Geniza Lab

Letter from Natan b. Avraham to Perahya b. Muʾammal, spring 1039.

Letter addressed to R. Ḥananel, who receives about 10 lines of titles. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Likely early 13th century. Only three lines are preserved of the body of the letter. The writer alludes to a woman (or to the ḥaḍra=addressee?) who was staying with him in S[...]. The rest is missing.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Unknown writer, unknown addressee. Dating: Likely early 13th century. The writer asks for the copy of Seder Neziqim that has the gemara with the perush of Rav Shelomo (=Rashi?). The writer asked R. Yeḥiel (b. Elyaqim?) to 'read to him' (or teach him? yuqrīhu). "All that is delaying me is the copies." As for the rhubarb, the writer sold some pieces of it for 10 dirhams. He awaits further instructions.

Recto: Letter from Abū l-Faraj to Shemuel. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Wide space between the lines. The scribe uses ש instead of ס for س. The writer makes excuses for something ('it wasn't my choice') and apologizes and then discusses a financial matter involving 66 dirhams. Verso: Informal note addressed to Abū l-Faraj, presumably the response from Shemuel. Written in a hasty scrawl (a stark contrast from recto). He gives instructions about how much money to send.

Short letter from David b. Daniel.

Letter of appeal for charity addressed to ʿEli ha-Zaqen the Parnas. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. There are interesting opening blessings, including the phrase "zohar ḥashmalim." There are also interesting phonetic spellings, with vowels, throughout. The body of the request is punctuated by erudite rabbinic and biblical references. These are prefaced by an apology for bothering ʿEli when he has so many strangers to take care of (wa-ʿalā annī aʿlam anna ʿalayh ʿā'ila kabīra min al-ghurabā')—it seems that عائلة is being used here in its broader sense of "dependents" rather than a literal family. ASE

Letter from Natan b. Nahray from Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat.

Note of a person confined to his house owing to illness this evening, requesting a friend to lend him the Book of Creation by Saadya. Information from Goitein's index card.

Letter from Avraham b. Farah, Alexandria to Yeshuaʿ b. Ismāʿīl, Fustat. The letter deals with the shipping of goods and money transfers. The writer describes the movement of ships between Alexandria and Sicily and mentions that he intends to sue a few silk workers as well as the son of the qadi for debts they owe. Mentions that Abū ʿAbdallah (Ibn al-Baʿbāʿ) has come to Mazāra overland (presumably from Palermo). Dated 11 October 1056.

Calligraphic letter by a community leader who found out that the son of a scholar had married four couples, writing their marriage contracts and performing the weddings. The writer asks the chief judge to send him a letter explaining whether or not the action of the scholar's son was permissible. The letter contains no address and was probably never sent. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 74, 538)

Letter from Abū l-Riḍā, it seems in Fustat, to his wife's brother Me'ir, perhaps in Damīra or at least nearby in the Rīf. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated 21 Heshvan קנא, which would normally be 1551 Seleucid = 1239 CE. But there are enough unusual features (format, language) of the letter that it could plausibly be 5151 AM = 1390 CE. In any event, the writer's father recently died. He thanks the addressee for his letter of condolence, though in a backhanded sort of way ("I knew that you would not have honored me with a letter if this calamity had not occurred to me"). He is preoccupied with the failure of everyone in his in-laws' family to write to him or to ask about him in letters to his wife. At the end, he brings up various business matters to be conducted by al-Shaykh al-Sadīd together with the writer's maternal uncle Abū l-Munā. These involve textiles (a wasaṭ, yarn, and silk) and roasted flaxseed oil (zayt bizr kattān muqlā) from Damīra. ASE

Record of a deposition in court, written in the hand of the scribe Hillel b. Eli, ca. 1095. The record states that Perahya b. Ya'aqov appeared in court and dedicated his compound to the two synagogues, of the Palestinians and the Babylonians. The rent of the compound is to be spent on oil for the two synagogues, in equal parts. Since there were too many errors in this document, the scribe probably decided to write it again, and that is perhaps the reason why the document is unsigned. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 217 #34)

Letter from [...] b. Yefet to Natan b. Shelomo ha-Kohen. In Judaeo-Arabic. Concerning various business matters and mentioning Damietta. The writer's name appears to be covered up with a piece of paper.

Letter in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. The names of the sender and the addressee and the date are all covered up by a sheet of paper, along with some additional text on verso, so the physical manuscript will need to be checked. There is a [...] ha-Levi ha-Ḥaver and a [...] b. Ḥalfon ha-Levi in the address. The sender apologizes for something and excuses himself by saying he was worried the boat was going to depart. He mentions "... and his son 'The Fourth' Shelomo ha-Kohen the son of our master... Gaon..." (the adjacent text is covered by the sheet of paper). He sends a message to Abū Saʿd al-ʿAkkawī al-ʿAṭṭār who lives in Cairo, namely that he has sent a certain judge two copies of something, one with Abū l-Mufaḍḍal the in-law of Ibn Ḥajar.

Letter from Natan b. Nahray from Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat.

Draft of a letter from Avraham b. Natan, in Fustat, to Yeshuʿa b. Ismaʿīl, in Alexandria. Dating: ca. 1050 CE. Yeshuʿa is in Alexandria probably to welcome a relative. He ordered mats through Avraham, and Avraham sends him a folded string in the letter, to show the mats’ length. A mats maker is willing to send him a mat as an example. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #699) VMR

Letter of appeal for charity from Abū Dāniyāl to Maṣliaḥ Gaon. The house where the writer lives with all his family is collapsing around them. There are several interesting spellings in this letter, e.g., אלצצֿירה for الصغيرة.

Letter from Seʿadya b. Avraham to his 'brother' Ṣedaqa b. Ṣemaḥ. In Judaeo-Arabic. Seʿadya has been worried about Ṣemaḥ's travel, because he is inexperienced in travel, did not go with a companion, and did not send a letter informing Seʿadya of his safe arrival. Seʿadya has sent various commodities to him with Sason. He also gave Sason 8 dirhams for the expenses or setbacks of travel ("in Zājī(?)"). He gave a dirham to the brother of the blind man who said that Ṣedaqa had promised it. He urges Ṣedaqa not to neglect doing business in Jerusalem with the proceeds from the sale of the sūsiyyāt and/or to send the money. Ṣeʿadya was going to send something (לחמה?) until he heard that there was no craftsman in Ṣedaqa's location who could process it. Greetings to Abū ʿImrān Mūsā and to 'the mother' and to Shibl. He asks for a piece of rhubarb. (Information in part from Goitein’s index card)

Letter from Yosef b. Maḥfūẓ to the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya, complaining about Abu Sa'id. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Shelomo b. Natanel Ha-Shulhani (money-changer), Fustat, to Sadoq Ha-Levi b. Levi, president of court, approximately 1030.