Geniza Lab

Late literary work.

Two fragments, both literary.

Folio from a diwan of Hebrew poetry. Contains a poem by Moshe Ibn ʿEzra. Then "When the first qiṭʿa reached R. Yehuda (ZL), he responded to it with this [...] and said:"

Poetry in Judaeo-Arabic. There are also two lines in Arabic script, difficult to read. VMR. ASE.

Manuscript, well-preserved, of Taqwīm al-Adyān by Daniel ibn al-Māshiṭa, of the generation of Avraham Maimonides. Pertaining to the 'Maimonidean controversy.' See FGP for detailed identifications and bibliography.

A drash written by Shemuʾel Ben Sid on the occasion of the birth of his son (דרש שדרש החכם השלם מורי ורבי כמחה׳׳ר שמואל ן׳ סיד נר׳׳ו כש נולד לו בן). The fragment continues across eight folios and is dated on f.1r in the year 5375 AM which is 1614/15 CE. Based on the dating this may be the same Shemuʾel Ben Sid listed in a wide variety of other contemporary fragments such as: ENA 1822a.102 and ENA NS 39.14. (Fragment discovered by Prof. Eve Krakowski 08/18/22). MCD.

Literary. A Shīʿī prayer written in Arabic script. There are some lines in red ink. The literariness of the verses is such that bounties aren't directly sought, rather they are attributed to the creator and sought passively. Ignoring the order of the verses, most of them resemble the verses of Duʿā al-Jawshan (for Saturday) attributed to ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib or other verses of supplication attributed to him and quoted in the book Biḥār al-Anwār by Majlesi (d. 1698). The variant in Biḥār al-Anwār is as follows: يا من لا يشغله سمع عن سمع يا من لا يمنعه فعل عن فعل يا من لا يلهيه قول عن قول يا من لا يغلطه سؤال عن سؤال يا من لا يحجبه شئ عن شئ يا من لا يبرمه إلحاح الملحين يا من هو غاية مراد المريدين يا من هو منتهى همم العارفين، يا من هو منتهى طلب الطالبين، يا من لا يخفى عليه ذرة في العالمين.

"The Tale of the [Jewish] Companions of Muḥammad" also known as "The Tale of Baḥira." Relating how 10 Jewish sages, somehow related to a stylite named Baḥira, made a subterfuge of joining themselves to Muḥammad but actually sought to corrupt the Quran in order to protect the Jewish people. They allegedly included a secret acrostic within the Quran that reads כך יעצו חכמי ישראל לאלם הרשע ("Thus did the wise men of Israel counsel the dumb wicked man," אלם being a reference to Isaiah 56:10.) The fabricated Quranic verses that spell out this phrase are listed on verso. The 10 sages are named, including characters well-known from Islamic literature (e.g., Kaʿb al-Aḥbār and the father of Muḥammad's Jewish concubine Ṣafiyya) and characters that are not otherwise attested and have quite unusual epithets (e.g., al-Munhazim ilā l-Janna). Information in part from Krisztina Szilagyi's description on FGP. See also the (faulty) edition in J. Leveen, "Mohammed and His Jewish Companions," The Jewish Quarterly Review , Apr., 1926, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Apr., 1926), pp. 399- 406. ASE

Page from Massekhet Derekh Eres.

Manuscript of the Book of the Calendar Controversy, about the disagreement between Jewish leaders of Palestine and Babylonia on how to calculate the calendar year in 921/2. This led the Jews of the entire Near East to celebrate Passover and the other festivals on different dates over the course of two years. Four folios of this text are extant, ENA 2555.1, T-S 10K3 (one side only), T-S NS 175.57 (one side only), and ENA 2556.1. Stern concludes that these folios are discontinuous elements of the same manuscript and supposes their sequence from textual parallels in other manuscripts of the Book of the Calendar Controversy. Scribe changes throughout the manuscript appear random and change the style of script (round, square, compact, etc.). The evident involvement of several scribes in the production of this single manuscript suggests a commercial enterprise in which a team of scribes was employed to produce books, and where the books being copied were passed around the team at the convenience of the scribes’ individual work schedules. Its hasty, somewhat sloppy production by a team of scribes suggests that it was intended as a cheap, ‘budget’ copy, for circulation among a broader, private readership. (See Stern pp. 166-170 for discussion regarding the scribal hands.)

Poem composed by Yehuda b. ʿAllān al-Ṭabarānī (= of Tiberias).

Poem of friendship written by Shemuʾel the cantor b. Avraham ha-sefaradi. On the back the holiday of sukkot is mentioned, which may have served as the occasion for the reading out of this poem. The writer addresses his friends and lords, declares his love and loyalty to his friends who wished him to be married and beget children. "Take this poem, albeit short, and your love will cover my sin."

poems for a groom. the name Ibn Ma'usa (?) is mentioned.

Panygeric prasing the leaders (negidim) of the Jewish community. Mentioned are Elʿazar, Yefet, and ʿUziel and later also ʿOvadya. There is also a single line of poetry in Arabic script (about tears).

Colophon written by Hillel ha-melammed b. Perahya in Damascus, 5036=1275.

Danzig in his catalogue identifies this fragment as a responsa, but there is no sign for it. On recto the order of reading in Hanukah and beginning of the month. On top the year 1100 is given. On verso Biblical commentary and discussion on Bavlli Shabat 13b. AA

Responsa collection.

Responsa of the geonim regarding sale. מקביל לתשובת הגאונים שע"צ, ח"ד, שער ו, סימן יא # הרכבי, סימן שפח

Piyyut, very faded.

Piyyut, very faded.