Geniza Lab

Fragment of a letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda in a time of distress, approximately 1030.

Letter from a certain ʿEli, unknown location, to the cantor Isḥāq, in Damietta. Addressed specifically to the shop of Abū l-Surūr al-Ṣayrafī. In Judaeo-Arabic with the address in Arabic script. Dating: ca. 1100 CE, based on Goitein's assessment of the handwriting and the people mentioned. The letter is interspersed with learned quotations of poetry, Bible, and Talmud. The sender apologizes for neglecting the addressee's letters. He reminds the addressee. to send him items he had left with him, including the little thawb (thuwayb), the scarf or turban (radda), and the kerchief (mandīl). He says that the judge Abū Isḥāq al-Rayyis has written several times to Abū l-Surūr and that Nissim b. Naḥum also came (from Damietta?). He particularly wants the collected poems of Yiṣḥaq Ibn Khalfūn (an Andalusi Hebrew poet of the late 10th–early 11th century), either his copy that is with the addressee, or a new copy that the addressee has made. It seems that someone else borrowed another copy, 'was ashamed to give it back,' and took it with him to Yemen. He also wants "my letter/epistle and the poems(?) of the Parnas who/which went to Tinnīs," or copies, since his brother Avraham wants to study it (the letter is torn in the key phrase in this sentence, and this translation is not certain). In a postscript on verso, he wants the addressee to get half a dinar from al-Mawṣilī and purchase bees' honey with it. (Information from Goitein’s index card and from Goitein, "Ibn Khalfun's Collection of Poems in 11th Century Egypt and Yemen," Tarbiz 29 no. 4 (1960), 357–58.)

Letter from Ya’aqov b. Yosef al-Tunisi, Fustat, to Salah b. Barhun al-Taharti, Ramla. The writer sends goods to Ramla, to the merchant’s officer Ahmad b. al-Harani. Mentions details about merchandise that arrive in Fustat. Both the Taharti brothers, Ismaʿil and Salah b. Barhun, are in Palestine. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #140) VMR

An appeal of a man from Alexandria to the Nagid in Fustat requesting the Nagid's help in arresting a man who a legal court determined that he owes the writer money. The twelfth century. (Information from Frenkel)

Calligraphic family letter, sent from Giza, containing many names and detailed instructions. Dated to the 13th century. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, 423, and from Goitein's index cards.) A very rough translation is as follows: "Your letter arrived with Ibn al-Jalajuli. Najm al-Din read it with me in Giza and wrote a response in his own hand. A letter with Abu l-Ḥasan arrived with the news that you are sick, and we were pained on your account, myself and the mother. As for Tawus and Mas'udah, they did not greet us (?). The old woman and Mas'udah fought, she said to her, "You claim that I owe you something, I don't owe anything to anybody!" We went to Abu l-Khayr, I and the Hakim, as soon as Abu l-Ḥasan arrived with the letter. We fought with him. We said, "Give the ghazal (?), we will do it outside." But he didn't do it. He prepared it and he will do it. As for what you sad, my brother, that I should rise and come, you know that I am busy with the speaking (?) of Najm al-Din until matters are stable (?) with him. On Wednesday, the day after the arrival of the letter, I went to Amin al-Din the son of the founder and bought five of indigo (nīl) from him. I gave him your letter and he read it and I kissed his hand and humbled myself and cried. He was pained and said, come back another time. He is good of heart and wishes for your delivery. He promised me. Every day I await for the response from him, and every day I go to him -- may God grant that salvation is at his hands, and the next letter after this one will tell of your salvation. My brother, I cannot travel until I have a letter with news of your delivery. There is no sense in traveling like this. I can't even buy or sell things until your matter is settled and the speaking (?) of Najm al-din. As for what you said about going to to al-Shams b. al-Muzawwiq - he did not leave me in Giza after he read your letter except that he was good (of health?). Maybe we don't need any of them. You know that he does not have any influence apart from money. Until now, nothing has been settled between me and him. If you need money, send word with someone you trust, and we will give it to him. My brother, there is fire in our hearts because of you. Mother and your sister and the Hakim all want to come to you. A blond apostate (poshea') arrived after Abu l-Ḥasan's letter and said that you had departed. Someone wanted to write a letter to someone; but he searched for you and did not find you. He calmed our hearts a great deal. He told us that your leg hurts you. Their fear was calmed, and they recovered from their state...." Further people mentioned include Hajj Muhammad, Najm al-Din, the old woman, the Hakim, Hikam (?), and al-Shaykh Hilal. ASE.

Letter from Natan ha-Kohen b. Mevorakh, in Ashqelon, to a communal leader, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer requests urgent help for his family that is in danger of imprisonment for a debt of 10 dinars. The father had run away to Egypt. Dating: ca. 1130 CE. Information from Gil.

Letter by Shemuel b. Yiṣḥaq ha-Sefaradi to [Shemarya] b. Elḥanan. In Hebrew. Dating: Early 11th century, probably. Letter of recommendation for a proselyte of noble descent whom he met in Damascus and later in Jerusalem and who was in danger because of the powerful Christian scribes. Edited with extensive commentary (and speculative identifications) by Golb, “A Study of a Proselyte to Judaism Who Fled to Egypt at the Beginning of the Eleventh Century," Sefunot 8 (1964).

Letter of greeting from Seʿadya b. Yiṣḥaq ha-Dayyan to Elazar Pe'er ha-Ḥakhamim. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Goitein's note card #3627 refers to a letter from the same sender; "Antonin 1152-3, I have a photocopy." Unclear if the 1152-3 refers to the shelfmark or to the date.

Letter from Elazar b. Shem[uel?], unknown location, to his 'brother' Abū l-Faraj ʿImrān b. Ḥasan, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Deals mainly with matters of correspondence—who received which letter when, someone who wrote a letter in Hebrew (characters?), whether the writer will write a letter to the Levant. The writer sends greetings (and a rebuke) to Abū l-Najm Hilāl and greetings to R. Yaʿīsh al-Kohen and his son and to all the parnasim (maybe the son is the parnas ʿEli b. Ḥayyim = ʿAllūn b. Yaʿīsh of the late 11th c?). Needs further examination

Informal notes in Judaeo-Arabic. Recto: Possibly from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu. The writer asks the addressee to write a note to R. Ḥananel regarding the writer's plan to come into Fustat today to see him as well as the writer's wife. He writes, "By the Covenant, I do not want to go to Gehennom, for most slaughterers are in Gehennom, as they (the rabbis) also said, 'The best of slaughterers go down to Gehennom.'" (This is a slight misquotation of BT Kiddushin 82a, exchanging the negative maxims about physicians and slaughterers). Goitein suggests that the writer is seeking a recommendation to be appointed as a slaughterer, although he hated the profession; Goitein may have succeeded in reading more of the text, but perhaps the writer is rather trying to avoid such an appointment. Verso: The response, instructing the addressee to wait a day before coming into Fustat, because the distinguished person (presumably R. Ḥananel) has agreed to meet with the writer today. So the addressee should await further instruction. Information in part from Goitein's note card. ASE.

Letter fragment from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu, in Jerusalem, to his father Judge Eliyyahu, in Fustat. Reporting on 'irregularities' of his brother Abu Zikri. See Goitein Nachlass material

Letter from Ibrāhīm b. Ṣadaqa the perfumer, in Ashqelon, to Abū Saʿīd Netan'el b. Ṣadaqa the perfumer, in Fustat. Dating: Ca. 1116 CE. Written in Hebrew, in a strange flowery script. The addressee is asked to hand over to Tiqva b. Aharon ha-Ashqeloni 5 [dinars?] of the money belonging to his wife Wuḥūsh which is deposited with the addressee. Same writer and addressee as T-S 13J13.3, which is dated Elul 1457 Seleucid (1116 CE). The content is also very similar, except that in T-S 13J13.3, the addressee is supposed to hand over 5 dinars to the writer's relative Abū l-Ḥasan Rajā. Information from Goitein's note card.

Letter of business to Judge Eliyyahu, mainly about small quantities of sugar candy-- see Goitein Nachlass material

Letter from Yosef b. Farah from Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1045. The writer wrote the letter in the Hebrew month of Iyar, before the sailing season is about to start and the merchants starting to negotiate the prices for shipments. Yosef wants to travel to Tripoli, Libya, but he needs to travel to Palermo before that. The writer adds a recommendation for Avon b. Ṣedaqa, from his town, Gabès (Qābis). (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #509) VMR

Letter from Akhlābū b. Aharon ha-Kohen, in Alexandria, to Yosef b. Eli Kohen Fasi, in Fustat. Around 1051. The writer charged 10 dinars and wrote their details. Wahb b. Sulaymān al-Mawṣilī returned to Upper Egypt, with sorrow, because of the riots (it is not clear what he means). The writer asks to know the prices of pepper and flax in the commercial center in Fustat (“Kaluz”). (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #703) VMR

Letter addressed to Avraham b. Natan Av Beit Din. In Hebrew. The first 28 lines of the introduction are preserved. Written in an elegant style. Sharp-edged ('Talmudic') script. Large empty space at the top of the page. Information from Goitein's note card.

Letter addressed to Aharon ha-Memunne b. Efrayim Ibn Ṭarsūn. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. The first five lines of the letter are in a different hand than the body; perhaps a professional prepared a form letter addressed to the notable Aharon, and the writer filled in the rest with his specific requeest. The writer comes from a distant country (but writes in Arabic). He asks the addressee to attend his sermon on Shabbat in the synagogue, and to treat him in his capacity of scholar differently from other wayfarers. See tag for similar invitations to sermons. Information from Goitein's index card.

Letter from David al-Qalʿī, perhaps in Minyat Zifta or nearby, to Yosef al-Faranji (it seems his uncle), perhaps in Fustat/Cairo. In Hebrew. Dating: mid-16th century, based on Avraham David's assessment and identification of the people named. The letter deals mainly with a request for the addressee to send wheat to the writer, and gives details about how the wheat market is faring in his location. Information in part from Avraham David's edition (FGP).

Letter from one of the Sughmār family to Nahray b. Nissim. Around 1080. The main part of the letter is a recommendation for a person named Isḥāq, the student of Isḥāq al-Ifranji. The writer also mentions business matters: dinars exchange and a request to pay the rent for two houses that he rented to Nahray in Alexandria. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #626) VMR

Letter in Arabic script. Possibly from a mother to a son. Handwriting and spelling are dreadful. There are many greetings as well as instructions about transactions involving Fakhr. Also, "Take your wife and come visit Dammūh." On verso, the addressee writes back in Judaeo-Arabic: "May whoever wrote such a letter never enjoy health! Next time you send me a letter, don't let anyone write it except someone who knows how to write and read, like Bū Ṭayyib or someone from the kuttāb of the teacher."