Geniza Lab

A very eloquent letter of condolence from Avraham b. Natan Av ha-Yeshivah to someone addressed as "al-Kohen al-Parnas Ne'eman Beit Din," apparently on the occasion of the death of the addressee's father (he expresses condolences for "the mother of the orphan" in line 5). The writer describes his terrible distress that he shares with the addressee and emphasizes the theme of tziduk ha-din and tolerance of trials sent by God. In the last lines he conveys wishes for the longevity of Abu Kathir (the addressee's son?). The right margin is mostly effaced; the upper margin picks up, "they asked me to write a letter of condolence on their behalf, but the bearer was in a hurry, so I sufficed with these lines. Peace." ASE.

Complete calligraphic letter of appeal to Yefet ha-Sar, a Levi, begging for money to help pay the capitation tax for the writer and his two sons. The letter contains several interesting features. The writer says that every year Yefet ha-Sar is accustomed to persuading al-Shaykh al-Nafīs to pay the writer's capitation tax. The writer is in debt to the tune of 300 dirhams plus interest, at least partly due to the expense of marrying his son. Everyone is dying of hunger because "I only buy the bread of the market." He then cites the maxim that the poor of your household precede the poor of your city who precede the poor of another city, "So consider me as the poor of your household." He does not want his brother-in-law to hear about this (perhaps he is related to Yefet ha-Sar through his brother-in-law?). ASE.

Letter from Ḥalfon b. Madmun to Ezekiel b. Natan acknowledging condolences on Madmun's death. Aden, 1152.

Interesting copy of a Judaeo-Arabic letter regarding affairs of a Yeshivah. There is unfortunately a crease covering a word or two from each line, and this could probably be unfolded. The writer read the addressee's letter about the matter of the son of Shemuel Gaon (ZL), who may be 20-something years old (line 7). The writer seems to describe his education and upbringing, perhaps trying to show that they are inadequate for this son to assume an official position. If his learning is so meager, just imagine his ability to compose poetry and have a presentable face and outfit. He copies books without understanding anything of their content. The writer is at a loss for how to better him, and he wishes the addressee could take charge of him, but the elders of the Yeshivah would have to agree. Then the page ends. ASE.

Letter from Binyām b. Hārūn, in Alexandria, to Abū l-Afrāḥ ʿArūs b. Yosef, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: ca. 1080 CE, based on Gil's assessment. Regarding a leather container with goods that the writer sends to ʿArūs and asks him to sell for him. Verso: Reused for accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #714.) VMR. ASE.

Letter, probably a draft as it does not have an address and someone has practiced their Arabic salutations on verso. The recipient is referred to as al-Kohen al-Ḥaver. The writer has been remiss in writing earlier because of the death of Ullah b. Hillel, who left orphans behind. The letter of Abu l-Ḥasan Barakat Bahir ha-Yeshivah has arrived for his cousin Abu l-'Ala, stating that he had met with Abu l-Qasim b. al-Saqqa'. A complicated story ensues involving a sum of 10 dinars that someone (Abu Bishr R. Ya'ir) had given to someone (Abu l-Qasim) to give to a woman who then died. The rest of the letter has to do with making sure the money gets back to its rightful owner. Someone (modern?) has gone through and underlined many of the names. ASE.

Complete letter in the same unmistakeable hand as several others (see the tag). In other letters, he writes to his father in Minyat Qa'id and is treated for a febrile disease by Ibn Habib. In this one: he is upset about a lack of letters in response to his own and to those from his brother Abu l-Ḥasan. He mentions news from al-Mahallah. Much of the letter has to with plans for the holidays, possibly encouraging the recipient (likely his father) to "come out" and spend it with him. Abu l-Faraj b. al-Sammāk (son of the fishmonger) also encourages this. Then there is discussion of transfers of money involving his brother Abu l-Ḥasan. A certain Abu Bakr accompanies the bearer of the letter. The writer has also enclosed a letter to Waḥshī (? a man) and another one to Berakhah to Bilbays. ASE.

Official letter in Judaeo-Arabic. From the office of one of the later Maimonidean Nagids addressed to "the community." Headed by an "emet" with a long tail cutting through the main text. The qāḍī who oversees the market inspection (ḥisba) in New Cairo has informed the sender that the community must raise a large sum of money. The sender insists that the qāḍī/muḥtasib is an ally of the Jewish community and tried to intervene, but there was nothing to be done, and this money must be raised immediately. ASE.

Most of an eloquent letter of appeal in rhymed Hebrew addressed to Abu l-Faraj Amram b. Levi. The body of the letter begins about 2/3 of the way down, after a poem and some flattery. No actual specifics are given, just that the writer is poor and wretched and is a stranger in this land, separated from his family, dwelling in a desolate place. ASE.

Letter from Naḥum b. Yosef al-Baradānī (Qayrawan) to his master Shemuel b. Ḥofni gaon; 7 August 999. The sender, whose family is in Iraq, has been travelling for a long time for an unnamed unpleasant reason. Qayrawan and al-Mahdiyya are among the places that he visited. The writer asks for forgiveness for writing the letter in Arabic (rather than in Hebrew) which was easier for him since he was writing in a hurry. Mentions Shemuel b. Ḥofni’s earlier letter about a difficult situation in Baghdad. Mentions a number of deaths in his family. Asks Shemuel b. Ḥofni to make sure that a certain Abū Manṣūr studies Mishna and Talmud even though he is already burdened with earning a living. The original fragment is lost; shelfmark as in Gil. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol.2, p. 158 and Goldziher, Mélanges Judéo-Arabes, REJ 50 (1905), pp. 182-183. See also Goitein notes, p. 1.) One clue that might help resolve the mystery some day: PGP at one time had a partial transcription listed under T-S 12.822v.

Copy of a letter from Hayya Gaon to Qayrawan, probably to Ya’aqov b. Nissim. (Part of the same letter is T-S 20.100r). The original letter was written in August 11, 1006. Handwriting of Shemarya b. Elhanan. The Gaon writes to the Yeshiva and asks to copy letters and send them to other communities in the Maghreb. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #37) VMR

No. 1: Letter of condolence from a Gaon on the death of the addressee's son. (Bamerkazim, pp. 69-72); No. 2: Letter from Hayya Gaon to Qayrawan. In No. 1, T-S 20.100 begins at end of verso line 22. No. 2 begins with T-S 20.100 and continues on T-S 10G5.8 on line 53. Rotulus, written by the scribe known as Ibn Buqra (early 11th century)

Letter copy from Sherira Gaon to the Maghrib, ca. 970. The writer describes the importance of the Yeshiva (Pumbedita) and asks to renew the communities’ support for the Yeshiva. The letter was written soon after Sherira became the Gaon. (Gil, Kingdom, vol. 2, Doc. #23) VMR

Letter fragment addressed "to the esteemed members of the holy community who live in [...]." The paper is almost entirely preserved, but the text is nearly too faded to read. Isolated phrases: "...they changed the traditions of the people of... Hoshaʿna (Rabba?)... the congregation, they excommunicated... Israel... rather it/he [m]oved to Ramla... a Torah scroll...." (Information in part from CUDL.)

Letter from Ibrāhīm b. Isḥāq, evidently of al-Maḥalla, to Abu Saʿd Hibatallāh (aka Netanʾel b. Yefet Rosh ha-Qahal), in Cairo. The beginning is in Hebrew ("twelve lines of exquisite Hebrew proem"), and the body of the letter is in Arabic script, except for two phrases. (On verso there are also a few lines of accounts in Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals.) This is a letter of recommendation for the bearer, one Yakhin ha-Meshorer ("the poet") who had settled in al-Maḥalla but fled from there and abandoned his family,when the superintendent of revenue (ṣāḥib al-Maḥalla) "harassed him" by demanding from him the capitation tax (al-kharāj). The letter presupposes that Yakhin was entitled to tax exemption because he was a Khaybari, a Jew descended from an Arabian clan that asserted it had received special privileges in the time of Muḥammad. The addressee is asked to help Yakhin sort out his documentation. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, 386, 611, MR, OZ, NV, ASE.)

Letter. Personal letter in which the writer reassures the recipient that he had acted according to his wishes and delivered five letters to his brothers-in-law but warns that he would not be able to accomplish much else until the holiday. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Nahum b. Mansur, in Malij, to the parnas Abu Kathir, in Cairo. The letter discusses the happy outcome of Nahum b. Mansur's daughter's marital dispute . Written around 1092, as indicated by a calendar for that year written on the free space of the verso. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 568; III, pp. 213, 471)

Letter from Abū l-Ḥayy b. Ṣāliḥ al-Ṣabbāgh, in Palermo, to Barhūn b. Mūsā al-Taherti. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Ca. 1050 CE. The sender came to Palermo in order to travel on to Egypt, because conditions in the country (presumably Ifrīqiyya) were poor, and he was unable to provide for his family. He describes his wretched situation. He booked passage on a ship (qunbār) belonging to a man from Tinnīs, but he waited and waited, and all the other ships ("even the ships of Tripoli") set sail. At last, the night of sleeping on the ship (al-mabīt) arrived, but in the middle of the night, the government commandeered the ship and its goods and turned out all the passengers, including even Abū l-Ḥayy the Unlucky (al-ḍaʿīf al-najm) (is he referring to himself?). Thus the sender has been stranded in a foreign land without any money. "My arms and legs have been cut off, and I have left my son and my family (or: wife) perishing." Abū l-Ḥayy asks Barhūn for help. (Information in part from Gil and from Ben-Sasson.)

Letter from Avraham Ibn Yiju to his brothers and sisters after his safe return from India to Aden, 11 September, 1149. Alternate description: Letter written by the India trader Avraham Ibn Yiju after his arrival in Aden, to his brothers and sisters in al-Mahdiyya or anywhere else in Ifriqiya. This letter, from September 11, 1149, is primarily addressed to Avraham’s elder brother Yosef, although he also speaks to another brother Mevasser. Covered topics include the future marriage of Avraham’s daughter, consolation for the reported death of an individual, and encouragement for the recipient to pay a visit to his brother Avraham. (S. D. Goitein, Medieval Jewish Traders, 201–06) EMS

Letter. Draft or model of a letter expressing regret for having left the service of the recipient, a government official. (Information from Goitein's index cards)