Geniza Lab

Fragment of a letter regarding the postponement of a meeting. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Business letter from Elʿazar b. Yosef. Mentions Ibn al-Ḥusayn and various transactions. Greetings to 'our father' (and?) Yosef in the margin. (Information from CUDL)

Minute fragment probably from a top of a letter to 'Our Nagid'. Only partial words preserved. AA

Recto: probably a letter. Verso: Arabic jottings. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in the hand of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi (d. 1212), probably in Qalyūb, probably to his father Abū Sahl Levi (d. 1211), in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. The section preserved here begins with orders for books. He asks to be sent Kunnāsh al-Duyūra (better known as Kunnāsh al-Adyira, a medical treatise on home remedies for monks, by the Christian physician Ibn Buṭlān (d. 1066)) after checking the copy against the original (baʿd muqābalatih). He wants (Kitāb) al-Khalq if they have not already sent it, and a book called (Kitāb) al-Mayl wa-l-Hijrān, which Moshe left in storage in Fustat. He wants the bag (kharīṭa) containing a sewing kit (ʿuddat khiyāṭa). He wants a commentary on the simple meaning of something (tafsīr . . . peshaṭ), and he urges them to get him a copy of al-Faraj baʿd al-Shidda quickly. After all this, Moshe should still have 3 dirhams of credit (1/2 from Saʿāda and 2 1/2 from Abū l-Riḍā); with this money they should buy aromatic wood (ʿūd rīḥ) for 14 or 15 an ounce. In the margin of recto, he mentions speaking to Abū Saʿd b. Yaʿaqov on his behalf concerning "al-Mayl" (probably the same book mentioned earlier, al-Mayl wa-l-Hijrān). On verso, he continues with orders: red lead (sīlqūn), litharge (martak), and probably a couple more that are difficult to read. ASE

Late letter from a father, Shemuel Mehijar, to his son. (Data from FGP by Avraham David).

Letter; recto is in Hebrew, headed ראש הסדר and mentioning Jacob the elder; verso Arabic address Abū Joseph Jacob Ibn al-ʿAṭṭār. (Information from CUDL)

Letter fragment (lower part of recto). The recipient's brother-in-law is to pay something to Ḥayyim b. [...]. The writer urges the recipient to help him, because he is sick (ḍaʿīf). ASE.

Fragment from a letter, probably to a community? AA

Letter addressed to Elijah the judge, mentioning the elders Joseph and Judah. Verso: Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic accounts, mentioning names such as Abū Manṣūr and Ibn al-ʿAnbar. (Information from CUDL)

Letter; written on Wednesday 19 Marḥeshvan. (Information from CUDL)

Hebrew letter with, on verso, the address partly in Judaeo-Arabic. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: Formulary for an elegant letter of condolence in Hebrew upon the death of a woman (described as a model wife, citing verses from Proverbs 31, "eshet ḥayil"). (Information in part from CUDL)

Verso: Note in Arabic script asking the addressee to assist the bearer, a certain ʿImrān. Mentions Masjid al-Qubba (the Dome of the Rock?) and a certain [...] b. Ṣadaqa. Needs further examination.

Letter fragment (part of the right side of recto). The main text mentions "sayyidnā." The margin says that certain people have accepted the opinion of the judge. Then "the script of the amīr" is mentioned. ASE.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions: "half of the jizya" and the desired arrival of [...] b. Natan;. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter, probably a draft, mentioning that Abū Zikrī died in the year of the epidemic (wabā'). (Information from CUDL.) ASE.

Letter to R. Musa informing him that his son, Abu Sa`id, read his Torah portion with an Arabic translation and his portion in the Prophets as well. (Information from Goitein's index cards) EMS

Recto: beginning of a letter with Judaeo-Arabic address on top and Hebrew blessings as introduction. Verso: Arabic jottings. (Information from CUDL)

Letter of business written in the 11th century, mentioning the rīf (‘the (Egyptian) province’). (Information from CUDL)