Geniza Lab

Communal letter in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: First half of the 11th century. Mentions Ṣadaqa b. ʿAllūn. Edited by Elinoar Bareket. Awaiting fuller description.

Letter in Arabic script from [...] al-Ḥazzān, in Damascus, to Abū l-Faraj Yashūʿ (?) b. Barhūn al-Ḥibr (= the ḥaver). Dated: Tuesday, 10 Shaʿbān (year not given). Mentions "the brother, my master, Raʾs al-Kull" (line 5) and contains a few words in Hebrew including "his enemies" (line 10). Much of the letter seems to be devoted to mediating a conflict between the Raʾs al-Kull and the addressee. Needs further examination. The paper was later reused for a halakhic text in Hebrew and Aramaic. Information in part from Goitein's note card. ASE.

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda, probably to Sahlan b. Avraham in Fustat, written in his own hand. (Gil)

Letter from Faraḥ b. Yosef, in Alexandria, to Nissim b. ʿAṭiyya, in al-Mahdiyya. The writer gives details about shipments of goods to al-Mahdiyya and asks the recipient to help sell them. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, p. 744)

Letter by Menashshe b. Moshe to Rabbi Eli b. Mevorakh, probably sent from Sicily to Egypt. The writer orders some clothing and mentions Abu al-Bishr and the Nagid, probably referring to the Sicilian Nagid Zakkar b. 'Ammar. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Faraḥ b. Yַūsuf b. Faraḥ al-Qābisī in Alexandria to Abū Zikrī Yehuda b. Menashshe in Fustat. Gil dates the letter to May 1069. Parts are very faded. The letter contains details about goods Faraḥ b. Yַūsuf had sent to Yehuda b. Menashshe, as well as two references (verso, lines 5 and 7) to Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ṣāʾigh, known as Ibn al-Baʿbāʿ, a powerful shipowner who was the last Muslim ruler of Palermo, 1069–72. The letter mentions that Ibn al-Baʿbāʿ had appointed as nagid of the Jews of Palermo Zakkār b. ʿAmmār, brother of Ḥayyim, the wakīl of the Sicilian merchants in Egypt. Goitein (Med Soc., 2:25, 525, n. 11, and the edition below) reads lbn al-Naʿnāʿ, and the hand in this document is indeed ambiguous; Gil initially followed this reading (Italia Judaica, I, 96), but later corrected it, and it's correct in his edition.

A pregnant woman, seemingly well-to-do, complains to her sister in the city about neglect and expresses apprehension that part of her house will be taken by the military, the Ghuzz or Turkomans, in billeting (nazl). The ṣāḥib al-dīwān lives now in the neighborhing house and walks over the roofs and knows what is going on—particularly that there is plenty of space for soldiers in the house. The sister, who possibly had a part in the house, should come. Information from Goitein's note card and Med Soc, IV, p. 24. The letter was dictated to Ibrāhīm (the writer's father?) and addressed to Abū l-Ḥasan b. Ibrāhīm al-Ṣā'igh in the market of the goldsmiths in Fusṭāṭ. The first part of the letter is a rebuke for the addressee's silence. "We could all die, and still you would not ask after us. We hear news of you only from hearsay. If it were not for my pregnancy, I would have traveled [to Fusṭāṭ] to ask after you, because I am tired of sending letters without receiving responses. You now write to tell me, 'Come to us,' because my maternal aunt has died. You did not even write to tell me that you were sick [as well]. Even if I were your enemy, that much at least you would owe me. My cousin died, and you did not even write to console me or your paternal uncle. . . What is the solution to (or reason for?) this enmity? Please come and visit, for the house is derelict and empty. We fear the billeting—for the ṣāḥib al-dīwān lives next door in the house of Yūsuf and walks over the roofs—and that the Ghuzz will take it, and we will not be able to say anything. Even Ibn al-Sarūjī sold his house because of the Ghuzz." On verso: "By God, my sister, console the daughter of my maternal aunt on my behalf. I was sick and was unable to write to her to console her about her mother. As soon as you see this letter, send its response and whatever you see fit with whomever will deliver it. I will pay for it. All of my children have fallen sick, and the female slave is also sick, may God make the end good. By God, I do not need to urge you to send the response quickly, for my eyes are on the road and on every person who arrives. When I hear you are healthy, I will rejoice. I have taken a vow not to break my fast during the day until your letter arrives. I have perished from fasting. Perhaps you will come in place of your letter, and look into what you will do with your [share in the house?]. For Ibn Hilāl is not waiting for Ibn al-Qāḍī to arrive. He has already sent and made me take a vow regarding you. . . ." She concludes with sending regards to Abū l-Ḥasan and his siblings and his son, and to Ibrāhīm. ASE.

A strongly worded letter by the head of a yeshiva to Yakhin ha-Levi b. Mevorakh demanding assistance for its cantor. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, 569, and from Goitein's index cards)

Letter in Hebrew to Hillel ha-Ḥazzan, the diadem of the cantors. Fragment. It seems that only formulaic content remains.

Letter from Suhayl, in an unknown location, to his wife Umm Wuhayb and to his son, in Fustat. He asks in the most urgent terms that they return to him. He is seriously ill (marīḍ ʿalā khuṭṭa) and may die at any moment. If they do not return, they will regret it when regret will not do them any good. He alternates between addressing his son, who is probably meant to read the letter to his mother, and his wife. Information in part from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 339. ASE.

Segment of a letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to Avraham b. Mevaser.

Letter to the Gaon Daniel, as identified by the titles “our Nasi, our Gaon,” in which the correspondents state they are well, “though troubles passed over us during the years of famine, from all of them our God rescued us.” The correspondents also assure Daniel of their loyalty to him, “rejoicing in thy kingdom (a reference to his descent from King David) and taking pride in they epistle.” Eleventh century. The verso contains a copy of a letter mentioning the Babylonian and Palestinian synagogues, Shemuel of Tahort, Efrayim ha-Ḥaver, and Abū Katib b. Abraham. (Jacob Mann, The Jews in Egypt and Palestine under the Fatimids, (1920-22; reprint 1970), Vol. 1, 81-2, Vol. 2, 217-18) EMS

Business letter in Arabic script, fragmentary, mentioning Abū Saʿīd Ibn ʿAwkal. The first part of the letter is missing. The writer is in Fustat and writes about debt collection. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #115) VMR

Letter In Hebrew, with many errors and phonetic spellings. The writer calls the addressee 'the Sar.' Dating: Late, perhaps 16th century. The letter concerns the salt industry in the area of al-Manzala and al-ʿAṣāfira (next to Baḥr al-Mallāḥa, between Damietta and Port Said) and also mentions Qaṭya, the caravan waystation in the Sinai desert about 60km east of Port Said. The writer reports on a dispute with his partner Elishaʿ, who had sent neither money nor salt. Somehow involved are the apostate (meshummad) Yaḥyā and the qāḍī ʿAbd al-Bāqī and the faqīh ʿAbd al-Majīd.

Letter from a father to a son. On vellum. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Likely 11th century. This fragment opens with updates on the health of various people, including the addressee's mother. They heard news that the son is planning to travel to Jerusalem. The father gives various exhortations (yā bunayy...) including, 'don't gloat over your enemies' misfortunes.' Abūn sends his regards.

Collection of letters relating to the calendar controversy of 921–22. This is part of what Sacha Stern (2020) calls the Letters Miscellany: Letter 4 of 4. Bornstein (1904) called this letter ‘Ben Meir’s Second Letter’. This letter was likely written by the highest authority in Palestine, ben Meir, the Head of the Yeshiva, and likely addressed to the Iraqi/Babylonian leadership. The identity of the author emerges most clearly in his reference to his disciples’ announcement, on the Mount of Olives, of the dates of 921/2 CE (fol.7v:12), as well as from parallels with Ben Meir’s First Letter. Dating: the letter was written after Passover 922 CE, but before the New Year of that year. This date is based on the fact that the author refers to the celebration of Passover 922 as a past event (fol.7r:2) and warns his addressee not to repeat the error of Passover, but also warns his addressee to observe the New Year on the correct date (fol.8r:9-10). In the folios that survive, the author responds point by point to a letter that had been sent to him by his addressee. At this advanced stage in the dispute, the tone of the correspondence had deteriorated considerably. In several places in this letter, the author suggests somewhat perversely that the Iraqis have gone over to the Ananites, who should have been (and were once) their common enemy (fol.7r:17-18, 8v:7); and he comes close to suggesting a permanent schism between Palestinians and Iraqis (fol.8r:2-3, 8v:8; Stern notes that the meaning of these passages, however, needs a more nuanced evaluation). As in Ben Meir’s First Letter, the author still lays most of the blame on Saadya (fol.7r:6-8, 8r:14-16, 8v:17-18), as if to give the Iraqis a way out of their entrenched position. (Information from Sacha Stern, The Jewish Calendar Controversy)

Collection of letters relating to the calendar controversy of 921–22. This is part of what Sacha Stern (2020) calls the Letters Miscellany: Letter 4 of 4. Bornstein (1904) called this letter ‘Ben Meir’s Second Letter’. This letter was likely written by the highest authority in Palestine, ben Meir, the Head of the Yeshiva, and likely addressed to the Iraqi/Babylonian leadership. The identity of the author emerges most clearly in his reference to his disciples’ announcement, on the Mount of Olives, of the dates of 921/2 CE (fol.7v:12), as well as from parallels with Ben Meir’s First Letter. Dating: the letter was written after Passover 922 CE, but before the New Year of that year. This date is based on the fact that the author refers to the celebration of Passover 922 as a past event (fol.7r:2) and warns his addressee not to repeat the error of Passover, but also warns his addressee to observe the New Year on the correct date (fol.8r:9-10). In the folios that survive, the author responds point by point to a letter that had been sent to him by his addressee. At this advanced stage in the dispute, the tone of the correspondence had deteriorated considerably. In several places in this letter, the author suggests somewhat perversely that the Iraqis have gone over to the Ananites, who should have been (and were once) their common enemy (fol.7r:17-18, 8v:7); and he comes close to suggesting a permanent schism between Palestinians and Iraqis (fol.8r:2-3, 8v:8; Stern notes that the meaning of these passages, however, needs a more nuanced evaluation). As in ben Meir’s First Letter, the author still lays most of the blame on Saadya (fol.7r:6-8, 8r:14-16, 8v:17-18), as if to give the Iraqis a way out of their entrenched position. (Information from Sacha Stern, The Jewish Calendar Controversy)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Quite damaged. Some excerpts: "By the Law! ... From the day that he traveled until now... he married a woman in ʿAkkā... when the time of his death approached, he made a will in both the Muslim and Jewish (courts) that 'I owe my wife 1000-some dinars.'" The writer apologizes for the state of his letter by saying that he wrote it at night.

Letter to the Judge Eliyyahu from a woman, probably his mother or his former mother-in-law. Containing many details about a house in Alexandria. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Zakkay b. ʿAzaryahu the Nasi to the community of Damascus. Only the introduction is preserved. This may be a draft that was abandoned. On verso there is a guide to Arabic prosody, in Judaeo-Arabic.