Geniza Lab

Poetic introduction in Hebrew for a letter addressed to a Jewish courtier (sar ve-naeh li-serara).

Opening of a letter full of eulogies for the Nagid Yehosef (d. 1066), doubtless the son of the Nagid Shemuel b. Nagrela of Muslim Spain. Dated to the 11th century.

Letter pertaining to business.

Letter of recommendation concerning one of the chief people in Sunbat, who had to flee because he could not afford to pay his own and his son's capitation tax. (Mentioned by N. Golb in Journal of Near Eastern Studies 33 [1974], p. 142)

Recto: Letter to a man in Qalyūb. The writer excuses himself for not coming to Qalyūb, for he thought the addressee would not be there, but now a certain Abū Saʿd has informed him that the addressee had returned. Also mentions business matters relating to a shop, and the names Barakāt and Ibrāhīm. Verso: Letter fragment in Arabic script. (Information from CUDL.)

Letter of appeal for help, mentioning a recent death, apparently of a husband, leaving the writer (the widow) without livelihood and unable to live with the 'dowager (al-kabira)' (her mother-in-law probably), who is demanding she move out. The lower part of the letter refers to a woman who died in the seventh month of her pregnancy. There is a gap of at least a line or two between the two fragments that comprise this document. It is conceivable that the two fragments belong to two different letters, but they are certainly by the same scribe. Join by Oded Zinger. ASE.

Letter of appeal for charity/help from a man who is housebound on account of his illness and poverty (wajaʿ, ḍuʿf, ḍīq ḥāl). Mentions Yiṣḥaq ha-Rav, Yeshuʿa, and Yosef.

Letter from the people of the Palestine Yeshiva to the community (qahal) of Fustat, probably approximately 1080.

Recto: Letter criticizing someone's behavior.

Letter conveying greetings for a wedding.

The Rosh ha-Seder of the Yeshiva invites Saadya b. Khalaf to attend his sermon in the synagogue. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter of warning regarding a dispute involving a debt. Dated 1152. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter to a father from his son, reporting business troubles he is having with his brother. The son requests a small loan from his father. Also mentions Abu'l-Tana. (Information from Goitein's index cards and CUDL)

Recto: family letter, ca. 11th century, from Abraham to his son-in-law Elijah and his daughter אתוכלי, Itwakkilī (Arabic, but unattested as a name). There are many greetings and good wishes from various family members. The writer states that Elijah’s brother wanted to visit him, but had been prevented by the grape harvest (הבציר). He wants the couple to send a letter at the next opportunity. Also mentioned is a debt and ‘the time that the river rises’, probably a reference to the flooding of the Nile. A number of different names are mentioned: Elijah’s sister is Sitt al-Rūmī (שטירומי); also mentioned are Irini (אריני), Leon (לאון) and his wife Sitt al-Bayt (שטילבית), another son-in-law Kalev, a wife Mershini (מרשיני, vocalised) and a son Shemarya. Verso: address and several lines of unrelated Arabic. (Information from CUDL)

Verso: complete letter prefaced by two biblical quotations (Psalms 120:1; 130:1). The writer is commiserating with the addressee’s disgrace, יסמו עינים שיראו קלונך ויחרשו אזנים שישמעו מקצת כלמתך, but puts his faith in divine justice, אבל נקבל דין השם. It is signed by ‘the insulted servant Joseph’ (העבד הנעלב יוסף). Recto: unrelated Arabic text (the Arabic text is incomplete, and thus earlier than the Hebrew letter). (Information from CUDL)

Addendum to a letter from Abū l-Ḥasan b. Makhlūf (cf. T-S 10J17.20 and JRL Gaster heb. ms 1860/5), Abū l-Faḍl b. Yaʿaqov, Abū l-Manṣūr b. Abū l-Faraj al-Muqaddasī/al-Maqdisī (cf. ENA 2806.4 and T-S 10J12.28) and his brother Abū l-Surūr, and Abū l-Ḥajjāj b. Abū l-Faraj, to an unknown addressee. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Likely 12th or 13th century. They had written him another letter before this one but had left out their names in the original letter, and that was because of their fear of the people who "tajarradū" (?) not for the sake of heaven. (Information in part from CUDL.) ASE.

Letter fragment to the writer’s mother, possibly from Hiba b. Abū […]. Mentions a ship and travel. In Judaeo-Arabic, with unusual spellings. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter from Madmun b. Ḥasan to Avraham Ibn Yiju: three fragments of two copies. Aden, ca. 1130s.

Recto: letter to the Nasi Shelomo (probably Shelomo b. Jesse, mid-13th century). Verso: accounts with Coptic numerals. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Shelomo ha-Melammed (=Shelomo b. Eliyyahu) to the teacher Abū l-ʿIzz. In Judaeo-Arabic. Concerning money owed. Mentions Abū l-Munā and Ibn al-Dihqān. (Information in part from CUDL.)