Geniza Lab

Recto: Lower part of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. The sender places an order worth 16 dirhams, including for 1/2 ounce of Iraqi copper sulfate (zinjār). There are also inquiries about prices. (Information in part from CUDL)

Verso: Upper part of a letter in Arabic script. Addressed to Abū Zikrī. Mentions Ibrāhīm al-Khandaqī(?). Needs examination. (Information in part from CUDL)

Bottom part of a letter addressed to "Sayyidnā." In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions [...] al-Maḥallī; Bū l-ʿIzz Yūsuf; [...] b. Mūsā; Yūsuf b. Ibrāhīm; and [...]b b. Khalaf. The addressee is asked to order them "to come up every week/Friday with two or whatever is possible." (Information from CUDL)

On verso small fragment from the bottom of a letter by Peraḥyā ha-Kohen. On recto a dirge, might also be from a letter of condolence.

Recto: letter, mentioning the Nasi Abū [...], Shemuʾel Ibn al-Dayyān and Abū Jacob Isaac. Verso: address in Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic; directed to Ibn al-Bustānī al-Makḥūl Hiba Ibn al-[...]. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Abū ʿAlī b. Bū Sahl (Menashshe) Ibn (al-)Qaṭāʾif to his brother Abū Saʿīd Ḥalfon b. Menashshe Ibn al-Qaṭāʾif. In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in both Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script. Fragment (upper left corner of recto). The sender has sent a package containing 3/4 (ounce?) Byzantine wormwood and 1 1/2 ounce scammony. Mentions various other business matters. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Might be a Maghribī mercantile letter of the 11th century. The sender congratulates the addressee on the occasion of the marriage of a young woman. Mentions Alexandria and various business matters. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Short letter from Nahray b. Nissim to Musa b. Abi al-Hayy. Around 1045. Seems that the letter is from the beginning of Nahray’s time In Egypt. He is in a place where flax for shipment are made. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #244) VMR

Beginning of a letter. (Information from CUDL)

Greetings at the end of a letter, quoting Deuteronomy 1:17. The writer sends regards to Abū l-Barakāt (probably Shelomo b. Eliyyahu) and Sitt Rayḥān (Shelomo's mother). (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter dealing with several business matters, mentioning Abū l-Karam, Sālim b. Nissim and Saruq b. Sanīnāt (or Sunaynāt); Arabic jottings. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (horizontal piece from the middle). Dating: Possibly 12th century based on hand, but that is a guess. The sender reports on some conflict probably involving public prayers. "...[they said] they would tell the judge and the teacher, but they didn't... the 9th of Av... pray, and I was shocked, because I had already reconciled with them—since for a long time I have prayed [...] and there was a great dispute between us, and we agreed that I would [...] but they I could not do the mufāsara(?)... the door until he prayed, and then..." On verso (labeled recto on CUDL), he writes at length about his sorrow at being parted from Rabbenu, and how Rabbenu said he would honor him with a letter, but he has received no letter from him since Purim. He asks for a letter from the addressee. He mentions his dead father (ואלדי נע). Regards to Abū Saʿd. The text in the margin mentions Rabbenu again and the judge Yosef. (Information in part from CUDL)

A damaged fragment from Yosef b. Yaʿaqov to Sar Shalom b. Hiyya. Contains mostly blessings.

Small fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions a Sabbath garment (thawb al-sabt).

Letter, possibly a query concerning the slaughtering of a chicken. Mentions "al-ṣāḥib," then "the slave (=I) said to him," then "I/you slaughtered all the chickens." (Information in part from CUDL)

Small fragment of a letter. (Information from CUDL)

Small fragment, possibly from a letter or draft. Mentions informing Sayyidnā about something and the sender's desire to serve him.

Probably part of a letter. (Information from CUDL)

Verso: Fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic letter. Legible phrases: "... with Sayyidnā... other than with a full heart... the entire congregation...according to... their gratitude for me, and I... promised me benefaction... the difficulty of this..." (Information in part from CUDL.)

Probably a commercial letter or legal document. In Hebrew. Small fragment, with only a few words preserved. Dating: Perhaps 15th–17th century. Mentions white pepper (פלפל לבן).