Geniza Lab

Letter from Mūsā b. Yiṣḥaq in Sfax to Yehuda b. Moshe Ibn Sughmar in Fustat. Contains details about shipments of coins, oil and soap from the Maghreb to Fustat. The recipient is asked to buy goods, mainly flax, in Fustat. (Information from Gil, Kingdom)

Letter in the hand of Berakhot b. Shemuel to his father-in-law. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Early 13th century. He complains about neglect. He mentions al-Shaykh al-Rashīd, whom he forgives for neglecting him because he is usually so generous, and Abū Manṣūr, whom he does not forgive because he cannot imagine his excuse. He concludes by asking the addressee to conciliate his daughter (the writer's wife, ṣāḥibat al-bayt), because, as a result of his pain and his illness and the meager support he receives (or "care," as in the wife being remiss in household duties, which is Zinger's suggestion), his "character became constrained" and he became irritated (ḍāqat akhlāqī wa-ḍajirtu), and they had a fight. The addressee should do this in such a way that she doesn't sense that the writer told him. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, 188, 189.) Same writer as T-S 13J21.35, which is signed Abū l-Barakāt. There are many more letters in his hand. See Zinger's dissertation, p. 261. ASE

Letter to the Nagid Avraham Maimonides (1205-1237) concerning public affairs.

A long letter of recommendation on behalf of Obadiah the Proselyte, by Barukh b. Yiṣḥaq of Aleppo, written in elegant and vocalized Hebrew. For more information, visit https://johannes-obadiah.org/navigator.php?Manuscript=Epistle%20of%20R.%20Barukh%20of%20Aleppo&PageNum=1.

Letter of appeal for charity addressed to a certain Rosh ha-Qehillot. It is written entirely as a Hebrew poem. There are lengthy descriptions of the sufferings of the sender and his children as well as praises for the addressee.

Recto: Letter from a woman to her distant husband, al-Shaykh al-Muhadhdhab, who has been away for many years, urging him in various ways to return. She appeals to his charitable deeds; how the Jewish community has been bereft of his presence; and how at this rate, his children will only know him through those charitable deeds (8–11). She urges him not to listen to anybody else but to her only, "Get up! Rise! And earn the World to Come" (14–15). By repenting and returning he will also earn [the merit of saving] her life, "for as long as this continues, I have become very weak. Every hour I wonder if my weakness will increase. [If you return,] you will not have grief in your heart that you did not see me and that I did not pray for you before my death. I do not doubt in your love for me, as you must not doubt in my lasting love for you. Even if you have changed with the separation for all this time, and have been absent from my sight, my heart too has been absent" (17–23). She then reiterates her old age, her weakness, and her poverty. This letter is noted by Oded Zinger in his dissertation, p. 54, in the context of other letters from women to distant husbands. Verso: Judaeo-Arabic tafsir, Psalms 113:4–116:6 (Neubauer-Cowley Catalog). ASE.

Letter from Khaluf b. Musa, probably from Mahdiyya, to Yoshe’a b. Isma’il al-Makhmuri, Fustat. September 8, 1051. The writer mentions goods that he bought and shipped. It seems that there is tension between the business partners, but they keep the business as usual. The goods are mainly linen, spices (pepper and others), and textile. Also mentions a Jewish sailor. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #581) VMR

Autograph letter by Avraham Maimonides to the muqaddam of Minyat Ghamr and Minyat Zifta. A cousin of the muqaddam, al-Shaykh al-Muhadhdhab, was per earlier agreement allowed to substitute the muqaddam in leading communal prayers and ritual slaughtering. However, the muqaddam was worried that this arrangement would weaken his own position and tried to prevent al-Shaykh al-Muhadhdhab from acting as his substitute. Avraham Maimonides admonished the muqaddam for his jealousy and urged him to keep the agreement. (Information from Goitein notes and index card linked below.) Possibly related to T-S 24.38, a letter from Minyat Zifta reporting on a squabble between al-Shaykh al-Sadīd and al-Shaykh al-Muhadhdhab over the duties of the muqaddam.

Letter from Daniel b. ʿAzarya (Damascus) to the court physician Avraham b. Iṣḥaq b. al-Furāt (Fustat). Daniel b. ʿAzarya congratulates the addressee on his transfer to Fustat from Ramla and reports that letters from the Ramla people sent together with a letter by the addressee were lost. The writer promises to act in favour of a cantor Yefet b. David from Fustat. Daniel b. ʿAzarya expresses gratitude for a robe of honour that Avraham b. Iṣḥaq obtained for him from the vizier. He mentions his troubles in the past year and his plans to travel to Jerusalem. Daniel b. ʿAzarya also asks the addressee to intervene for him with Qadi Abi Muhammad and more generally to act on his behalf in Fustat so that the authorities there exert influence on the people in Palestine. (Information from Goitein notes and index card linked below and Gil, Palestine, Vol. 2, pp. 662-663.)

On recto there is a letter draft addressed to a certain Shemuel ha-Sar. In Hebrew. Quite florid: "your letter wafted fragrant odors... I placed it on my heart like a seal... my hands dripped with myrrh...." On verso there are multiple formularies for letters of appeal. In the margins of recto there are three medical recipes. Everything on this fragment is in the hand of Berakhot b. Shemuel.

Letter from Madmun b. Ḥasan to Abu Zikri Kohen. Aden, 1130s.

Very long letter dated ca. 1100, issued by the two judges of the capital in the name of the Nagid Mevorakh, in which a circuit judge is strongly rebuked for having given judgment in a town in the absence of the local muqaddam and for having taken other actions without consulting him and the elders. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 74, 537)

Letter to the community of Jerusalem from Elhanan b. Shemarya, 1013 CE.

Letter addressed to Shelomo ha-Sar known Saniyy al-Dawla wa-Amīnuhā. Consists solely of flattery and praises, perhaps a letter of gratitude for some benefaction.

Letter from Yiṣḥaq b. Simha al-Naysaburi, in Alexandria, to Ulla ha-Levi b. Yosef, Fustat. Dating: around 1080. Concerns trade in saffron and other spices, and in silk, and lists prices. Mentions some details about ships. The writer mentions a third partner. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #739) VMR

Letter about the Mongol invasion. Mosul, December 1236.

Copy of a letter from Menaḥem b. Eliyyahu, in an unspecified location near Salonica and Constantinople. In Hebrew, with occasional phrases in Judaeo-Arabic. Probably composed during the period of the first crusade, as it refers to the arrival of German armies. Relates messianic events that occurred in Salonica (including the healing of a blind man and various apocalyptic visions and the reduction of taxes) and asks the addressees to share any messianic rumors that they have heard. Contains several noteworthy names of people (including a reference to Evyatar ha-Kohen, gaon in Jerusalem c.1083–1105, who had sent them a letter from Tripoli, Lebanon) and geographical areas (Romania, Thebes, the land of the Khazars). There is a full translation and detailed analysis in Sharf, "An Unknown Messiah of 1096 and the Emperor Alexius." ASE

Large letter from "the two congregations" of Alexandria to the Palestinian community of Fustat, and particularly to Efrayim b. Shemarya, regarding fundraising for the ransom of captives. They convey gratitude for 200.5 dinars that had already been sent. The tale is rather convoluted, but they are clearly in need of money again. In particular, "one of the Arabs" named Yubqī (or Yabqā?) b. Abī Razīn recently arrived with a new set of seven Jewish prisoners from Byzantium (מארץ אנטאליה), four Rabbanite and three Qaraite, demanding 33 1/3 dinars per captive. The head of the Alexandrian community, Netanel b. Elazar ha-Kohen redeemed one of them and suggested writing to all the communities of Egypt to raise the remaining total. Thus they have sent letters to both Rabbanite congregations and the Qaraite congregation of Fustat, to the elders in general, and to the Rabbanite and Qaraite congregations of Tinnīs and Damietta and Ṣahrajt. Some of the sermon included in the remainder of the letter seems intended for public reading in the synagogue (an insight from Frenkel, ha-Ohavim ve-ha-Nedivim, p. 190). There are ~17 signatures in addition to that of the scribe, Yeshuʿa ha-Kohen b. Yosef ha-Shofeṭ, and that of the head of the community, Netanel ha-Kohen b. Elazar. ASE

Detailed but incomplete letter to an army doctor, possibly from his son-in-law, end of the 11th century. Contains many details about accounts, selling of books, the health of the family, misfortunes of acquaintances, and public affairs. The family had houses in Cairo and Fustat and also agriculture land where they kept sheep, certainly for the production of cheese. (Information from Goitein index card and notes linked below.)

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to Efrayim b. Shemarya, approximately 1028.