Geniza Lab

Very faded letter by Hillel ha-Haver b. Avraham?

A letter of reproach. The writer refers to 'your courts' and speaking about the right moral behavior a man should embrace when appealing to court.

Letter, probably. In Judaeo-Arabic. Small fragment only. (Information from CUDL)

Letter addressed to Levi b. Avraham ha-Levi, the cantor of the Palestinian synagogue. This is a well known figure mentioned in documents from ca. 1180–91; see tag for more documents. He died in 1211 CE. Nothing is preserved of the present letter except for the address. AA. ASE.

Small fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew. Mentioning Abū l-Ṣaghīr (or maybe akhū al-ṣaghīr, "the brother of the boy") and Yehuda. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter mentioning the addressee’s son, a judge, 50 dinars and a certain Abū l-Ḥasan in connection to the taking out of the Torah scroll. (Information from CUDL)

Letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. Small fragment from the end. Regards to the writer’s son Abraham and to someone named [Av]raham Sefaradī. (Information from CUDL)

Letter of business written in the 11th century by Yeshuʿa b. Ismaʿīl, sent to Alexandria to [...] b. Abī l-Ḥayy. (Information from CUDL)

Short commercial letter, mentioning a letter from the addressee having arrived with Abū l-Khayr and the consignment of 30 raṭl of good מרמל. (Information from CUDL.) In the hand of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi. ASE.

Small and damaged fragment from the right part of either a letter or a literary text. Mentioning the oneness of God, and with Hebrew citations. (AA and CUDL.)

Letter in which the writer says that he has heard that the addressee became a cantor. (Information from CUDL) Description from PGPID 17557: Letter. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: Fragment of an official Arabic-script document. Includes a blessing: (...wa-stafliḥ...). Verso: Small fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Concerning business matters, mentioning dinars. (Information from CUDL)

Letter of Abū l-Maḥāsin b. ʿAlī the trader, introduced by citations from Proverbs 3:4, Psalms 37:11 and 119:165. Mentions consingments of medical commodities such as betel palm (fawfal), amomum (qāqulla) and quince (safarjal), a doctor’s visit and names such as Naḥūm the perfumer and Abū Manṣūr Ibn al-Ṣāʾiḡ (goldsmith), cousin of the writer. (Information from CUDL.) The writer excuses the poor appearance of his letter ('my mind is not present') on account of his great preoccupation for his two friends who are sick, Naḥum al-ʿAṭṭār and his cousin (b. ʿammatī) Abū Manṣūr the son of the tax farmer of ברמא. The writer leaves the shop and visits each of them 5 or 6 times a day, because they are 'cut off' from anyone who can go to the physician for them. ASE.

Fragment from a private letter. The writer express his longing for the addressee. AA

Informal note written and signed by Shelomo b. Eliyyahu addressed to 'al-Kohen.' The addressee must not hand over the garment that 'the Jew' bought from him and pawned, because it has gone out of his possession and belongs to somebody else who will pay the debt and redeem the thawb.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions a basket or container (qafaṣ), 550 dirhams, and balances (mawāzīn). (Information in part from CUDL.)

Letter from Yosef b. Avraham to Avraham b. Yiju reconstructed from four fragments (the last discovered after the publication of the English edition). The letter was written about a year before IB III, 1, 1136–39. Yosef had a partnership with a young man named Abu al-Faraj b. Musa/Moshe al-Baghdadi. As the investor, Yosef was supposed to receive two thirds of the profit. However, the young man tried to escape from India to Ceylon and from there to another location. Despite this, Yosef is careful not to expose the young man and is willing to provide him with funds to return to Aden, in order to preserve the young man's reputation. The letter also contains various details and instructions regarding Ibn Yiju's and Yosef's commercial dealings. (III, 4 = T-S 10J12.5 III, 5 = T-S NS J181 III, 6 = T-S AS 146.12 III, 6a = T-S AS 149.184)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, probably sent by Abū l-Surūr. Damaged and quite wrinkled. Dating: Looks like 12th or 13th century, based on hand and layout. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer conveys longing for the addressee and reports that his wife and Ismāʿīl and Bū Surūr and Mufaḍḍal are all well. Regards from his father and brother and 'the students' (al-talāmidha). Regards to a certain ḥakīm (this seems more likely than ḥarīm/harem) and to Abū l-Faḍl and his wife. (Information in part from CUDL.) ASE.