Geniza Lab

Legal document. A late bill of release between 3 partners in a shop. The bottom part is missing. One of the parties, יעקב נהרדעא בכר יונה took items from the shop in credit. The partners released him from any debt. On verso a statement made by the 3 parties that they released him. Hebrew. AA

Deed, drawn up in a Jerusalem court in the hand of Shelomo b. Yehuda, October 1036.

Late responsum, published שרידי תשובות מחכמי האימפריה העות'מאנית (עורכים: גליק, שמואל), עמ' 167-235 (data from FGP) Hebrew and Aramaic. AA

See PGP 11432

See PGP See PGP 11432

Two fragments of a dowry list (taqwīm). In Judaeo-Arabic. Includes a female slave named Waṣl ("Union") valued at 13 dinars. Delayed marriage payment (muʾakhkhar): 60 dinars (or 20? Goitein read ס instead of כ, but this is not certain. Possibly the fragment was better preserved at the time, or he deduced that 60 was the more likely alternative based on her socioeconomic status). (Information in part from Goitein’s index card.)

Responsum by RADBAZ concerning immersion of women in the Nile. Published Glick, Sridei Teshuvot, p. 275-289. See also TS K25.222.

See PGP 15882

Responsum regarding qiyyum of legal documents

Legal query written by Halfon b. Netanʾel ha-Levi sent to Elʿazar al-Qasabi. Addendum to India Book IV. AA

Legal document. Probably a bill of release connected to a will. The deceased is Moshe b. Yefet, and he left behind a minor son Hibatallāh. Someone had intended or intends to travel with a sum of money. Mentions: involving the parnasim before the death; the executor (waṣiyy) Moshe b. Seʿadya ha-Kohen and Abū l-Makārim b. Ṭayyib. Moshe b. Seʿadya is released from the 'risk' of the money. On verso there is a dirge in Hebrew. AA

Rent receipt(s) for Yūsuf al-ʿAṭṭār. In Arabic script. Reused on recto for Hebrew poetry/piyyut.

Recto: Legal document in Arabic script. The middle portions of ~11 lines are preserved from near the top of the document. The price of a commodity according to a particular price - ḥasab seʿr and dirham, darāhim are mentioned. The document was chartered when the beneficiary was in sound health and had fully consented to the cause; 'fī ṣeḥatin.... ṭawʿan lahu ʿalaihi', and is referred to as 'this document/letter'; hadhā l-kitāb. Mentions names such as Sulaymān and Maḥmūd bin Ṣafīh (?). Needs further examination. Verso: Legal document in Judaeo-Arabic. Possibly from a court ledger (shimmush). Mentions the name Sālim, otherwise, very few details are preserved. (Information in part from Goitein’s index card).

Legal document. Partnership release. Dated: 7 Shevat 1390. Location: Fustat. An olive-oil partnership is dissolved. This fragment contains two documents related to the same partnership agreement, filed in the court one after the other over a two-day period in January 1079. The first document, unsigned and seemingly copied in lines 1-12, represents the termination of a partnership and a corresponding mutual release of three partners, Ghālib b. Ḥalfōn, Moses b. Ghālib, and Meshullam b. Furqān. Ghālib releases Moses and Meshullam; Moses and Meshullam release Ghālib. That Moses and Meshullam did not release one another in this document suggests either that the document was Ghālib’s copy of a mutual release and that other copies were written for Moses and Meshullam, or that Ghālib was the active partner and Moses and Meshullam were his investors. If the latter, Moses and Meshullam would have had no mutual obligations and therefore no need to release one another. This explanation is consistent with lines 13-28, which describe Ghālib and Moses' partnership. As a settlement, Ghālib agrees to pay Moses and Meshullam each month in order to settle the balance (seven dinars). Meshullam's role in the partnership is unclear; only Ghālib and Moses are mentioned as partners in the olive-oil concern. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 127)

Responsum by Maharam of Rutenberg, end of no. 239.

Fragment from a legal query concerning the bill of divorce given by Moshe Qudeisi, which is claimed to be given forcibly, and therefore is not valid. Published Glick, Sridei Teshuvot, p. 517-521

A very damaged legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi (ca 1100–38 CE). Some details might be extracted with effort. In the margins of recto and on verso, in a different hand, there are accounts or possibly lists of names with numbers, written in a different hand. Probably unrelated to the legal document on recto, but this is not certain. AA. ASE.

Responsum regarding a marriage permission to the chained wife of a silk dealer, who was on a business trip in the villages of Egypt and was murdered by bandits. His body was found, together with those of others, and was identified by gentiles, who gave his details to Jews who went to search for him. Published by Glick, Sridei Teshuvot, p. 416-443. AA

Legal document. Small piece from the end of a legal document. Probably from a draft. On verso only the validation phrase, in a different hand. Hebrew. AA

Marriage document. A beautiful ornamented ketubah, probably on vellum, from Rashid, Egypt 1780-1789 (according to Lieberman catalogue). The complete date is hard to decipher. The groom’s name is Avraham, the bride’s name is not preserved. The text is faded, and can be partially deciphered. The marriage gift is 60 thousand Mayidish - a common currency at this period. The witnesses are Aharon Tawil and Moshe Fatah (?). Connected with ENA 3306.2 - this is the ‘bill of conditions’ – שטר תנאים of the same couple, by the same hand and layout, probably written at the same time of the ketubah itself. Among the conditions we can find the groom’s promise not to take another wife. Hebrew and Aramaic. AA