Geniza Lab

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Only 2–3 lines are preserved on each side. Dating: Likely 13th century. The handwriting may be known. On one side, the sender is bemoaning his separation and says that he thinks about committing suicide by strangling every time he think about [...]. On the other side he refers to the pupil or scholar Ibrāhīm and "coming, together with the father." The addressee is asked to "kiss the feet" of a certain woman on the sender's behalf.

Note from the cantor Yedutun ha-Levi, Fustat, to his brother Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, Qalyub. Yedutun requests an update on the circumcised boy and the little one. Yedutun writes cryptically "Abu Zikri never said anything." (Referring to the Gaon Abū Zikrī Sar Shalom ha-Levi?) There is conflict between their paternal uncle ‘Imrān and his wife, somehow because of Moshe. Their mother is going to pay a visit to Sitt 'Abid, Sitt Aqran, while their father is going to pay a visit to Abu ‘Ali and al-As‘ad (family members of ‘Imrān’s wife?), and they will hopefully reach a settlement. T-S 8J24.1 is a note from Abu Sahl Levi (their father) to Moshe and may be a sequel to these events, referring to a settlement: “I met with you-know-who and we have reached a settlement thank God.” Yedutun (in Moss. IV,27.2) and Abu Sahl (in T-S 8J24.1) both send regards to al-Shaykh al-Yesod in Qalyub. ASE.

Letter from Yefet b. Menashshe to one of his brothers. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (thin strip from the right side of recto). Yefet refers to a woman in distress (maybe on account of separation). They are looking forward to the arrival of Baqāʾ. (Information in part from CUDL)

Recto: Letter fragment preserving only respectful greetings and the motto "hineh el yeshuʿati" at the top. Verso: Letter fragment asking Abū l-M[...] to do something.

Letter from Barhun b. Musa al-Tahirti, from Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1052. To be sent to the house of Ibn Isḥāq Ibrahim b. Isḥāq. Mentions shipments of crocus and some shipments by sea. Also mentions a manuscript of the book of Kings. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #342) VMR

Letter from Yehuda to […] b. Natan. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper left corner of recto). Only the opening greetings and part of the address are preserved. (Information in part from CUDL)

Recto: end of a letter in Hebrew. Verso: another letter (both are possibly drafts), in the same hand, written transversely in relation to the text on recto, overwriting an unidentified Arabic text. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Hebrew, with an extensive Judaeo-Arabic note, in a different hand, in the top margin. Mentions a pinqas. Written on Thursday, 8 Tishrei (unclear if the year is given). Dating: late. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter from Ḥasan b. Sahl (aka Abū l-Ḥasan b. Abū l-Ḥasan aka Yedutun ha-Levi). Very deferential ("I am illuminated by the light of your opinions," etc.). Asking the addressee whether or not a certain Torah reading should be read for the benefit of the addressee—אן יקאל עליה תורה הלילי(?)—or not. (Information in part from CUDL.) ASE

Letter from a certain Mūsā, in Alexandria, to Eliyyahu the Judge, in Fustat. The sender, who is apparently engaged to a minor girl soon to reach maturity, asks Eliyyahu to intervene with his future father-in-law Bū Zikrī b. Netanel b. Hillel so that Bū Zikrī does not try to delay the wedding any further. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter fragment mentioning R. Judah, and pleading for a reply. (Information from CUDL)

Letter fragment from Moshe to 'my brother.' In Judaeo-Arabic. He asks him to bear the hardship (yatajashsham al-ʿanā) and spend the night . . . "in his house where I am dwelling." Cryptic.

Part of a letter. (Information from CUDL)

Part of a letter or possibly a legal document, mentioning a bill of exchange, quantities of money and the names Ibn Ṣaḡīr, Abū l-Saqr (?), Ibn Meʾir, Abū Sahl, the Ḥaver Abū ¸Kathir (Efrayim b. Shemarya), a synagogue and a date, 16 Adar. (Information from CUDL)

Segment of a letter, probably from Fustat to Jerusalem.

Informal note. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer wants the addressee to obtain a letter confirming the receipt of the 2 1/6 dinars from Manṣūr b. Dā'ūd, and to inform al-Shaykh al-Sadīd that the writer has written him several letters and not received a response, and to obtain the six [...] from him.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic with the address in Arabic script. Probably 11th-century mercantile.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in Arabic script. Dating: Probably ca. 14th–16th century. Mentions money to be given to the recipient; Alexandria; an amir; and a muḥtasib. Needs further examination. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter from Salāma b. Mūsā Safāquṣī (Alexandria) to Nahray b. Nissim (Fustat), ca. 1062. Contains information on the movement of ships, and on a significant damage to one of the ships, causing losses to Nahray. Salāma b. Mūsā Safāquṣī hopes to find out from Nahray b. Nissim prices of oil, flax, pepper. He laments the death of Barhūn b. Mūsā al-Tāhirtī. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, p. 450 and Goiteins notes linked below.)

Letter addressed to Sulaymān the beadle. In Judaeo-Arabic. Regarding fundraising for captives, asking the addressee to take charge of it, and also "to collect something from the women." There is some sort of registration mark at the top of the page, which resembles those used by the offices of Yehoshua Maimonides (d. 1355) and David II Maimonides (d. 1410). The handwriting resembles that of the clerk of Yehoshua Maimonides. Needs examination