Geniza Lab

Letter of condolence from Daniel b. Azarya on the death of Yosef ha-Kohen Av Beit Din b. Shelomo Gaʾon, early 1054. (Moshe Gil)

Letter of condolence from Daniel Nasi b. Azarya on the death of Ephraim b. Shemarya, addressed to his son-in-law Ghalib.

Letter of Daniel b. Azarya, December 1051.

Letter (fragment) from Daniel b. Azarya (ca. 1055) to Eli b. Amram, Fustat, 1052.

Letter from ʿEli b. ʿAmram, in Fustat, to Yosef b. Shemuel ha-Nagid Ibn Naghrila, in Spain. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: c.1055 CE, as this is a letter of condolence upon the death of Shemuel ha-Nagid. ʿEli describes the memorial service held in Fustat when news of Shemuel's death reached them, and he mentions the titles granted to Yosef by Daniel b. ʿAzarya. The letter concludes with a poem in honor of Yosef and his brother Elyasaf. In fact this poem is essentially identical with one that was was originally composed for Avraham b. Sahl al-Tustari and his brother. This document was first published by Mann in Hebrew Union College Annual vol. 3 (1926), 257–308, at 287. See FGP for an extensive bibliography.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: mid-12th century. Probably from an India trader. Mentions numerous business transactions, Maḥrūz, and Abū ʿUmar Ibn al-Baghdādī (who also appears in T-S 10J24.4).

Letter addressed to Pinḥas b. Meshullam, a judge of Alexandria in the time of Maimonides. In Hebrew. There are copious praises for the addressee. The sender says that he praises him to R. Yiṣḥaq and R. Naḥman. Shemarya Ḥazzan arrived with a letter from Pinḥas for the sender. The bottom of the letter is torn off here. The margin mentions that Maimonides has sent something (presumably a letter to Pinḥas). On verso there are praises for God in Judaeo-Arabic, jottings about a medical subject in Arabic script, and some literary text in Hebrew.

Copies of 2 letters, likely as writing practice. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 19th century, and ca. 1808–39 CE if the maḥmūdī mentioned is the gold coin minted under Maḥmūd II (1808–39). Several other currencies and commercial goods are mentioned. The two text blocks on recto are copies of the same letter; the text block on verso is a different letter.

Mysterious fragment. Recto is formatted like a letter. In Hebrew. It might be an extremely literary letter of appeal for charity. On verso there are four different text blocks, all in very cursive Hebrew. The main one also has poetic phrases that might be about the sufferings of fate, perhaps a letter of recommendation? Needs examination.

Letter of appeal for charity. In Hebrew. Possbly addressed to the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya. The sender is from a distant land. He set out with merchandise, but presumably lost everything along the way.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. In the hand of Efaryim b. Shemarya? The sender has sent 10 of something and urges the addressee to sell them. Regards to the addressee's sons Yosef.

Letter in Judaeo-Persian. Dating: Late, probably. Needs examination.

Letter from Isma’il b. Yusuf b. Abi Uqba from Alexandria, to Yusuf b. Ya’aqub b. Awkal, Fustat. Around 1030. The writer describes an attack by Byzantines in the sea. They damaged merchandises that were on ships from the Maghreb to Alexandria. They killed several people from one of the ships. Ibn Awkal suffered a large lost for his products. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #216) VMR

Letter from Avraham Ḥazzan. In Judaeo-Arabic. Written in a distinctive, rudimentary hand with some resemblance to T-S 12.271 but probably not the same scribe. The opening blessings are also distinctive (e.g., ואותק דוי ודי... אלנגיב אלמולוד... and then curses on צאלמין אלפאצלין). The sender seems to be requesting wine to revive his spirits, even if just a few ounces (margin, ll.1–2).

Letter of appeal/recommendation from the community of Damascus to the community of Fustat. The senders are writing on behalf of an ʿaguna who has been abandoned by her husband. He is a redheaded Qaraite named Yosef who was traveling with another man named Yosef. They heard that he settled in Fustat and became a Rabbanite. She is living in poverty with four children in Damascus. The addressees are to find the husband and try to force him to return or, if he has died, to send word about him.

Letter from Yehuda Kohen, in Jūjar, to Rabbenu [Menaḥem?], presumably in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Written in haste. The writer reports that he arrived in Jūjar at midday and found the messenger about to depart. He asks the addressee to send(?) his son to attend the mitzva(?). ASE.

Letter from Yeḥiel b. Yiṣḥaq ha-Ẓarfati, in Jerusalem, to an unknown addressee, in Alexandria. The letter consists of a halakhic discussion, mostly in Aramaic, perhaps a responsum. It concludes with a report that Yeḥiel arrived safely in Jerusalem. Verso: Apart from the address there are jottings or accounts(?) in Arabic script. Information in part from FGP.

Popular literature in Judaeo-Arabic. Conveys the tale of a wise man who is continually amazing a king with his powers of deduction. For instance, he can tell from looking at a Bedouin's horse that it was nursed by a dog, and he can tell from the pre-purchase palpation (taqlīb, dukhūl al-yad) of a female slave that she is not a female slave at all. He explains all of his deductions when the king questions him. With every feat, the king increases his salary/ration of bread. Finally, he informs the king that he (the king) is the illegitimate son of a baker, proves that this is the case, and the king swears him to secrecy and lets him go with enough money to live happily ever after. The document is written across two pages; the second also contains a Hebrew piyyut prefaced by "Yeshaʿyahu b. Elʿazar b. Jābir to Shemarya Kahana b. Aharon." The name Yehuda b. Peraḥya also appears on the final page. ASE.

See join.

Letter of recommendation from Yosef ha-[...] b. Seʿadya ha-Bavli addressed to the communities of Sūra(?) and Qaryat Ismāʿīl(?). Written in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. The bearer is a learned man "who has captives" whom he is trying to redeem. The addressees are asked to give him money. The Qaraite community (?וגמאעה אלקראיי) is specifically named.