Geniza Lab

Hebrew letter (or draft) from a man addressed to his brother Moshe b. סחן. In rhymed and possibly humorous Hebrew (...אחי וראש חקור ודרוש ומשחיטה חתוך הראש...).

Recto: Letter from the Qaraite Mahbub b. Nissim, Ramla, to Abu al-Faraj in Fustat, middle of the 11th century (12 Iyar). Mahbub has traveled from Fustat via Alexandria by ship, but he suffers a loss worth 13 dinars en route and arrives in Alexandria with only a few things. He then boards a ship to Laodikea (Syria), but he persuades the ship's captain (bribing him with a package of parchment) to deviate from the route and let him disembark instead in Jaffa. He arrives in Ramla on Erev Rosh Hodesh Marheshvan, and then arrives in Jerusalem on Erev Rosh Hodesh Kislev.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Very faded. Mentions someone who arrived safely, and a woman named Sitt al-Milāḥ.

Letter fragment. In Hebrew. Probably late. Addressed to שמואל רודסי (of Rhodes) and יהודה דמדינק and דוד מונטלוה (Montaloa?) "and all the notables of [....]." The name of the location - along with the entirety of the letter - is lost.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. The content is difficult to determine from the small bit that is preserved. The addressee is urged to do something quickly.

Two small fragments. One probably came from a Judaeo-Arabic letter, of which hardly anything remains.

Letter addressed to Menaḥem Mir. Features honorific titles for the addressee in Hebrew (היקר נבון ונעלה), followed by the first few lines of the body of the letter in Ladino. The letter draft opens by reporting that "we are well, peaceful, and of good health / estamos buenos de pas y de salud" (l. 3r) and goes on to mention "mazal tov" and the name Yiṣḥaq Mir de Avraham (l. 4-5r). Possibly also the beginning of the winter and sending a shipment (l. 6r). MCD. ASE.

Letter fragment, probably. In Arabic script.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic (FGP). Four lines of rhyming flattery and self-abasement with miscellaneous jottings on verso. ASE.

Fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions: someone called Rabbenu; a request to thank al-Shaykh al-Thiqa on the sender's behalf; telling the addressee to be patient; travel to al-Shām; al-dīwā(n?); Hilāl al-Dawla; and a request to investigate something.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Small fragment. The hand is distinctive (descenders that sweep to the left) and may be known. Mentions the sister of al-Māwardī ('the rosewater merchant').

Letter, possibly. Late fragment containing halakhic discussions in Hebrew, in two different hands, and one line at the top that would normally be found at the beginning of a letter (היקר ונעלה. . . ).

Letter in Hebrew. Dating: Late, probably no earlier than 16th century. Bad handwriting. Needs examination.

Verso: Letter fragment. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Mostly consists of pious references to repentance. Indirect join: Oded Zinger.

Recto: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic between family members. Interesting orthography: אלשעאר for אלצגאר. Mentions "the water in the khalīj (canal)."

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 11th or 12th century. Large, but faded and damaged. Refers repeatedly to excommunicating certain people; also mentions a fatwā related to the excommunication. The sender has enclosed a testimony and a validation (qiyyum) with this letter. Mentions people such as Barakāt, Shemuel, Abū l-Ḥasan al-ʿAṭṭar, and [...] b. Bū ʿUmar. Needs further examination.

Letter fragment or petition, probably. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions a fight with Abū l-Najm in which the sender was possibly wounded (וגרחת ובלג בי אלעטאים) and an associated court case (daʿwā). The text on the other side is cryptic but seems to be praising the power and righteousness of the addressee (and God): אלואצח כמא קרא והוא תאבת פי דיואן אלחק לא אלאה אלא הוא כרסי תאבת ועדל ולולא מכאפתה לאכל אלכלק בעצה בעץ אחיאה אללה.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic (FGP). Probably no earlier than 15th century. ASE.

Letter or report. In Arabic script. Wide space between the lines. "...ista'jara lahu mamlūkuka... qabaḍa sabʿa danānīr..." Reused for Hebrew literary text on verso.

Late letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Probably 18th or 19th century. Mentions Jerusalem. From a certain Mordekhay. Possibly a North African dialect (דייאלו). ASE.