Geniza Lab

Upper fragment: Letter possibly in the hand of Yefet b. Menashshe to [...]m ha-Parnas. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper left corner of recto). Mentions various good wishes, Saʿīd (or Abū Saʿīd), and cloves.

Lower fragment: Letter from Yefet b. Menashshe probably to his brother Ḥalfon or Peraḥya. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper right corner of recto). Essentially none of the substance of the letter is preserved.

Lower fragment: Letter in the hand of Yefet b. Menashshe to his brother Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper left corner of recto). Yefet brings up the fūṭa which he had previously written about. He asks Ḥalfon to do something for the sake (lit. "for the pupils (ḥadaqatayn)") of Yaʿaqov. It has been two months since [...].

Upper fragment: Letter from Yefet b. Menashshe to one of his brothers. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper right corner of recto). Mentions business matters, including dealings in cinnabar (zunjufr).

Letter from Alexandria written by Zadoq from 1200. this is the upper part of a letter already published by Miriam Frenkel. The join was made by MAF in his article הרמב"ם ומינוי של אנטולי, תרביץ פג.

Letter in a Maghrebi hand on business matters. Names: Mawhub b. Amar, Abu Jacob al-Hakim, Abū ʿImrān. Location: Alexandria. NB: Goitein card for this document is under 2739.12

Letter from Shelomo ben Halafta, in Jerusalem, to the Nagid Natan Sholal, in Cairo. In Hebrew. Dating: 1481/82 CE. - Mentioning events as far away as Tafilalt(?). Join: Oded Zinger.

Business letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. Addressed to somebody in Jerusalem. Dating: No earlier than 1425 CE, as values are given in ashrafīs. Commodities include tin (qazdīr), Yemeni alum (shabb Yamanī), either כאבלי (chebulic myrobalan) or כאכלי (potentially qāqullā = Salsola), saffron, and more. Needs further examination.

Letter from 'the representative' (al-Nāʾib), in Minyat Zifta, to the Nagid, presumably in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. He reports on previous correspondence and messengers ([...] al-Ḥalabī, Ṭāhir, and ʿAbd al-Baqī) and confirms receipt of the Nagid's letter and orders. He says he will obey immediately. He may mention Tinnīs (Ḥanes) and someone titled Naṣir al-Dawla.

Letter addressed to ha-Dayyan ha-Maskil (unidentified). In Judaeo-Arabic, with some lines of Hebrew poetry on verso. The sender is unable to repay the 30 dirhams that he owes for food that he bought on credit. The addressee is asked to be patient and to have Abū Manṣūr try to sell the volume of the Torah and apply the proceeds to the debt.

Letter from Yosef. Ending only. The sender mentions not behaving appropriately with something or with a woman (or being accused of this). He sends greetings to Nissim, probably the addressee's son.

Letter in Hebrew. May be addressed to Yosef b. David (per the address on verso) or to the Damascene cantor Seʿadya b. Mevorakh (per what is written above the letter on recto). What remains of the letter consists entirely of poetical phrases. There is another text block on verso which seems to deal with halakhic issues.

Letter addressed to a certain Seʿadya or the son of Seʿadya. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: No earlier than 1425 CE, based on the mention of the ashrafī coin. Conveys interesting details about misfortunes and financial transactions, faded but mostly legible. Mentions Dāwūd [b.] Nissim twice.

Letter from Saʿīd b. Marḥab, in Aden, to Abū Zikrī b. ʿAṭiyya. Dating: mid-12th century. Apart from the introduction and address, only about a dozen lines are preserved from the margin of recto. In these lines, the sender mentions Zabīd, the righteousness and merit of Sayyidnā, a safe arrival of a group of merchants in Aden, their departure for India, and the news that their ship was stranded in Mirbāṭ on the south Arabian coast.

Fol. 1: Letter from Seʿadya b. Mordekhay ha-Maghribi Ibn Zorihan (? זוריהן), in Jerusalem, to a certain Yosef, in Egypt. In Hebrew. Dating: 16th or 17th century. The addressee had promised to come to Jerusalem for Passover this year. The sender says that "I no longer have the time to study (or teach? אדרוש) in the Batei Midrashot." On verso there are accounts in Judaeo-Arabic, including a mention of a ḥummusī (Information from A. David via FGP.)

Fol. 2: Letter in the hand of Yosef b. Shemuel b. Seʿadya ha-Levi (active ca. 1181–1209) addressed to [...] b. Seʿadya ha-Kohen, a member of the same distinguished family of kohanim and merchants as in T-S AS 148.5 (same titles: תפארת הכהנים חמדת השרים נאמן הסוחרים עין העדה). Only the formulaic opening is preserved.

Letter of condolence. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Addressed to Seʿadya b. Ṣadaqa ha-Ḥazzan, probably in Manṣūra.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic (FGP). Most of a family letter conveying concern for the recipient and many other people and requesting news. ASE.

Letter from Wafāʾ b. Abū l-Faraj to a dignitary. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Consists entirely of poetic expressions of longing and honor. On verso: "The reason for this haste in this correspondence is that I have hired (passage) and am coming down tomorrow God willing." Also on verso, at 90 degrees, in a different hand: names in Judaeo-Arabic along with mention of various animals and agricultural goods. A list of tax farmers? Needs further examination.

Letter from Shemuel Gaon b. Hofni to an unknown Aluf (אלוף). October 1008. Information about copies of two of the Gaon’s books. The person who delivers the letter is one of the Maghreb merchants and he's supposed to send the letter after his visit in Jerusalem. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #50) VMR. The letter is written by Israel the son of the Gaon.