Geniza Lab

Letter fragment from Yoshiyyahu Gaon to a community, approximately 1020.

Letter from a cantor of Mosul. T-S 12.257r is continued in T-S K25.209 and ends in T-S 12.257v. The letter is written in childish script, often omitting letters. The sender cites his eye illness to excuse his bad script. He travelled with a Nasi to Egypt. In Alexandria, he bought something nice for 15 dinars for his wife. Then he had some very dramatic adventures on the way to Cairo including a brush with the army and a companion detained by the (Ayyubid?) military and accused of being a Frankish spy. (Information in part from Goitein's note card and transcription.) In the handwriting of the same scribe: T-S 13J14.22 and T-S 6J5.1. The join with T-S AS 145.278 was identified by Alan Elbaum.

Letter addressed to Sar Shalom, written by a man whose wife and son had been in captivity by Edom (Christians) and who had lost all his property and had no profession, asking for bread and clothing. Possibly dated 1219. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, p. 595, and from Goitein's index cards}

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic from a man to his brother ("ilā akhī" remains from the address on verso). When the text resumes after a large hole at the top, the writer says, "As for what you mentioned regarding my celebrating the holidays with you, you know that it is Rosh Hashanah, otherwise I would be there in place of my letter. That was my goal, but as God willed (mashallah) it is thus." He then describes his great loneliness and how much he misses the recipient, but the remainder is damaged. In the upper margin he urges the recipient to send him the waist-wrapper (fūṭa) pronto. Some lines remain on verso, including the phrase "forgive me." ASE.

Letter from the sister of Ismāʿīl b. Barhūn al-Tahirtī, in al-Mahdiyya, to her brother Ismāʿīl b. Barhūn al-Tahirtī, in Fustat. Dating: ca. 1020. The sister describes her extravagant grief—stripping off her clothes and fasting for two months—when she heard that her brother planned to continue traveling this winter, it seems specifically to Spain. She writes about the security that has worsened in al-Mahdiyya and about the rising taxes there. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #159) VMR

Letter from a woman in al-Mahdiyya to Ismāʿīl b. Barhūn al-Tahirtī in Fustat, reporting about the family members in al-Mahdiyya and mentioning his daughter called Mawlat. Dated ca. 1020. (Information from Gil)

Long letter addressed to Mevorakh b. Seʿadya. Mentions al-Andalus, Bijāya, and Alexandria. Complains about a group of impious people. (Information from Goitein's index card.) Should be edited.

Letter from Yeshua b. Yosef from Alexandria to Yehuda ibn Sighmar of Fustat. The letter was written during the reign of Yehuda b. Saadiya, the Nagid, between the years 1064 and 1074. The letter is fragmented, but it is possible to locate references to the communal dispute surrounding the leadership of Yeshua b. Yosef and the attempt to replace him with someone else. Similarly, the letter contains pieces of information on mistreatment of Jews by the black servants of the sultan as well as on another dispute related to the payment of the capitation tax (jaliya).

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic in rudimentary handwriting dealing with various financial matters. Address in Arabic script on verso. Needs further examination.

Letter from Yosef b. Yishaq Yerushalmi to Ya'aqov ha-Talmid b. Binyamin. He asks him to receive a bashful needy man well and take care of his capitation tax. Dated 1211 (1400+122, assuming that the Seleucid calendar is meant.) Information from Goitein's index card.

Recto: Letter draft of an opening containing effusive Hebrew praises for the recipient, torn at the bottom. Verso: Another, more polished version of the same, with every hemistich ending in ה. ASE.

Letter from an unknown merchant from the Maghreb, probably to Yosef b. Ya’aqov b. Awkal, Fustat, regarding a shipment of oil. Around 1015. Also mentions money that was sent to the Israel Yeshiva. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #168) VMR

Letter fragment asking for a favor and stating that the writer relies on God and on the recipient for the solution of the matter. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Salama b. Musa ha-Sfakusi from Alexandria probably to Nahray b. Nissim. Around 1068. Mentions several people including Avraham b. Farah and Yosef b. Eli ha-Kohen. The writer returned from Sicily to Alexandria and deals with business matters and buying goods. Also mentions the situation in Sicily. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, vol. 4, pp. 477-483, #753) VMR

Letter from Salama b. Musa ha-Sfaqusi from Alexandria probably to Nahray b. Nissim. Around 1068. Mentions several people including Avraham b. Farah and Yosef b. Eli ha-Kohen. The writer returned from Sicily to Alexandria and deals with business matters and buying goods. Also mentions the situation in Sicily. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, vol. 4, pp. 477-483, #753) VMR

Letter fragment addressed to Ḥusayn al-Ṣabbagh al-Ḍāmin in formal style and in curious script of large characters, asking the recipient to pay 1/6 dinars for the hire of a boat, for which the writer had pawned his clothing with the captain al-Rayyis al-Ḥayfī. The writer is hungry and thirsty. It seems he ate something that gave him a bad case of gas ("wa-alqaʾat al-riyāh fī jawfī"), and he has not eaten anything since. Mentions Amīr al-Juyūsh and Saniyy al-Dawla. Information in part from Goitein's index card. Handwriting is the same as ENA 3360.7 (another letter) and may be the same as DK 344 (literary). ASE.

Letter fragment from Daniel b. Azarya to a man in Fustat. Daniel b. Azarya shows his joy that the man recovered from his illness. Daniel b. Azarya describes how he prayed for his recovery in front of Temple Mount and David's tomb. He mentions that he knows about his recovery from a letter he received from Yefet b. David. VMR

Hebrew letter by Efrayim b. Shemarya.

Letter from Yosef b. ʿEzra and Avraham b. Muʿṭī, in Tilimsān, to Ḥalfon b. Netanel. Dating: After Purim 4898 AM, which is 27 February 1138 CE. In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender warns Ḥalfon not to travel from Fez or Almeria, on account of the war in the Mediterranean. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book 4; full Hebrew description below.)

Letter from Farah b. Yosef from Alexandria to Abu Sad Khalaf b. Sahl, Fustat. October 1056. The letter has another fragment (T-S 8 J 21.7). Regarding purchases and sales of several goods: pepper, fabrics, bonnets, and rice. Mentions that the army’s entrance to the city (it is not clear which city) improves trade. Also mentions that a ship arrived from Tyre, and the writer’s nephew who came from there in a different way. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #518) VMR