Geniza Lab

Recto: the ending of a letter, perhaps to [Av]raham ha-Nagid (see verso margin), mentioning R. Yehuda and someone's daughter. Somewhat difficult to decipher. Verso: the remnants of the address and an alphabetical writing exercise. Information from Goitein's note card (previously attached to PGPID 6316, now missing).

Letters (or letterbook?). In Judaeo-Arabic. The letter on recto is dated Heshvan 5548 AM and the letter on verso is dated Tevet 5548 AM, which is 1787/88 CE. Needs examination

Letterbook, probably. In Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew. There are three entries in purple ink. Late, probably 18th or 19th century.

Letter. In Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew. Written in purple ink. Late, probably 18th or 19th century.

Interesting letter with a conspiratorial tone, apparently from a father to a son. The writer reports that he has heard that Barakat the son of the Rayyis (Shelomo b. Eliyyahu?) has asked for the hand of the daughter of Abū Saʿd. It appears that the recipient is also interested in the daughter of Abū Saʿd, since the writer tells him to pluck up his courage and come quickly so that they can confer with his mother and visit Abū Saʿd in the night and speak to him before they miss their chance. The remainder of the letter (r15-v11) is more faded and less cloak and dagger, mentioning various small items and notebooks and sums of money. The writer reports that he has already paid the money he previously received from the recipient to the landlord. The postscript (v12-20) may resume the marriage plot: the writer tells the recipient to go to "the man" (Abū Saʿd?) and see what is in his heart before the writer and recipient go to him together. ASE.

12369.7 and 8 are drafts of several Judaeo-Arabic letters and documents by Yisrael al-Gevili (אלגוילי) writing in Cairo it seems circa 1755/6 CE (the lower segment on recto mentions the year [5]516; the second digit could also be a ר, making the date 1855/6, but it is closer to his ק and the fonducli - an Ottoman coin - would be more likely to be circulating in Egypt in 1756 than 1856.) Upper segment of recto: Some sort of testimony, perhaps that the Shaykh al-Islām Naṣr al-Dīn Abū Zayn al-Dī al-Iskandarānī pledges to pay a sum of 120 to al-Ḥajj Muṣṭafa in the Gamaliyya neighborhood. Lower segment of recto: Documentation that Yūsuf al-Ḥarīrī who is living in the wakāla of al-Fayyūmī has paid the price for the courtyard and the apartment, and then something to do with six months of payments involving al-Ḥajj Muṣṭafa al-Ramlāwī. Verso: Draft of a letter to his brother regarding business matters. Yisrael reports on the status and likely price of the goods that his brother had sent to him with Murād al-Jawharji. He orders Indian textiles because the demand this year is very high, as none of the ḥajj pilgrims brought any textiles with them. Verso of 12369.8 is another draft of the same letter. ASE.

12369.7 and 8 are drafts of several Judaeo-Arabic letters and documents by Yisrael al-Gevili (אלגוילי) writing in Cairo it seems circa 1755/6 CE (the lower segment on recto of 12369.7 mentions the year [5]516; the second digit could also be a ר, making the date 1855/6, but it is closer to his ק and the fonducli - an Ottoman coin - would be more likely to be circulating in Egypt in 1756 than 1856.) Recto: Draft of a letter to his brother. His brother seems to have gotten upset about the lack of letters from Yisrael and the lack of any shipment of goods or money. Yisrael apologizes and says he had intended to send them sooner, but encountered various difficulties including with selling the goods. However he plans to send everything on Monday. Verso: Draft of a letter to his brother regarding business matters. Yisrael reports on the status and likely price of the goods that his brother had sent to him with Murād al-Jawharjī. He orders Indian textiles because the demand this year is very high, as none of the ḥajj pilgrims brought any textiles with them. Verso of 12369.7 is another draft of the same letter. ASE.

Letter from [...] Krispin, unknown location, to Avraham Krispin, Alexandria. Written in Ladino. Dated: 18 Av 5549 AM, which is 10 August 1789 CE. Needs further examination. Mentioned in Ilana Tahan, "Judeo-Spanish Manuscripts in the British Library's Hebrew Collection," p. 152 (no. 36). Note that Yisrael Gevili (mentioned there as the writer) is rather the writer of BL OR 12369.7 + BL OR 12369.8. BL OR 12369.9 possibly contains the address of the letter. ASE.

Two business letters from Marwan b. Ibrāhīm al-Maghribi. The one on the left is addressed to R. Yosef b. R. Avraham al-Maghribi. The address of the one on the right is difficult to decipher. Someone named Ḥasan b. Shelomo features in both. These need further examination and transcription.

Recto: Hebrew letter of appeal from the old, poor man Yosef b. Elazar ha-Kohen to Avraham ha-Sar b. Elazar. The body of the letter occupies the middle third of the page sandwiched between fulsome blessings and learned biblical quotations and lessons about the importance of charity. Verso: very neat calendrical tables with molad calculations for the years 1122/3, 1125/6, and 1129/30 CE.

Calligraphic letter from Sadoq Ha-Kohen b. Eliyyahu, Jerusalem, to his brother (probably Evyatar) in Fustat, June 1056 [13th of Tamuz, year 987 since the destruction of the temple]. Opens with a Hebrew poem. Sadoq's signature is surrounded by small Hebrew letters. There is a tiny note in the lower right corner apologizing for the bad (or: Arabic?) handwriting of the (now lost) address, which was necessary for the safe arrival of the letter. Information in part from Goitein's note card attached to PGPID 6192.

Recto: Circular letter in the name of Moses Maimonides. The recto preserves only an eloquent introduction. Verso gives the name of Moses Maimonides and preserves the address to the notables of Damirah, Jujar, Samanoud, Damsis, and Sumbat. Also on verso is a Judaeo-Arabic note at 180 degrees about the story of Ya'aqov and Leah. (Information in part from Goitein's note card.) BL OR 5533.1, T-S 12.238, and T-S 16.9 are all versions of the same letter.

Segment of a letter from Shelomo ha-Kohen Gaon b. Eliyyahu, Damascus, to Ulla ha-Levi b. Yosef, Fustat, February 1116.

Letter from Avraham b. Mu'ti Tilimsani, having arrived safely in Aydhab, to Abu Sa'd b. Azhar, in Fustat. He provides an update on a matter concerning Yizhaq b. Khalfun. Avraham has sent something with Yusuf b. Sulayman to Abu Zikri for him to sell. He sends regards to Abu Rida and his son Abu Sa'd, the in-laws of the recipient, as well as his father Azhar. He asks him to help the above-mentioned Yusuf in selling the pearls.

Short letter from the judge Natan b. Shelomo ha-Kohen to his cousin and brother-in-law Toviyyahu b. Eli about business and family matters. Information from Goitein's note card. There is a partial transcription in Goitein's attached notes.

Letter from Shemuel b. Hofni, June 977.

Letter by Yisrael [b. Shemuel b. Hofni?]. See Mann, Texts and Studies, I, 165–66. Date is given, possibly Elul [1]315 = 1004 CE. Information from Goitein's note card.

Letter from Moshe b. Yiṣḥaq, the Karaite, Jerusalem, to one of the Karaite notables in Fustat, around 1040. He reports having received one dinar that Abu Sa'id Ya'qub b. Ibrahim had sent with Abu Sa'id b. al-Sha''ab (another Ibn al-Sha''ab is mentioned in T-S 16.134, v23-24). Information from Goitein's note card (attached to PGPID 6204) and Gil.

Letter from Shemuel b. Yaḥyā, in Fustat, to his wife ʿAziza, perhaps in Gaza. He informs her that he arrived in Fustat but was "baṭṭāl," without work. But the letter is cheerful. He traveled via Damietta to Fustat with his older children to reach his brother, but the brother himself decided to move to Alexandria. The idea being that if he were successful, his wife with little boy would follow. Information from Goitein's notes.

Fragment of a circuit judge's report about actions with estate of Abū l-Fakhr in Damīra, written December 1258 CE (1570 Seleucid). Abū l-Fakhr appears to have been a druggist, and he left a widow and three children, two mature and one younger. The judge went to Damīra on the orders of 'sayyidnā' along with Ne'eman Abū l-ʿIzz the father of the widow. Also present were al-Shaykh ʿAmīd and his brother Avraham. A quorum of people gathered and the judge declared a ban of excommunication against anyone who concealed property that the deceased had deposited with them. Coins and paper money were found equaling 1500 dirhams, and counting the value of the goods in the drug store and the home, the estate totaled 94 dinars. The money is in the keeping of ʿAmīd and his brother while the judge awaits further instruction. Information in part from Goitein's note card.