Geniza Lab

Recto: Document in Arabic script, probably a letter fragment. Verso: A different document in Arabic script, followed by a liturgical note in Judaeo-Arabic.

Letter fragment to 'rabbenu'. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions 200 dinars, a wālī and the land of al-Muʿaẓẓam (Turanshah?). Needs further examination.

Letter sent from Rashīd addressed to Shelomo Ḥalafta Yerushalmi, in Bulaq. In Judaeo-Arabic. Probably the same sender as ENA 2855.21. Dating: late 15th or early 16th century. Well-preserved. Needs examination for content.

Recto: Shemuʾel b. Ḥofni’s Judaeo-Arabic commentary on Deuteronomy 11:26f. Verso: Arabic jottings, possibly a maxim or poetry; the lower text block is a copy of the upper text block. (Information in part from CUDL)

Copy or formulary of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic, damaged, almost entirely consisting of honorifics and praises. Might name somebody titled Zayn al-Dīn (unless that is just another term of respect for the recipient). Previous description (unclear which shelfmark this belongs to): Commentary on Isaiah 34:10. In Judaeo-Arabic. Information from CUDL.

Letter in Arabic script. Fragment (bottom only). Mentions Abū l-ʿAlāʾ b. Abū Naṣr al-Isrāʾīlī al-Tājir (the trader) and Abū l-Riḍā b. Abū l-Faraj al-Isrāʾīlī. Needs further examination. On verso there are calendrical calculations in Judaeo-Arabic for the 19th year of maḥzor 260 (= 4940 AM = 1179/80 CE).

Letter in Ladino. Dating: possibly 16th century. The letter seems to have been dictated by a blind man. He says: ,Rabi Jacob dijo ke afilu ke tuviera ojos podia enganarme kuanto mas ombre sagi naor. And elsewhere he says: ,ke no tengo ojos y no tengo kien me mire*. He continues and says: ,tengo miedo ke me akontesca lo ke me akontesio' and ask his wife: ,venid a Misrayim ke una mujer kon ojos esmas mejor ke mire, por dos vezes adije a meterme en barko y no tope conpania . . .' This blind man, then, lives in Cairo, separated from his wife who seems to live in the Holy Land. He hopes his wife will sell her clothes and jeweils (alajas) to support him." Elazar Gutwirth, "The Family in Judeo-Spanish Genizah Letters," 214. There are also sketches of leafy plants.

Recto: A few lines of an abandoned letter in Arabic. Verso: A page completely filled with Judaeo-Arabic writing practice (?) of standard phrases from letters, going in all different directions. It is very faded, so hard to tell if there is anything of substance in these phrases.

Letter in Arabic from Moshe ha-Kohen to Abū l-ʿIzz Yeshuʿa ha-Sar, to the market of the goldsmiths (sūq al-ṣāgha) in Fusṭāṭ, in which the addressee's name and titles are given in Hebrew characters in the midst of the Arabic text. Moshe reports that al-Shaykh al-Ajall al-Sadīd b. al-Tilmīdh and his son al-Shaykh al-Muwaffaq (שמ צור again in Hebrew characters) arrived and informed him that [...]. The lower part of recto and the upper part of verso is lost. ASE.

Interesting letter from a sick man to Mevorakh, probably his brother. The language is Judaeo-Arabic with Hebrew vowels (!). The writer revised the letter, probably after completing it, and added in several missing alifs. He has an unspecified illness. He is lying sick in the house of Baqā' b. al-Muṣinn (at least in the daytime), also attended by Ibn al-ʿAṣṣār. "From inactivity (qillat al-qawām) my state has weakened (talif ḥālī). I am now accustomed to bloodletting and purging (sakb al-dam wa-l-ishāl)." He describes his nights and days twice. Ibn al-Muṣinn is also in distress because his little boy is also sick. [The physician] Ibn al-ʿAṣṣār was summoned and asked whether the patient would live or die and said to him something cryptic ('You are either (illam) going to survive or (illam) completely recover' (?)). Upon which, Baqā' said to him, 'For the sake of deliverance, do exactly as he says.' People (nās) concerned themselves (ihtammū) and kindly brought the patient everything he needed (itfaḍḍalū bi-kull mā aḥtāj). In the nights he has rosebuds (? al-zirr al-ward) but these only last him for one third of the night (?), and thus he also needs sugar (?). Purpose of writing: Requesting sugar, and a blanket "from the kitchen." He had previously written regarding the sugar. It resembles a letter of appeal except that it is quite informal, probably disrespectful if the recipient were not his actual brother. The writer states that he has already tried drawing money from other sources so as not to be a burden. Writes once, "you ask me what afflicts me," and then again, "Do not neglect me so as not to [later] ask what afflicts me." Date: Probably early 13th century. Abū l-Baqā' b. al-Muṣinn ("son of the stinkard") appears also in T-S NS J32, but this document is undated. A Kohen b. al-Muṣinn appears in a 1237 document (T-S 12.413), and the daughter of al-Muṣinn appears in a 1243 document (T-S 8J6.15), but these are not necessarily related. Most compellingly: a physician named Ibn al-ʿAṣṣār appears in a 1227 document (T-S 8J32.7). ASE.

Recto: Small fragment of a formal Arabic letter. Verso: In Judaeo-Arabic, a draft of flattering titles for a Muslim ruler: [[אלאמיר אלמופק]] אמיר אלמומנין במא וכלה יי (!) אליה מן שיאשת אלאמה וערקהא (?) בה מן תדבירהא . . . פי מא כאנת מצלחתהא . . . . عامر פידאעי (?).

Note (the sender calls it a 'khidma') in Arabic script. Instructing the addressee to give 'the thing which I told you about' to the bearer of the note. Then, "as soon as you receive this khidma, send after the 'aṣḥāb al-dawāwīn' and they should come to you." The continuation is not clear, and it may be interspersed with unrelated jottings (several names and Greek/Coptic numerals). Reused on recto for Hebrew poetry.

Fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Very faded. Dating: 11th–13th century.

Letter concerning business (very faded) in Judaeo-Arabic, reused for accounts.

Letter, small fragment from the opening, mostly formulaic.

Letter draft to a Jewish dignitary. In Hebrew. Contains lines of writing arranged in various directions insterspersed with shorter jottings. Some of the lines have been crossed through. Information from Baker/Polliack catalog.

Letter from Faraḥ b. Nuʿmān to the Mumḥe who lives in Damsīs (الممحا المقيم بدمسيس). In Arabic script. A son was born on Tuesday and the addressee is asked to come and circumcise him on Saturday or Sunday (so not 8 days after birth?). (Information from Goitein's note card)

Letter (memo) from an unnamed India trader, probably in Aden, to Mufaḍḍal Ibn Abī Saʿd, in Qūṣ. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: First third of the 13th century, based on the references to the Jewish chief judge of Cairo Menaḥem b. Yiṣḥaq b. Sasson. The document lists a great number of shipments and gifts. Same hand as T-S NS J182 (India Book 7, ז51). See Goitein's notes for further information.

Letter from Avraham Maimonides (autograph) addressed to three people, including al-Mevin and Yūsuf. In Judaeo-Arabic. Very faded. Dealing with hospitality (ḍiyāfa) for needy people. The addressees seem to have provided a monthly contribution. (Information from Goitein's note card)

Letter of appeal addressed to a Jewish dignitary (ha-dayyan ha-maskil). The introduction is in Hebrew and the body is in Judaeo-Arabic. The writer prays that the addressee will be spared "the diseases of this year." He states that he is impoverished and suffering from an illness. "If I live, you will see my gratitude for you in public." He asks the addressee to send a messenger to the Nagid on his behalf. The letter contains the interesting oath "wa-ḥaqq al-yiḥud," where yiḥud = tawḥīd. He also writes that al-ḥūrma (his wife?) is as sick as can be. Information in part from Baker/Polliack catalog.