Geniza Lab

Letter addressed to al-Rayyis Abū l-Najm and/or Hillel ha-Sar and/or Yehuda ha-Sar. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer reports that he met with the addressee's cousin (ibn ʿamm ) al-Rayyis Abū Manṣūr and complained about his difficult circumstnaces. The whole letter has the feel of a letter of appeal for charity, but it seems somewhat more complicated than the writer asking for money. (Information in part from Amir Ashur and from Goitein, Med Soc II, pp. 228–29)

Calligraphic letter from (the cantor) Thabit b. al-Munajjim to Maṣliaḥ Gaon begging for charity from Maṣliaḥ Gaon, complaining about poverty and his dependents. Information from Goitein's note card.

Letter from David b. 'Ammar and Musa b. al-Hayy from Alexandria to Yeshua b. Ismail al-Makhmuri in Fustat. The letter describes a situation of insecurity in al-Mahdiyya and mentions matters related to currency and to silk and pepper. Dated ca. 1065. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, p. 541)

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda (the famous one?). In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions Shavuʿot and previous letters sent from Alexandria. Mentions several people: Efrayim al-Ḥaver; a Rayyis; Yosef; Avraham al-Ḥaver; ʿEli ha-Kohen. Little else of the substance remains.

Letter from Fustat to al-Mahalla with an urgent order to buy a turban in Damira and various other business related matters. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Yehuda Pinto and Moshe Ḥaddād to Karo y Frances & Company. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 22 Av 5568 AM, which is 1808 CE. Needs examination for content.

Letter from [Shelomo] Cesana & Company to Karo y Frances & Company. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 22 Av 5568 AM, which is 15 August 1808 CE. Needs examination for content.

Letter from Shelomo Cesana & Company to Karo y Frances & Company, in Fustat/Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 4 Tishrei 5569 AM, which is 25 September 1808 CE. There is also a postscript in Ladino signed by Avram al-[...], clearly relating to the main content because Karo y Frances are mentioned in this part as well. Needs examination for content.

Letter from Shelomo Cesana & Company to Karo y Frances & Company, in Fustat/Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 9 Tishrei 5569 AM, which is 30 September 1808 CE. Needs examination for content.

Letter from Shelomo Cesana & Company to Karo y Frances & Company, in Fustat/Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 1 Kislev 5569 AM, which is 20 November 1808 CE. Needs examination for content.

Letter from Shelomo Cesana & Company to Karo y Frances & Company, in Fustat/Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 3 Kislev 5569 AM, which is 22 November 1808 CE. Needs examination for content.

Address of a letter from Shelomo Cesana & Company to Karo y Frances & Company, in Fustat/Cairo. This fragment is only an address, probably belonging to one of the letters in a nearby shelfmark.

Letter from Shelomo Cesana & Company to Karo y Frances & Company, in Fustat/Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 5 Kislev 5569 AM, which is 24 November 1808 CE. On verso there are some sums. Needs examination for content.

Drafts of the opening of a letter, quoting Esther 6:11. Maybe to the writer's father. Dating: Late, probably 18th or 19th century.

Letter fragment from Shelomo Cesana & Company probably addressed to Karo y Frances & Company, in Fustat/Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Ca. 1800 CE. This portion lists out accounts. Probably belonging together with one of the nearby shelfmarks.

Address of a letter probably from Shelomo Cesana & Company to Karo y Frances & Company, in Fustat/Cairo. Dating: ca. 1800. This fragment is only an address, probably belonging to one of the letters in a nearby shelfmark.

Letter of appeal from an elderly, blind woman, mother of several sons and grandsons, to the Gaon Maṣliaḥ. Dating: 1127–38, based on the tenure of Maṣliaḥ Gaon. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Written by a scribe on her behalf (Goitein: "A refreshing mixture of the accomplished style of a court clerk and the woman's ipsissima verba"). Subject: She complains about being neglected by her firstborn son Abraham after the death of her daughter, and begs for charity. "After eight lines of biblical quotations and an introduction in Hebrew, the letter continues: 'I wish to inform your high excellency that I am a blind woman. For a long time, I have been sitting in a corner with no access to this world, but as long as my daughter lived, she was always around me and cared for me. Now she has died, and her brothers and their sons have taken what she possessed. My son, Abraham, the firstborn, took the estate, and has not provided me with anything since she died, not even a loaf of bread. I have now entrusted my spirit to God, the exalted, and to you. Shout at him and tell him that he should give me what is indispensable. May the Holy One never let fail your strength and may he guard you from the blows of Fate, such as blindness and indigence, and shield you under the shelter of his wings'" (Goitein, Mediterranean Society, V, p. 124).

Complaint addressed to a Gaon by a son-in-law of a man who left one quarter of a house to an infant daughter and another quarter to his son. The writer probably claimed (that part of the document is torn off) that the man had also promised something to his married daughter, his wife. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 281, 489)

Bitter letter by a public officer complaining about his lot. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 88, 89)

Letter from Yiṣḥaq Ibn Barukh, in Almeria, to Ḥalfon b. Netanel ha-Levi. Dated: Sunday, 29 Tammuz 4898 AM = 10 July 1138 CE. Concerning their joint business endeavors which are related to Yehuda ha-Levi as well. Ḥalfon had asked the writer to transfer 150 dinars to Yehuda ha-Levi, probably indicating that Yehuda ha-Levi invested in Ḥalfon's business. The sender will transfer the whole amount, when he receives it, to Yehuda b. Ghiyāth in Granada, who will transfer it to Yehuda ha-Levi. (Information from Goitein, 'Rabbi Yehuda ha-Levi in Spain in the light of the Geniza papers', Tarbiz, 24 (1955), pp. 136-137). VMR. See also India Book 4 (Hebrew description below).