Geniza Lab

Letter sent by Eli b. Natan the physician to the Nasi in Cairo, probably Shelomo b. Yishai, complaining that the Hazzan returned only two of the three dinars Eli had deposited with him. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 41, 530, 607, and from Goitein's index cards)

Letter sent by Abu al-Ma'ali to Avraham Abu Ishaq b. Natan 'the Seventh' saying that he has not heard from him for a while, though he understands that a disaster has befallen him, and sending him good wishes for Passover. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Marduk b. Musa in Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat. (c. July 1048 CE). Marduk expresses outrage as he reports on the opening of a bundle of commodities passing through Alexandria on its way to Fustat; the goods included a qintar and forty ‘jarawi ratls’ of wax and a bundle of silk (khazz). The letter also mentions an order for earthenware goblets (‘saghar’) with gold luster in Fustat. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 1:337, 487; 4:149, 394; Jessica Goldberg, Trade and Institutions in the Medieval Mediterranean, 173) EMS

Letter to Abu 'Ali, probably from his brother, inquiring about the lack of correspondence. The sender asks for an explanation, citing Leviticus 19:17. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, pp. 294-295)

Letter from Khalluf b. Zakariyya, Alexandria, to Yosef b. 'Awkal.

Letter to the cantor Hillel b. Eli about the bad behavior of his son Abu al-Ḥasan. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Business letter from Avraham b. Farah in Alexandria to Yosef b. Moshe b. Barhun al-Tahirti in Fustat. The letter mentions a shipment of cosmetic oils, lead, silk and pearls. Avraham takes care of the storage house rented by Yosef in Alexandria. He asks Yosef to buy him ink and pens in Fustat. (Information from Gil)

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda, probably to Avraham b. Sahlan, approximately 1026.

Letter from Moshe b. Yaʿaqov, Jerusalem, to his wife's brother Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Dating: 28 July 1053 CE. Additional echoes of what we found in the previous letter (T-S 13J6.22), after having received a letter from Nahray in the interim. Moshe heard that Nahray had sent money, clothing, and myrobalan with Abū l-Ṭayyib al-Baradānī, but these have not yet arrived. Moshe recently recovered from an illness (iltiyāth) and is still weak. Avraham ha-Ḥaver has also been sick. Information in part from Gil. ASE

Letter of congratulations from Musalah to Shelomo and his son upon the marriage of the son. (Information from Goitein's index cards). Verso contains part of a long text in Judaeo-Arabic.

Letter from Yosef b. ʿEli ha- Kohen al-Fāsī, Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1057. In the handwriting of Salmān b. Hārūn. Yūsuf b. ʿAlī Kohen al-Fāsī writes of his intention to come to Fustat and meet with Abū ʿAbdallah (Ibn al-Baʿbāʿ) to see if he had kept his goods safe for him, and asks to send him his greetings. Contains information about movement of ships and goods. The situation in Alexandria is not good and merchants that were supposed to arrive there did not. Also mentions Nahray’s eye disease. Goitein's note card #27112: "Just as we do, one reacted to the news that a relative or friend was restored to health. One used for the occasion the same phrase 'I congratulate you' as one did with good wishes for holy days or a marriage or a safe return from a journey. T-S 13J17.2 is characteristic in this respect. The copyist of the letter had expressed his good wishes for Nahray's recovery from his serious eye disease. His boss had forgotten to do so but obviously read what the scribe had added. Thus the scribe adds, 'My lord Abu Ya'qub al-Kohen wishes to congratulate you on your recovery.'"

Recommendation letter for an Iraqi merchant who lost everything in a shipwreck. He is advised to write to Abu al-Bishr and his cousin. (Information from Goitein's index cards, and Goitein, Mediterranean Society, I, p. 409)

Letter probably from Shemuel b. Daniel b. ʿAzarya (the eldest brother of David b. Daniel). Describing his grief over his father's death. Dating: 1062 CE or shortly thereafter, if Goitein's identifications are correct (since Daniel b. ʿAzarya died in August/September 1062). "After describing his pain—also physical—over the loss of his father and his state of disconsolation (quoting Lamentations 2:13), he continues: 'You, the illustrious elder, have already learned how God the exalted has afflicted the people of Israel and, in particular, myself with the eclipse of the honored position (jāh) possessed by me through the vanishing of the crown, the glory, the power, the splendor . . . the nasi. . . and Head of the yeshiva....'" (Information from Goitein's index card and Med Soc V, pp. 258, 578.)

Letter from Yehuda ha-Levi to Ḥalfon b. Nethanel.

Letter from the physician Yaʿaqov, in Spain, to Ḥalfon b. Netanel ha-Levi. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: between summer 1138 CE and March 1139 CE. India Book 4 (Hebrew description below; full English to come.) Spain

Letter from Abū ʿAlī b. Barakāt to his son Abū Naṣr ʿAlī b. Abū ʿAli b. al-Quṣayr, in the alley of the candles, presumably in Fustat. The unemployed father can send nothing to his son and cannot travel because of the dangers on sea and land. He promises to return home as soon as possible when it becomes less dangerous. He gives advice about the running of the shop in his absence, and says multiple times that his son should tell all his customers and associates that he is coming back as soon as possible, and he has not run away or gone bankrupt or died. It appears that his wife had written that she was languishing in his absence, to which he responds that God has brought deliverance for greater crises than this, and as soon as he heard that, he vowed to fast in the day until he is reunited with them. In another place, he says he does not sleep at night due to longing for them. His son should not speak to Hiba the collector of the capitation tax, because Abū ʿAlī owes him money and needs to sort out the matter in person. (Information in part from Goitein's index cards, and Goitein, Mediterranean Society, I, p. 467.) ASE.

Letter from an unknown merchant from Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim. April 20, 1064. The writer informs Nahray about the loading of their goods on ships. There is a doubt about the identity of the owners of several packages. Mentions shipments of flax, cotton, cloths, copper, and money. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #828) VMR

Letter from Efrayim b. 'Isma'il al-jawhari, Alexandria, to Yosef b. 'Awkal.

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda (or Avraham son of the Gaon?) to Efrayim b. Shemarya. In Hebrew. Asking Efrayim to organize the Jewish community in Fustat to assist the bearer, a victim of theft (or refugee?), on his homeward journey. Dating: probably 1034/35 CE. (Information from CUDL). Join: Oded Zinger.

Letter from Shela b. Mevasser b. Naḥum, a judge of Alexandria, to Abū al-Ḥasan Surūr b. Ḥayyim in Fustat, dealing with family and public matters. The letter contains clues about the dispute between Shela and Mevorakh b. Saadya and reflects Shela’s conception of his role as a community leader. (Information from Frenkel, The Compassionate and Benevolent, p. 514; S. D. Goitein, Index cards.)