Geniza Lab

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to Sahlan b. Avraham, 1048.

Letter from Abū Zikrī Kohen, in Fustat, to Ḥalfon b. Netanel. Dated: Monday, 1 Shevaṭ 1444 Seleucid, which is 9 January 1133 CE. (Information from India Book 4; full Hebrew description below.)

Letter from Daniel b. Ṭoviyya to a family member, possibly his elder brother (the Arabic address on verso mentions the name Abū l-Faḍl). In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in Arabic script. Dated: 9 Kislev 1479 of the Seleucid Era (= 1167 CE). The sender reports on his travel to Damietta, where he was unable to leave the caravanserai for several days, and other matters. The sender's mother and grandmother are greeted with particular affection, and many other people are mentioned, including Abū l-Surūr Ibn al-Amʿaṭ (known from Halper 345, T-S 12.527, T-S 8Ja1.4, and probably Moss. VII,8.3). Greetings to: Amīn al-Dawla Muslim/Musallam, Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥemdat Ibn al-Sukkarī. Abū l-Fakhr al-Ṣayrafī (the banker), and the latter’s business partner Barakāt. The sender has passed on the addressee's greetings to al-shaykh al-sadīd Abū l-Riḍā. Finally, greetings to three people who are probably female slaves: Fayrūz ("turquoise"), Nadd ("ambergris perfume"), and זכיר(?). (Information in part from CUDL and Goitein's index card and attached notes.)

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to an unidentified personality. Dating: ca. 1035 CE. Join: Oded Zinger.

Letter from Natan Ha-Kohen Ha-Ḥaver b. Yoshiyyahu, Tiberias, to Yaʿaqov b. David, approximately 1050. The writer asks the recipient for support on behalf of the sick who are seeking a cure at the hot springs of Tiberias. (Information from CUDL.)

Letter from Abū l-Ḥasan b. Ibrāhīm al-Zayyāt to the notable Yehuda b. Elʿazar ha-Kohen. With best wishes for the addressee's two sons, Elʿazar Saʿd al-Mulk and Moshe, and his brother Yishʿi the physician and the latter's son Aharon. Abū l-ʿIzz Aharon b. Elʿazar. Also mentions 'the rayyis' Abū l-Walīd. Dating: Late 12th century. Topics: (1) formal openings; (2) something about accompanying a person to the synagogue in a big crowd; (3) physicians; (4) eye illnesses. See also T-S 13J33.8 and DK 245. (Information in part from CUDL and Goitein's index card.)

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to Efrayim b. Shemarya, approximately 1030.

Poetic epistle addressed to the poet and man of letters Yehuda ha-Levi, who was also a well-to-do physician and devoted time to public welfare and charity. The writer, a traveler from Badajoz, Spain, is in dire circumstances and requests a donation from Yehuda ha-Levi while the two were sojourning in Egypt. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 2:580, 5:83, 528) EMS Correction: The manuscript actually says 'אלברגושי' i.e from Burgos, not Badajoz (which back then was still Batalyus) MY

Letter from Menashshe the Alexandrian teacher to (Saʿd al-Mulk) Elʿazar b. Yehuda ha-Kohen. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic, in a very flowery style. Dating: Late 12th century. The sender requests help in his rivalry with another teacher by asking the addressee to intervene with his father to put a stop to the actions of a judge, whom he accuses of making parents transfer boys from his to the rival’s school. Same sender and same addressee as T-S 12.425. See also T-S 13J33.3. (Information from CUDL and Goitein's index card.)

Petition from the Jewish community of Alexandria to the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya (1140–59 CE). Complaining about oppressive and fraudulent collection of the capitation tax. There are three wicked officials: Ḥasan b. Karām b. Iskandar the jahbadh, ʿUmar b. [...], and Yaḥyā ("may he not live!") b. Abū l-Faḍl known as Ibn Ukht Badīʿ(?). They are issuing receipts without having them registered in the supervising dīwān (wa-lam yuthbithā fī l-dīwān), which enables them to extort a second payment—one for their own pockets, and one for the dīwān. Among the bad effects are "the cutting-off of craftsmanship and the raping of women and the attacking of [houses and the exposing of the] head before the tax collectors." (Information in part from CUDL and Goitein's attached notes.)

Fragment of a letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda (handwriting of Avraham b. ha-Gaon) with the signature of the Gaon, maybe was addressed to Avraham b. Shalan. Expresses Thanks to Avraham b. Shalan. Mentions his son, Shalan. (Information from Gil, Palestine, vol. 2 p. 183, #97). VMR

Letter from Shelomo b. Semah, Ramla, to Efrayim b. Shemarya, approximately 1030.

Polite letter in Judaeo-Arabic, in which the sender explains that he had been reluctant to visit the addressee, as he surmised that his 'brother' Abū Zikrī Yaḥyā b. Menashshe (cf. Halper 383) was visiting, and he was not on speaking terms with the latter. He would now like to come, especially with regard to the friendship which had existed between him and the addressee's late son. The blessings for the addressee include "the restraining of the hand of those who rule by oppression." (Information from Goitein's index card and CUDL.)

Part of a letter written by Shelomo ‘the lesser, Head of the Yeshiva’ (i.e. the Gaʾon Shelomo b. Yehuda), in Jerusalem, to Efrayim b. Shemarya, in Fusṭāṭ. Dated: 1035 CE (per Gil). Regarding the special collection to help restore ‘the cave’ (i.e. the Rabbanite synagogue in Jerusalem, that was damaged in the collapse of part of the Western Wall on the Temple Mount during Passover 1034 CE). The restoration of the synagogue is described, including the removal of rubble, and the use of 62 beams and 600 planks. Also mentions details concerning captives, as well as Yosef b. Yaʿqūb, a prominent member of the Fusṭāṭ Jewish community, who is loyal to the Babylonian academy of Pumbeditha and has the title Alūf. Greetings are sent to the addressee's son-in-law, Yosef. (Information from CUDL.)

Part of a letter, probably from the first half of the 11th century, possibly written by Yeshuʿa b. Yosef ha-Kohen, on behalf of the Jerusalemite and Babylonian Rabbanite communities in Alexandria, to the leader of the Jewish community in Fusṭāṭ (name not preserved but titled ‘the distinguished scholar’), perhaps Elḥanan b. Shemarya, regarding the plight of five Jewish male youths who were cruelly held captive and, having been ransomed for 100 dinars, subsequently fell ill. The ransom had been raised at great cost to every member of the Alexandrian Jewish community. (Information from CUDL.)

Letter from Shemuel b. Khalīfa, in Damascus, to Yosef Abū l-[...], in Fustat/Cairo. In Hebrew. Dating: Perhaps ca. 17th century. Specifically Friday, Erev Rosh Ḥodesh Tammuz, but the year is not given. The sender complains about the lack of letters and asks for help retrieving a debt of 200 ducats from a Muslim—or rather it seems that they are trying to bribe an official (sar) with that money, who is supposed to intervene with the king about something. Mentions Moshe ha-Kohen. Moshe Ṣāyigh added a postscript in a different hand (right margin, upper text block), in which he greets the 'prince' (the same official from the main letter?) Moshe b. Aṭār (משה ן אטאר). (Information in part from CUDL.)

Letter from Umm Dawud to her nephew Abu Zikri describing the wedding of her daughter (c. first half of the 13th century).

Letter from Yehoshuaʿ Ha-Kohen B. Yair, Tiberias, to the communities of Aleppo, approximately 1020.

Letter from Yaʿaqov b. Yiṣḥaq, in Aleppo, to his son Yiṣḥaq b. Yaʿaqov, in Fustat. Dating: c. 1030 CE (based on Frenkel's assessment). In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. In a beautiful scholarly hand and excellent style. His son was evidently a tailor. The letter lists items that Yaʿaqov has sent (including the wool garments "buqyār" and "mayzar") and other matters. Ash(mūn?) and Abū ʿĪsā are mentioned. See T-S 13J20.16, in which the same writer tells his son about his severe illness. On verso there are Arabic-script writing exercises (each letter of the alphabet written with different letters after it).

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Rudimentary handwriting. Mentions Barhūn and al-Rayyis Abū Zikrī. From the Maghreb? Information from Goitein's note card.