Geniza Lab

Torn bill of release written by Halfon b. Menashshe Halevi (Date: 1100-1138). The son of Husayn al-Attar is releasing his uncle Abu Ishaq Avraham b. Yeshu'a from any claim. AA

Marriage contract (ketubba) from Minyat Zifta, Egypt, 1093-4. The groom is Saadiah ha-hazzan b. Sedaqa ha-hazzan, a man known to have served as a cantor, judge, and scribe in Minyat Zifta. (Friedman, Jewish Marriage, vol. 2, 107-9) EMS

Record of court proceedings, involving Ishaq ha-Haver and Efraim ha-Haver, in which someone is accused of desecrating the Sabbath in the Rif. Also Ascalon is mentioned and a ship, but the text is fragmentary. AA

Unfinished bill of release from 1525 Era of documents (= 1214) under the authority of Avraham Maimuni. Abu al-Hasan al-Dala[ti] ans Abu al-Baha are released by Abu Imran Moshe Hakohen from any claim. AA

Arabic legal document (recto) - needs examination.

Very faded and fragmentary beginning of a legal document written on parchment under the reshut of Shmuel b. Hananya (Date: 1140-1159). AA

Bifolio, mostly contains Mishna. On verso, agreement of Moses b. Solomon Perla in front of Ishaq b. Yosef and and Shemuel Tawil to remain in Modon (Modena, Italy?), dated Tuesday, 11th Shevat, 1557. AA

List of people to be excommunicated ('by name'/באסם). The left halves of ~7 entries are preserved. "In the bar (mashraba) with... and her children... a place with drunk people... between her and them..." With the join, we now have the right halves of 3 of the original entries and the right halves of 2 new entries. 2 of the entries are now complete (if not entirely clear): “Every woman who wraps a turban or braids her hair [….], even in her own house" and "Every man who is able to marry but does not do so because he is too busy with sinful things." ASE

Legal document. Probably a release. Fragment (left half only). In Hebrew. Dated: 52[..] AM, which is 1439–1539 CE. Involves [...] Suʿūd known as Ibn ʿIjala and his two brothers; Mardūk known as Ṭūzī; and David. Of the witness signatures only the name "Shaʿra" is preserved, probably someone from the Ibn Shaʿra family.

Legal deed. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 12th century; more precise dating will likely be possible based on the names mentioned. The document has to do with a business partnership; a shop in a village, 21 3/4 dinars, and a sum to be divided equally. The parties are Avraham b. [..]īm ha-Zaqen and Shelomo b. Shela. The witnesses are Yeshuʿa b. Berakhot ha-[...] and Moshe ha-Levi b. [...].

Legal testimony. Location: Aden. Dating: ca. summer 1131 CE. Fragment (upper right corner). The handwriting is very similar to that of the North African trader Yosef b. ʿEzra (cf. T-S 20.37 and BL OR 5566D.24 + T-S 10J16.8). This document alludes to controversies and confusion in Aden; the details of the story are almost entirely missing. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV.)

Legal document(s). Location: Fustat. Dated: 5 Ṭevet 1[4]21 Seleucid, which is 1109/10 CE. May have to do with a mercantile partnership. Mentions (at least) 50 dinars, then Rūmī dinars, then a separation. Signed by Avraham b. Shemaʿya and Yiṣḥaq b. Shemuel ha-Sefaradi. On verso there is an addendum, mentioning (at least) 500 of something—so maybe the case was about a sum of 550 dinars—with the same signatories.

Legal testimony. Fragmentary (top part only). Includes the unusual formula העדים החוקקים עידותינו (cf. ENA NS 18.26). Concerns [...] b. Muslim b. Shuʿayb al-Dimashqī and a woman. Later, refers to "the witnesses of the ketubba" and somebody's mother.

Legal query addressed to Avraham Maimonides. Concerning a marriage; the last line says what happened next, but it is hard to read.

Large legal document. Fragment (right side only). In the hand of Hillel b. ʿEli? Mentions a codex; a partnership (sharika); payments in installments. Names listed in the qiyyum: [...] ha-Parnas b. Shelomo; Yosef b. Shelomo.

One of four fragments from the court ledger of the Babylonian congregation of Damascus (T-S 16.181, T-S AS 146.66, T-S NS 320.108, and T-S 12.592). This fragment contains part of the signatures from the foot of one deed in addition to a fragmentary marriage register. Dated: 4693 AM, which is 932/33 CE. (Friedman, Jewish Marriage, vol. 2, 435.) EMS

Large legal document. Fragment (right side only). Mentions: Rosh ha-Qehillot; gold for somebody's daughter; Abū Manṣūr (b. Yaʿaqov?); the wife of Abū l-Faḍl; Abū l-Maʿālī; a daughter and her husband; and a dignitary (Head of the Jews?) titled Mordekhay ha-Zeman in the last line.

Legal document. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Mentions: coral; probably Yemen ([diyā]r al-Yaman); Abū l-Surūr; probably the weight "al-fill" (1/100 of a farāsila, see Friedman, Dictionary, p. 697 and Goitein and Friedman, India Traders, p. 590 n. 30, 645 n. 8; but it could theoretically be "jasmine" (al-full) instead); a dispute between two men, one of whom claims that the other mixed something in the total [...]; and the names of the parties Eliyya and Abū l-Surūr. The document may be the resolution of a partnership dispute between India traders. On verso there are a few words, also in Ḥalfon's hand: "10 years and 3 months...." May be related to T-S NS 320.54 (or even a join?).

Formal letter of resignation from the judge Nissim al-ʿAnqarī. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat/Cairo. Dated: Friday, 16 Iyyar 5301 AM, which is 1541 CE. He says that the reasons for his resignation are too well known to describe... but at least he gives us the information that he had been captured, and a tax collector (ḥāshir) and another gentile were also involved, and the heads of the community lost 8 Venetian ducats on his account. Therefore, he renounces the title of judge. Nevertheless, if David Zimra wishes to consult him on various matters, he is happy to help. (Information from A. David's edition via FGP.)

Draft of a legal document (or documents). In Judaeo-Arabic. There is writing on both sides. Looks like the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe, but it is very sloppy, and many lines are crossed out. Involves Abū l-Ḥasan Yosef b. Seʿadya and Yaʿaqov b. [...], and presumably a mercantile dispute, as repeated references are made to "arriving in the land of Egypt" and "goods." In the last line on recto, refers to somebody's brother Rabbenu Yiṣḥaq ha-Rav ha-Muvhaq (also mentioned in DK 237.1 and T-S 10J13.17).