Geniza Lab

Letter. Sent from somewhere in al-Shām to Cairo. In a mixture of Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script. Dating: Perhaps 11th century. Sender and addressee are not identified, but they sound important, and they may be identifiable on the basis of a join or handwriting comparison. Mentions: 'receiving the estates/villages'; an order(?) to leave ʿAkkā (Acre); someone who went to Abū l-Faḍl b. Abū Ṣāliḥ, who was with al-Rayyis Abū l-Riḍā who had just arrived from Jerusalem; that person told them to tell the sender to receive everything from him. The sender said that he would obey. The text in the upper margin refers to something 'perishing,' not having courage; someone who intended to do something, and 'from the city/country.' (Information in part from CUDL.)

Un-conserved and damaged. Letter from Aharon to his brother Abu Sa’d al-Kohen. AA

In conservation. Letter to Abu Thabit the cantor to Cairo (data from Mosseri Catalogue). AA

Un-conserved. Fragment of a letter contains personal and business issues. Probably 13th century.

Un-conserved. A short note informing Hillel the cantor about an issue between Avraham b. Yeshu’a and his wife. AA

Remnants of a letter in Ladino (Data from Mosseri Catalogue).

Remnants of a letter in Ladino. AA

A letter written by Berakhot b. Shemuel to Simha Hakohen asking for financial assistance. He also asks him to approach Ibrahim the proselyte to assist him as well. The letter was probably written in Alexandria, and refers to the small synagogue of the Babylonians. Beginning of 13th century. AA

Fragment of a letter from Yisrael b. Natan, Jerusalem, probably to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. The letter deals with trades, especially of fabrics. Nahray is asked to urgently provide parchment in order for Israel to do his job. The last part is about Avraham b. ha-Gaon Shelomo b. Yehuda. (Information from Gil, Palestine, vol. 3, pp. 145-148, #472) VMR

Recto: Note from a sick man to a physician, it seems beseeching him to assist an older family member who is also sick. "By the Law, if I revealed the state of my master (father?), you would mourn him on account of his distress and the cares that are upon him. For you are the skilled physician and I am the sick man in your care. Act with me for the sake of your Creator. Protect my master in any case, for I am sick, and I don't know if I will die or if he will die while we are separated, going to the grave with terrible grief (? reading חצרה as חסרה). By God, act with me for the sake of Heaven and have mercy on me." Verso: Two orders of payment, written at right angles, one to Abū Isḥāq and one to Abū l-Ḥasan. ASE.

Letter from the wife of Khalaf b. Harūn to Maṣliaḥ Gaʾon, seeking help against her cruel husband, written in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. (Information from CUDL). Avraham the cantor and the wife of Abu 'l-Ma'ali Khalaf b. Harun, describing her husband's mistreatment of her and petitioning the Gaon to look into her plight.

Letter, written by Yoḥanan b. Shelomo, in Jerusalem, to his cousin Shimʿon Ashkenazi b. Yeḥiʾel, in Fustat/Cairo. In Hebrew. Dating: Second half of the 16th century, based on Avraham David's identifications of the people named. The writer asks the addressee to send him clothing, because the clothing that has supposedly been sent never arrived (ll. 3–4). He further conveys a request from one of his aunts that the addressee send shoes for another aunt, Milka or Malka (l. 12). The writer mentions in passing the two Ashkenazi Yeshivot in Jerusalem, one of which is under the direction of the addressee's father Yeḥiel as well as Avraham פולק; the other ("where they study not for the sake of heaven") is under the direction of R. Kalman and R. David (ll. 5–7). The writer also mentions his brother Yiṣḥaq who lives in Jerusalem (ll. 7–8). Information from CUDL and Avraham David's edition on FGP.

Un-conserved. Fragment from a letter dealing mostly with personal issue. The writer announced that the news about the French had arrived- might be relating to the crusaders or to the French Rabbis. AA

A private letter from a father or a mother to their daughter. The letter is un-conserved and is folded, so most of the text still needs to be uncovered. It seems that the letter will be almost complete once it is conserved. AA

Letter from Moshe b. Mevorakh the Nagid to Abū l-Makārim. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer insists that the addressee come visit him on Shabbat at the end of the day as he had promised, otherwise he will never talk to him again. "For I have no one to sit with me, and I am alone and my chest is tight. . . and I am all the day by myself." (Information in part from CUDL.)

A small piece from a letter mentioning the elder Abū l-Ḥasan al-Levi, written in the hand of Hananel b. Shmuel. AA

The main text here is a dirge for a person called Zedaqa, written in large letters. On the bottom and right margins another person wrote a letter of condolence, probably relating to the dirge. The writer is also mentioning Abu Imran Musa. On verso only part of the address is preserved, and the sender’s father’s name is Yehuda. AA

Letter from Menashshe b. Yehoshuaʿ, in Tyre, to the Ḥaver Abū l-Faraj Shemaʿya b. al-Faraj, in Jerusalem. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Menashshe b. Yehoshuaʿ, in Tyre, to the Ḥaver Abū l-Faraj Shemaʿya b. al-Faraj, in Jerusalem. Concerning yarn. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Menashshe b. Yehoshuaʿ, in Tyre, to the Ḥaver Abū l-Faraj Shemaʿya b. al-Faraj, in Jerusalem. (Information from CUDL)