Geniza Lab

Letter of Berakhot b. Shemuel to Shemuel teh Great Rav.

Letter from Berakhot b. Shemuel in which he suggests to the recipient that he buy from him a book and defer the payment of 12 dirhams and that the recipient hold onto a codex of the Book of Isaiah as collateral until he pays up the balance.

Letter addressed to Binyamin ha-Sar ha-Rofe (the physician). The name of the sender's father appears to be Eliyyahu—so the writer may be Shelomo b. Eliyyahu.

Letter from Abū Zikrī Yaḥyā b. Isḥāq al-Raḥbī to Dāwūd b. Ḥayyimal-Ṣayrafī. The letter deals with family and monetary matters.

Letter from Dawud son of the haver to a certain dayyan. It seems some dramatic event has taken place off-scene (maybe in Palestine?) and here we hear about the ripples. Someone has arrived from Gaza safely. Dawud reports that the Qaraites all went to Cairo. He expresses concern for the judge Menahem. The letter also mentions David al-Amani, rent and government taxes and the wife of al-Nezer. The letter is to be carried by Ibn al-Tabib.

Petition in Judaeo-Arabic written by Daniel b. Berakhot asking for assistance.

Petition to David al-haver al-kohen son of the judge in Judaeo-Arabic. no content has been preserved.

Letter of a merchant in Egypt to the Maghreb containing information on Yosef Lebdi's arrival in Aydhab, after a successful trip to India. The writer asks the recipient to buy for him good quality corals and reports on the current state of Egypt and the Nile. He informs the recipient about the arrival of merchants in Qus, and about the merchandise they brought. Remarkable is the piece of information regarding the entire amount of merchandise that has arrived so far in Aydhab: 9,000/13,000 bales of goods. Among these merchants was Yosef Lebdi with a shipment of 80 bales of lac packed in Nahrwara, 50 bales of pepper and other merchandise. Friedman dates the letter to approximately 1101.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic with a Hebrew beginning to (probably Shemuel b.) Hananya. The opening contains an interesting blessing: "(May God) make your wife at home like Ra[hel and Leah, and together(?)] you will build the house of Yisrael" - perhaps the letter was written close to Shemuel's wedding. The writer reports about a journey he made in which he was in danger. He visited a place where a Jew had been killed. The name Tuvya the son of the man from Banias is mentioned. In the greetings in the end of the letter Abu Ishaq, Sitt al-Dallal , Sitt al-Sada, Abu al-Ma'ali and Abu Sahl the cantor are mentioned.

Published in Avraham David, שאלו שלום ירושלים:pages 131-13

Lletter in beautiful Square script in hebrew from Tuvya to the congregation in Fustat with long poetical opening. On the back someone wrote 3-4 lines in a crude hand mentioning some numbers.

Arabic-script letter, cut to make a square document, a letter, memorial list or possble list of blessings to be read out surrounding the name Yehuda the Prince.

Letter, the remains of four lines in wide spacing. Mentioning Daniel the great prince. See also ENA 2735.14

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic from Ḥasan b. Mansur to Allun b. Ya'ish the well known parnas. The letter reports that they spent the holidays with al-mumhe son of the Judge. During the synagogue service, this son of a judge mentioned "our Lord" in the end of the prayer which causes an uproar and litigation.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic to "my child Ibrahim" . After the usual greetings we read: "I have no instruction to you except that do not let anyone sue/demand from your father the rent of the house or the store. Your father continues to give instructions about the payment of the capitation tax, the collection of rent and giving it to the seller of milk." Mansur b. Baqa is mentioned. In the verso greetings to the Rayyis are expressed and to Rabbi Hannanel.

Letter apparently sent to Qayrawan. Hemdat ha-Yeshiva is mentioned.

Subsequent use: Letter from Ḥassūn b. Nissim ha-Levi al-Barqī, in al-Maḥalla al-Kubrā, to Abū Kathīr Efrayim b. [...]. Mentions people such as Abū l-Faraj Yeshuʿa. Needs examination for content.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic - from the end of the 12th or first half of 13th century. The letter is mentioning money to be taken from a certain Mu'ammar who is praised for his masculinity. A small note at the bottom reveals that the letter as been written by a certain Ḥalfon. On the back are crude writing of biblical passages.

Recto: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic from "your brother Musa" (Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi) asking the recipent to sell for him the Mishnah and Hilkhot Shehitah and send him the money with the bearer. He also wants to buy the codices of the Torah copied by Abu Sahl the Qaraite that he had seen in the addressee's possession. He sends greetings to one of the women of the family ('al-kabirah'). Verso: the response, from "your brother Yosef b. Hillel." Yosef reports that 32 dirhams were spent on the copies made by Abu Sahl the Qaraite, but he (presumably Abu Sahl) has not yet sold them because he is asking for 60 dirhams. However, Yosef has in his possession 4.5 books (of the Torah? Mishnah?) which fetched 23 dirhams. As for the copies belonging to Moshe, Yosef has not yet been able to sell them for the price that Moshe specified, so he tells him to be patient. ASE.

Letter, a short fragment to Abu al-Barakat, whose names appear with many honorifics. On the back the name Abu Ishaq is written in Hebrew script and Arabic script.