Geniza Lab

The activity of Elḥanan b. Shemarya as a judge, a holograph warning someone that he wouldl be banished unless he appears in court the following Monday. For another letter on this, see CUL 1080 J48.

Letter probably from Sahlan b. Avraham instructing his uncle, Aharon 'the appointed', to make peace between a husband and a wife, or to bring her to the court. She had previously refused to appear in court, with her mother claiming that she was ill, and is thus in danger of being charged with rebellion against both her husband and the court. The letter ends with a request to send the two ṭaris (= 0.5 dinars), a charitable donation to the synagogue, without delay, and is signed with Sahlan’s motto ‘covenant of integrity’. In the context of attempting a reconciliation between the couple, an allusion is made to Judges 19:3. Verso: Part of a calendar for the year 1345 (= 1034 CE), describing when the festivals occur. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Ya’aqov b. Salman al-Hariri, from Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. June 23 1057. The main part of the letter deals with a trading business of dates that ended with the loss of 12 dinars. Also mentions ordering fabrics from Alexandria. The writer has a problem with a record of taxes he owes. In addition, mentions information about the dirhams’ rate and the process of making textile goods. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #663) VMR

Fragment of an opening of a letter by Shelomo b. Semah, Ramla, to the communities of Fustat, probably December 1033.

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to Avraham b. Sahlan, approximately 1020.

Copy of a letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to a dignitary in Fusṭāṭ in the hand of Ghālib ha-Kohen b. Moshe (c. 1030 CE). Original leetter in T-S 13J19.16. (Information from CUDL.)

Letter from Moshe Ha-Sofer, from the family of Meir Gaon, to Avraham b. Sahl Ha-Tustari, approximately 1030.

Letter from a ḥaver of the Jerusalem yeshiva, probably in Aleppo, to a gaʾon, probably Shelomo b. Yehuda, in Jerusalem. Dating: ca. 1035 (Gil). The ḥaver complains about the members of his congregation who plot against him and have twice slandered him, once to the present gaʾon, once to his predecessor. The writer’s innocence has been proven before, and will be proven again, with the help of Ṣadoq b. Levi, whose previous letter was lost. Also mentions Tamīm b. Avraham and Yefet Ibn al-Shayzarī. The writer is also on good terms with the local governor. The writer is leaving for Calneh to attempt to resolve a dispute within the Jewish community there over who should succeed their recently deceased judge. It's unclear what is meant by Calneh; various candidates for this biblical toponym have been proposed, but the most likely here is probably the one near Aleppo, identified with the modern village by the related name Kullan-Köy. As the recipient’s last letter was lost, the writer requests that the recipient send a letter of support to strengthen the writer’s authority within the community in Aleppo; with allusions to Job 30:26, 10:22 and Proverbs 27:19. (Information from CUDL and from Marina Rustow)

Letter from Yehoshua ha-Ḥaver b. Eli, Caesarea, to the Nagid Mevorakh b. Saadya.

Letter from Isma’il b. Farah from Alexandria, to Yosef b. Eli Kohen Fasi, Tyre. October 29, 1056. The letter is addressed to Nahray b. Nissim as well, who is about to lose his sight in one eye. [This is Gil's interpretation of r9, ʿalā ʿayn mā tarā, but see PGP description of T-S 10J20.12 for why this probably just refers to the addressee seeing his merchandise in person after previously not having seen it. Here too "anta" is probably a better reading than "innahu." ASE.] The letter contains details about the way to purchase linen in the villages. Also contains details about ships that are about to arrive from the Maghreb and are being slowed by eastern wind, and other ships from the Sham, Spain, and Sicily. In addition mentions the drought of that year. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #493) VMR

Letter sent from Alexandria by Hayyim b. Eli ha-Kohen to his father in Fustat, asking him to complete a number of errands, in particular in connection with a woman, probably the writer's divorced wife. Dated ca. 1080. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, p. 580)

Letter in Arabic script. Concerns philosophical theology; comments on a treatise the writer had read. Mentions raʾs al-mathība. (Join: Marina Rustow) Reused for letter drafts in the hand of Efrayim b. Shemarya (see PGPID 1244), so must date to before ca. 1050.

Letter of censure to the community of Malij and its leader.

Letter concerning business matters, with extensive greetings to family members such as to ‘my brother’ Abū Isḥāq and Abū Saʿīd. Mentioning quantities of flax. (Information from CUDL and Goitein's index card.)

Letter from Hason b. Yitzhak al-Khavlani, probably from Alexandria, to Yosef b. Ya’aqov b. Awkal, Fustat. Around 1015. The writer informs Ibn Awkal about several shipments that are on their way from the Maghreb, mainly leather and silk. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #218) VMR

Letter from Yusuf ha-Kohen b. Shelomo Gaon, writing from Jerusalem or Ramla, informing the Jewish chief justice of Aleppo that it had taken seven months to find the husband whose wife in the Syrian city had demanded a divorce. The bill of divorce had now been made out and entrusted to a man who would deliver it to the woman, ca. 1035. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 3:262, 485) EMS

Letter from the year 1103 (established according to Shela's biography, see Frenkel, Compassionate, p. 76). The letter is written in the hand of Shela b. Mevasser to Mevorakh, the Nagid. Shela asks the Nagid to intervene in a legal dispute because he was unable to resolve it with his authority. (Information from Frenkel; Cohen adds: Shela reported about someone from Barqa who has caused much trouble. He induced an orphan boy to allow him to act as his representative against his mother, who then complained about this. The troublemaker was brought before the community and the wrong was redressed, but afterwards this maker of mischief continued his plotting against the widow. Eventually a relative of hers took her case before the Muslim authorities, a move which caused difficulties for the community. The elders of the community have now sent a report (mahdar) to 'our lord' via someone traveling (to the capital), and the addressee will learn all about what the evildoers have done. The Barqi Jews refuse to have anything to do with the person because of his stupidity (jahl)).

Letter from Yisrael b. Natan, Jerusalem, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat ,

Letter from Yiṣḥaq b. Moshe, the muqaddam of Sunbāṭ (see T-S 24.25v, dated 1149 CE), to the Nagid. Yiṣḥaq reports that the chief cantor died after four months of lying in bed with terrible pains. He complains that the widow ("the wicked Zeresh") is threatening, as soon as her son arrives, to accuse him before the local chief of police (wālī) of being the cause of her husband's illness and death. She says, "The muqaddam excommunicated him and killed him before the entire congregation." Defending himself, Yiṣḥaq writes, "You know the ḥamas of the Rīf. A person may die from less than this." Goitein understands "ḥamas" to be the Hebrew word variously meaning violence, anger, injustice, or false witness (but usually referring to governmental persecution in Geniza documents). The writer is thus referring to his own sufferings, countering the claim that he killed the cantor with the claim that the distress caused by such a false accusation puts his own life in danger. The writer admits that popular opinion is against him (anā taḥta safeq fī l-amr). In the bottom, fragmentary portion, he seems to complain that he is not being paid; he also mentions a blanket and "three sick people, and I am the fourth." He is prepared to come to Fustat if the Nagid wishes. Information in part from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 74, 537. ASE.

Letter from Yisrael b. Natan, Jerusalem, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 11 January 1052 CE. Apart from business matters, this letter contains information about the struggle over the position of Rosh ha-Yeshiva upon the death of Shelomo b. Yehuda. It appears that the Maghribīs are very involved in this struggle. Yisrael mentions in passing that the remnants of his illness are still with him (r7). Information from Gil. ASE