Geniza Lab

Business letter from Mukhtār b. Jacob sent to Abū l-Afrāḥ ʿArūs b. Joseph. Mentions previous correspondence and different business matters, and names such as Abū Naṣr Ibn al-Sharābī, Abū l-Ḥasan and Abū As[...]. He inquires about the prices of pepper and lacquer and asks for a quick reply. On verso below is a price list. (Information from CUDL)

Part of a business letter; the currency dirham is mentioned. (Information from CUDL)

Verso: Informal but deferential note from Ḥananel b. Shemuel (cf. ENA 2808.53), informing the addressee that he has sent something for (? bi-rasm) the qiddush. On recto there may be a fragment of an earlier letter, along with a student's notes on Talmudic discussions. (Information from CUDL)

Large but extremely faded letter that refers to "our master Hayya Gaon" (recto, line 2). Hayya's name is not followed by ז״ל, so perhaps this was written in his lifetime (he died in 1038 CE). Probably this document will be mostly illegible without special imaging. Needs examination.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 11th or 12th century. Legible phrases include: "...the boy was not yet mature, and also this Ṭāhir... traveled to some of the lands, and the letters and the letter of the [...] were deposited... al-Madhdiyya... the letters [...] the mastūr... and he went to the authorities (al-sulṭān) and com[plained]... the land, and the leader (qāʾid) [...] ..."

Recto: Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew numerals; written over an older document, possibly with Coptic numerals. Dating: Late. Verso: (draft of a?) letter. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (lower right corner). Mentioning Abū ʿAlī coming to the sender's location and an ʿarḍī garment and something that sold. Regards to the sender's brother Abū Zikrī and 'the congregation and the brothers.' (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (right side of recto). Mentions "the people of Fustat/Egypt... the day I departed... my livelihood...." On verso, the continuation of the letter and a few words and jottings in Arabic script (probably remnants from an earlier document). (Information from CUDL)

Fragment of a letter from Toviyya (Tobias) b. Moshe, ca. 1050. In poetical Hebrew. Dating: ca. 1050 CE. Verso: Receipt or accounts. (Information from CUDL.) Note that DK 166 is the incorrect shelfmark; the current shelfmark may be DK M61, but the M series fragments are missing.

Recto: Letter fragment in Hebrew. Verso: Smaller letter fragment, at 90 degrees, with biblical quotations in Hebrew, and then the body (what little is preserved) in Judaeo-Arabic. Previous description: rabbinic text with citations from Talmud and Bible (e.g. Deuteronomy 4:39) (CUDL).

Probably a letter. Very damaged. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. From family members to a traveling merchant. Dated: Tishrei [4]89[.], which is the 1130s CE. Maybe 4898, which would be 1137 CE. The letter is full of expressions of longing and preoccupation. The first line preserved refers to "...that we see you before departing the world, until her soul left her, may God have mercy on her" (so evidently a female family member has died). The sender's children ask after the addressee and his news. They want to know every detail: is he staying in the house? where is he sleeping and waking up? Everyone will weep and pray for him. They report that the cardamom has arrived (l. 8). They have given the addressee's letter to the judge Rabbenu Moshe. The sender prays that God will deliver the addressee "from that country" (min tilka al-diyār, three lines from the bottom). ASE

Note or end of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Sending regards to somebody and telling the addressee not to forget to write. (Information in part from CUDL)

Fragment of trader’s letter, mentioning quantities. On verso, text in Hebrew. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: Letter, mentioning Yehosef the Nagid of the Diaspora, and Spain. This is probably Yehosef b. Shemuel ha-Nagid (date: 11th century). Cf. ENA 3765.8–9 and T-S 6J3.25 for other letters addressed to him. The letter starts in Hebrew, but the marginal text is in Judaeo-Arabic. Verso: accounts, with sums in dirhams. (Information in part from CUDL.) ASE

Part of a letter; ‘our friends the traders’ are mentioned. (Information from CUDL)

Fragment from a letter. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: accounts with sums in dinars, mentioning the colours white, black and blue. Verso: note stating that when Abū l-Fakr reads it he should come quickly and talk to Karīm about a guarantee for two garments with further payment instructions. (Information from CUDL)

Small strip consisting of three separate sheets, at least one of them a letter, stuck or glued together. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: fragment from a Judaeo-Arabic letter, mentioning previous shipments and lamps. Verso: beginning of an Arabic letter to Abū l-Ṭāhir. (Information from CUDL)