Geniza Lab

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Very faded. Perhaps a letter of gratitude; the sender is very deferential. On verso there is Hebrew poetry (with several lines crossed out and interlinear corrections).

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. This portion preserves only a long, elaborate introduction and a few words of the body. On verso there is Hebrew literary text.

Arabic letter on verso - needs examination.

Arabic letter on verso - needs examination.

Original use, probably: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 11th or early 12th century. Fragment (vertical strip from the right side of recto). The sender may be Hillel. The address is partially written on verso and partially at the bottom of recto ("to Fustat, God willing") and the name Abū Yūsuf appears at the bottom of recto. The letter mentions Abū Yaʿqūb, who seems to be sick; Abū Isḥāq; instructions to sell something; and something which sayyidī/sīdī al-kohen says. Not much more is preserved.

Business letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. Damaged & faded. Dating: Probably 11th century. The sender is writing from Damsīs. Mentions trade in indigo and business in the Rīf. Also contains the intriguing phrase, "I wish someone would come and knock on the door and [...]." Needs further examination.

Strip from an Arabic letter - needs examination

Formula of a poetical opening of a letter

Letter in Arabic script. The basmala and first two lines are preserved, along with a few words in Arabic script on verso. Reused for Hebrew literary text.

Document in Arabic script, likely a letter. Reused by the same Hebrew scribe who reused T-S NS 111.63. Needs examination.

Model letter commending a worthy scholar to a benefactors notice (all names are given as פל[וני]). (Info from FGP)

Letter. In Hebrew. Appeal for help, possibly from Eliyyahu ha-Kohen, the Palestinian Gaon, to the community of Alexandria. It includes a description of a dire situation (לא ישתייר בירושלים מן הרבנים איש חס ושלום בשנה הבאה) and appeals specifically to החסיד בדורו ז"ל(?) ורבנ(ו) מבורך חכם הישיבה... בני כג"ק מרנו ורבנו (?) סעדיה כג"ק מרנו ורבנו יהודה נגיד עם יו"י וכג"ק מרנו. (Information from Brody catalog)

Letter fragment addressed to a Kohen. In Hebrew. Information from Brody catalog.

Letter from Yaʿaqov Daminshi (דמינשי) to his brother-in-law Shemuel. In Hebrew. Dating: Late. Mentions a matter of money and "סידיקי ההרגז" (is this a person?) and something that was put in a vessel and stored in the house of Aharon. Asking for urgent advice on a somewhat cryptic matter. Needs further examination. Reused for a halakhic text.

Letter from Bū l-Khayr(?) addressed to his father Samʿān al-Iskandarānī, in Fustat, in Qaṣr al-Shamʿ. In Arabic script. Dating: 13th (or perhaps 14th) century, based on the handwriting, spellings, and formulae (of the letter itself and of the marginal jottings). "As for the news about Ibn al-Qabīḥ ("Son of Ugly") the tax collector (al-ḥāshir), may God deliver you from him...." May go on to mention gold hidden in the wall, but needs further examination. Reused for creative pen trials in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic and letter writing practice (one of these, in the margin of recto, is written by "Yosef").

Commercial letter, discussing quantities and prices of various commodities. Very hard to read

Arabic letter - needs examination.

End of a letter written by Halfon b. Menashshe Halevi (Date: 1100-1138)

Small fragment from a letter written by Yefet b. Menashshe Halevi.

Small fragment from an Arabic document - needs examination.