Geniza Lab

Judaeo-Arabic personal letter (recto); Arabic list on verso- needs examination

See PGP 8817

On recto an opening of a letter to Daniel b. 'Azaryah the exilarch. Ob verso Arabic letter- needs examination.

Letter from Malkiel Ashkenazi to his brother Moses in Egypt. Family letter from Malkiel Ashkenazai fro Hebron (mid. 16th century) to his brother Moshe in Egypt, asking him to send regards to their sister and kids and to R. Mordechai Meyuhas (Info from FGP by Abraham David)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Some unconventional spellings. Sent to Zayn b. Yosef according to the address, but actually addressing a woman, 'my sister.' This is an unusual and interesting letter: the sender seems to be under house arrest and is writing in order to urge his (high-placed?) sister to do her utmost to have him freed. "We are in a condition that cannot [be described].... night and day, and we cry... someone does not die before him of hunger(?)... night and day, and they do not let anyone leave the door... or someone influential (ṣāhib jāh)... O my sister... do your utmost... maybe go to [...] and obtain for us a rescript (tawqīʿ) for our release from 'al-maʾmūn' (usually a name, but maybe here a generic term for house arrest?), and redeem us from captivity... I see them dying... and inform me about the situation... All the children send greetings. Greetings to Dāʾūd and his wife and everyone with them. O my sister, by God, do not neglect us. Be persistent and became renowned (for charity?) through me. Whatever you do, redeem us from captivity. [We are] dead, we haven't seen anything to sell or buy...." ASE

A short private letter. On verso a short Arabic list or account0 needs examination

Letter from Jalāl al-Dawla (or at least a person from the family of Shelomo b. Yishai the Nasi), written during an epidemic, and mentioning the Nagid [Avraham Maimonides] as being ill and also mentioning his (father?)-in-law the judge R. Hananel, who says, "These days are like the Day of Judgment: everyone is preoccupied (mashghul) with himself." He goes on, "We are doing our utmost to escape from this terrible epidemic. There is not a house in Fustat or Cairo among the important Jews—or anyone else—that does not have at least one sick person. The people are in terrible distress, too preoccupied to care for each other--let alone for a stranger." Jalāl al-Dawla also provides an update on his own diarrhea (v7–8): it is intermixed with white phlegm, coiled/twisted (multaff), and it burns when it comes out (yaldhaʿu waqta majī’ihi). ASE.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. The sender insistently urges the addressee to act according to his request, "because the muqaddam wishes to be like an angel of God (2 Samuel 19:28); the wise man's eyes are in his head (Ecclesiastes 2:14)."

Beginning of letter written by Yehuda b. Joshiah, a Nasi in Egypt during the second half of the twelfth century, to Moshe ha-Dayyan b. Yosef.

Opening of a letter in poetic Hebrew to Ya'aqov b. Binyamin.

Letter addressed to ʿEli the Parnas. In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender petitions on behalf of a divorcee who came to him "complaining and crying" that her ex-husband, Avraham b. Khalaf, had not paid her and her nursing infant alimony for eight consecutive months. The woman had previously gone to the Parnas for help ("threw herself down in the house of the Parnas"), evidently to no avail. (Information in part from Goitein's index cards.) Join: Oded Zinger. ASE

Letter probably from Menashshe b. Yehoshuaʿ, in Tyre, to the ḥaver Abū l-Faraj Shemaʿya b. al-Faraj, in Jerusalem. See neighboring fragments. T-S NS 322.101–17 all belong to the same dossier as Gil, Palestine, #521–23. This batch is unedited and unmentioned in the literature.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in Arabic script. In the same hand as the nearby fragments: probably Menashshe b. Yehoshuaʿ of Tyre to Abū l-Faraj Shemaʿya b. al-Faraj of Jerusalem. Dating: mid-11th century. Needs examination for content.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic, in the same hand as the nearby fragments: probably Menashshe b. Yehoshuaʿ of Tyre, mid-11th century. Needs examination for content.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic, in the same hand as the nearby fragments: probably Menashshe b. Yehoshuaʿ of Tyre, mid-11th century. Needs examination for content.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, in the same hand as the nearby fragments: probably Menashshe b. Yehoshuaʿ of Tyre, mid-11th century. This is the lower right corner. Mentions small sums of money.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, in the same hand as the nearby fragments: probably Menashshe b. Yehoshuaʿ of Tyre, mid-11th century. Needs examination for content.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, in the same hand as the nearby fragments: probably Menashshe b. Yehoshuaʿ of Tyre, mid-11th century. Needs examination for content.

Letter fragment probably in the hand of Menashshe b. Yehoshuaʿ of Tyre (see neighboring fragments).

Address of a letter. In Arabic script. Probably from Menashshe b. Yehoshuaʿ, in Tyre, to the ḥaver Abū l-Faraj Shemaʿya b. al-Faraj, in Jerusalem (see nearby fragments).