused for accounts.

"The three fragments known as JRL SERIES A 1053, JRL SERIES B 2699, and JRL SERIES B 2977 are from three copies of another invitation, printed in French, to the wedding of Mr. Moise Mosseri (c. 1855-1933) and Miss Henriette Nahmias (1868-1943). The Mosseris were a famous Cairene banking family,[2] which may give a sense of who could afford to have invitations professionally printed in the late nineteenth century. French documents are also rare in the Genizah,[3] but someone – a young Mosseri being the likely culprit – has re-used the back of these invitations to practice the Hebrew alphabet." Nick Posegay, FOTM June 2020.

Fragment (left side of recto, left side of verso) of a Judaeo-Arabic letter giving intriguing glimpses into a distressing situation: mentions the addressee's female cousin (bint ʿammak) and something "accursed" (al-mayshūma) and enduring hard.

Small fragment (upper left corner) of a Judaeo-Arabic letter.

Horizontal strip from the middle of a Judaeo-Arabic letter. "Al-Parnas al-Kohen went to Bilbays two years ago and lived there and made a living with what God provided, until . . . his living. . . "

Very faded/damaged text in Judaeo-Arabic, probably a medieval letter.

Small fragment in Judaeo-Arabic, probably from a medieval letter.

Probably a fragment of a medieval Judaeo-Arabic letter, but little is still readable. A virgin is mentioned.

Short note by the gabbai Avraham Yuʿbaṣ affirming that Kasīm (?) Meyuḥas will rent a house in "darb al-midrash" (reading ḍarb as darb) somehow reated to the synagogue of the Mustaʿribim from the 7th of Elul II until the end of Elul of the year 1779 (5539) for 300 a month, yielding a total of 2100. The number 1050 is also given, perhaps a down payment?

Upper left corner of a letter in Ladino. A Gatenio is mentioned.

Order to a pastry chef: "To the elder Abī Saʿd, may God preserve him: please take two copper coins as a deposit, and give the bearer a raṭl of well-done ringlets [ḥulayqāt, probably a type of doughnut]. If you make cakes tomorrow, prepare for me two raṭls of small cakes (kuʿaykāt) of the utmost smallness for me." Proof that cake-pops were invented in medieval Cairo? Goitein: "Cakes, called kaʿk in Arabic (a word that seems, however, not to be connected with its English equivalent), also were normally bought in the bazaar, and the name or designation ka'ki, or cake master, is rather frequent. Here is an order to a cake master, carefully written on a tiny piece of paper: The pastrycook, khamīrī, was another familiar figure." Goitein, Med. Soc. I, 114.

Fragment of a letter in Hebrew and Ladino. Not much is legible. "Ha-Ish ha-Hafetz Hayyim. . . Avraham. . . Y agora. . ." and some pors and paras.

Late letter in Judaeo-Arabic from Avraham Haman and Gavriel Hefez to Karo y Frances & Company, dated 1807 CE (19 Tishrei 5568).

Fragment of a letter in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic to the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya. There is a note at the top of recto (part of the address?) indicating that when someone arrived (or arrives?) in Alexandria, something something "to our master Shemuel ha-Nagid."

16 small fragments. Fol. 1 (1–2) + Fol. 4 (7–8): Letter in Judaeo-Arabic mentioning [...] al-Amshāṭī. Also mentions, "I have asked the bearer..."; and "until the arrival of Abū [...]." Fol. 2 (3–4) + Fol. 6 (11–12) + Fol. 7 (13–14) + Fol. 8 (15–16): Legal document in Judaeo-Arabic. Elegant, square handwriting. Mentions India twice, a Kohen, and partial names such as [May]mūn b. [...]. Fol. 2 and Fol. 6 join directly; it is not clear how the other two fragments are connected. Fol. 3 (5–6): Letter in Arabic script. Part of the address is preserved on verso. Likely a join with Fol. 5 (9–10).

Fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Not a lot of content remains. Abū Isḥāq and Abū l-Bishr are mentioned.

Small fragment in Judaeo-Arabic, probably from a medieval letter. Mentions a doctor.

The original document is a literary work in vocalized Hebrew. It appears that another paper was then pasted on top, and the first two lines of an Arabic letter remain (the basmala and "aṭāl allāh baqāhu").

Small fragment in Judaeo-Arabic, probably a letter.

Recto: Document in Arabic script, probably a letter. Verso: Hebrew poetry.