Geniza Lab

Letter from ʿAmram b. Yiṣḥaq, in Alexandria, to Ḥalfon b. Netanel ha-Levi, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Middle of Adar (1451 Seleucid) = February 1141 CE. The letter deals with the illness of ʿAmram's wife (evidently a familly member of Ḥalfon's) and the way she was treated. She had been suffering lethargy, palpitations, and fainting spells for over a year and a half. She was treated for “the obstruction of the heart (inqifāl al-qalb) mentioned by al-Rāzī in the Manṣūrī,” but the medicine only made matters worse. Midwives were summoned to treat her for "the illness of women”—hysteria—by the application of oils and fats. When this, too, failed, she was overwhelmed by black bile (melancholia), rendering her “a piece of flesh, yearning for death but unable to attain it.” ʿAmram asks Ḥalfon to convey his wife’s medical history to the physicians of the capital, so that “perhaps she will attain relief.” (Information in part from Frenkel, and Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV—Hebrew description below.)

Letter Fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic, calligraphically written. Refers to someone's mother; the daughters of Ibn al-ʿArīsḥī; the sender and another man falling sick; and trebuchet stones (גנק/junuq) which were sold to Nissim b. [...] for the astronomical sum of 4,000 dinars. "Junuq" is a very rare word and seems to be the only plausble reading of גנק, but it may not be correct. It is also not clear how much of the paper is torn away from the right side of the letter (probably ~2 words per line), which means the 4,000 dinars may refer to something other than the גנק. (Information in part from Goitein’s index card.)

Letter in Hebrew. Fragment: right side only. Dating: Likely 16th century. Involves trade in barrels of wine (ḥaviyot and "barilas").

Letter from an unidentified man, in Jerusalem, to the Nagid Natan Sholal, in Fustat/Cairo. In Hebrew. Dating: Late 15th century. The sender reports that he is writing with great effort, because he has been sick ever since his marriage. He has not recovered his full strength, his joints are weak and painful, and he cannot turn his face from side to side ever since he fell off of a mule en route to Jerusalem. The main purpose of the letter is to conciliate Natan, who is upset about the marriage of his daughter to the sender's son, which evidently took place behind his back in Jerusalem. There is also discussion of Natan's property in Jerusalem and a report on the books that he left behind him in 1481 CE. The sender managed to find 4 of Natan's books, including the Gemara of Ketubbot, an Arabic commentary on Psalms(?), and Israel Israeli's Arabic commentary on Avot. (Information in part from Avraham David's edition on FGP.) ASE

Formulary or draft of a get-well-soon card. In Hebrew. Dating: Late, perhaps 15th–17th century. Very florid.

Letter from Musa and Salah and Ishaq al-Taharti to Yosef b. Awkal and to his sons Hillel and Binyamin (probably in the year 1011).

Family letter addressed to a place north of Qus in upper Egypt, beginning with two Hebrew verses from a poem, in which a woman with a child asks her sister and mother to take more interest in her because of her condition. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 172, 221, and from Goitein's index cards.) Same sender and addressee as L-G Ar. II.129 and T-S 8J24.4. In fact, this is probably addressed to Fustat (based on L-G Ar. II.129), though the family has business dealings in Qūṣ.

Letter from a son to his father. He complains about difficult circumstances and reports that ʿIwāḍ al-Bazzāz (the clothier) died. ʿIwāḍ may have owed the sender some money. The lower part of the letter is missing. On verso there are a couple words in Arabic script, including "dirham."

Recto: Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Only the right margin of the original letter is preserved. Dealing with business matters. Verso: Letter fragment or account in Judaeo-Arabic.

Letter in Arabic script from Mubārak b. ʿAllūn. Reused for Hebrew literary text.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic addressed to Abū l-Baqā.

Letter from Abu Nasr b. Ibrahim, Alexandria, to his partner Abu Ishaq the nāʾib (deputy). Dating: 11 May 1141. The first page of the letter (which originally contained three pages) is lost. The letter deals with commercial matters, taxes, political issues regarding the raising of taxes and information on the affair between Yehuda ha-Levi and the convert b. Basri.

Circular letter. Fragment of a calligraphic letter addressed to “our master” (Sayydinā) and referring to a letter addressed to 'all the congregations pertaining to the city of the king (=Cairo)... to all the congregations of the land of Israel and Canaan, and all the exiles beyond the river...." Although the writers had been unable to meet some of their obligations, they ask a question concerning a certain al-Makhmūrī who had died. Verso: The answer, in Hebrew. Phrases only. (Information from Goitein’s index card)

Letter in which an heir informs his correspondent that no one, the government included, had any claim on his inheritance and adds that his case was unambiguous. Only the question whether the government would take one half or three-eights remained open. Dated ca. 1100. Mentions that the judge is sick. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 397, 607)

Letter from Madmun b. Ḥasan to Avraham Ibn Yiju: safe conduct and assistance for brother. Aden, ca. 1145. (8) [I shall take care of] sending it, if someone departs this [year for] (9) Egypt, since no one arrived last year or [so far this year] (10) from Egypt, because of the [death?] (11) and epidemic prevailing there, for two years in a row.

Mevorakh b. Yiṣḥaq writes from Alexandria to his father in law, Surur b. Hayyim Sabra in Fustat. The sixties of the eleventh century.

Letter from Avraham, son of the Gaon, to the sons of Mevasser, Fustat, perhaps 1025.

Letter from the copyist Shemuel to the notable Yeshuʿa. In Hebrew. Asking for a gift. During the six months in which Shemuel has stayed “here,” he lived on copying. Now he asks the notable to make the little collection needed in order to enable him to move on. (Information from Goitein’s index card.)

Second leaf of a long letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (right side of both recto and verso). Partially concerning a dispute of religious scholars. Continuous reference to the sender's brother. Mentions Abū Sahl (Menashshe) Ibn al-Qaṭāʾif, the father of Halfon b. Menashshe. Dating: second half of the 11th century. On verso refers to Abū Ḥanīfa either sending a legal query or giving a responsum to (yuftī) a certain ʿEli. Almost certainly the same sender (but probably not the same letter) as T-S 12.215, which is also the second leaf of a long letter and also mentions Abū Sahl Menashshe. (Information in part from Goitein’s index card.) ASE

Letter of appeal from Moshe to R. Yiṣḥaq ha-Sar. In Judaeo-Arabic.