Geniza Lab

Letter from the office of the Nagid Yehoshuaʿ Maimonides (d. 1355), bearing his motto and in the hand of his clerk. Regarding a certain Avraham, Yosef, and Shemuel, a payment of 8 [...], and the community's fund for food distribution (mezonot).

Letter in Hebrew. Regarding debts and rent of houses.

Recto: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Addressed to a woman. Dating: No earlier than 1425 CE, as the ashrafī is mentioned. The sender orders a raṭl of cheese (last line).

Letter fragment from Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, in Qalyūb, to a family member, in Fustat. He reports that their letter and the chebulic myrobalan and the opium all arrived. He fears that he has been a burden on them. The recipient is to give some money to Maḥfūẓ and Ibn al-Nuʿmān and receive confirmation of how much Moshe still owes them. He doesn't want to return (to Fustat) if that can be helped. ASE.

Letter fragment. Probably written by Hananel b. Shemuel, Avraham Maimuni's father-in-law.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. The writer and addressee are unknown, but the handwriting seems very familiar. The writer starts by addressing a single person and sending blessings for his son; he then switches to addressing that person together with his brothers. The letter is a quintessential example of the epistolary norms surrounding illness, expressing preoccupation for others, and rebuking others for failing to do the same. "When I heard that your condition had worsened (takhallufhā), I became very distressed and forgot my own illnesses and condition, until God had mercy and the news of your health arrived, and I thanked God for that, yodu l-adonay ḥasdo, and may God avert all evil from you and your brothers and all in your care and protect me from all bad news. By my life, I am pained/sick of heart from the fact that you do not mention me in a letter or an inquiry, despite the fact that I have not cut off (our correspondence), and the fact that you are to me like my children, nay, like my brothers-in-law, and you ought to be inquiring after me (iftiqādī) if only with a letter or an inquiry. But I forgive you because of all of your cares." ASE.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Very deferential. Asking for a favor from the addressee (sayyidnā). The sender says that he would be able to obtain all that he needs if he could travel to al-Maḥalla.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Small fragment. Mentions Alexandria twice, but the context is unclear.

Letter from a man to his brother. Mostly blessings. Regards are sent to Abi al Muhasin and his mother

Letter, in Judaeo-Arabic in a cursive, Maghrebi hand signed by Avraham b. David (bottom fragment). The top one contains some Biblical phrases and few Hebrew poetic lines, probably from an oppening of a letter.

Letter from a father to his son. Draft (abandoned in the middle of a line). In Judaeo-Arabic. He asks him to purchase some tartar and some poppy (khūshkhūsh) to be divided between the writer and Abū l-Munā.

Note of a Nagid to the 'noble congregation' of Fustat (same type as described in Mediterranean Society, II, App. C 101-112) asking them to complete the collection of the pledges made on the Day of Atonement, especially those for a traveler from Europe, ifranji, who was to leave on the morning after the first two days of the Feast of Tabernacles. The interesting fact to be learned from this note is the speediness with which the pledges were collected. There are only four days between the Day of Atonement and the beginning of the Feats of Tabernacles. The letter seems to assume that, say, on the third day of the interval between the two holidays most of the pledges had already come in. Another interesting point is the Nagid's admonition to think of the poor on the Siyyum (Heb.), the festive conclusion of the yearly reading of the Pentateuch, which takes place at the end of the autumn holidays. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 506, App. C 132)

Letter probably from one of the later Maimonidean Nagids (less likely Avraham Maimonides himself). In Judaeo-Arabic. There is an 'emet' motto at the top, with the tail cutting through the first lines of the text. The sender tells al-Shaykh al-Makīn to tell the congregation that he misses them and urges them to be diligent in the matter of the lavish siyyum(?) for the poor(?). He also reminds them to pay the sums pledged from specific collections (Purim and another day?).

Right fragment: Letter addressed to Eliyyahu b. Zekharya the Judge. In Judaeo-Arabic. Only the introductory blessings are preserved here.

Business letter in Judaeo-Arabic, in a cursive hand

Letter from a woman to an unknown addressee. Around 1060. Mentions details about Nahray b. Nissim’s family. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #293) VMR

Letter from Ḥananel b. Shemuel to al-Raṣuy. In Judaeo-Arabic. Short but complete. The content is vague and allusive, but it seems that the writer is complaining about the addressee treating him like a stranger.

Letter with a long Hebrew prologue, followed by Judaeo-Arabic. Written in an elegant square book hand, and indeed this sender seems to be a professional scribe. He reports that before the holiday, he borrowed a quarter dirham to go to the bathhouse (ḥammām). He may be implying that he is sick. When the letter resumes in the margin, he is making excuses, "...I was unable to do it... this work, and please help me in accordance [with your beneficence] and send me a dinar for this work, and I will do it right away. (Verso) And send me paper for the diverting epistles that I told you about, for they are among the delights of the world." He emphasizes that he will do the work quickly, and that the addressee doesn't strictly speaking owe him anything, but the dinar would really help.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Very deferential. Addressed to "our master" with regards to "our master David"—potentially Avraham Maimonides and his son. Much of recto consists of blessings and complaints about the evils of fate ('bitterer than colocynth/ʿalqam'). On verso the sender apologizes for not presenting himself in person; his excuse is a debt that he owes in Cairo. Then he gets to the point: he wants to get married, and he is seeking approval from the addressee, "for I have no father or lord or master except for you, and I cannot even move without your permission."

Letter. The writter mentions the fast and asks for forgivness