Geniza Lab

Letter from Yosef b. Yehuda Kohen to Netanel b. [...]. (The place for the sender's father's name is left blank.) In Judaeo-Arabic, with some Hebrew. The sender trusts that the addressee obeyed his order to shake out the cloaks (aksiyā), for now he is supposed to hand them over to the bearer of the letter, Mūsā b. Yūsuf along with some other items. He is to record the transaction in an account (thabat). He should also look after Mūsā, who is the victim of some misfortune (mujāḥ miskīn). "As for the matter of the ships, the fear is dreadful, terrible." The letter concludes with further business matters and greetings.

Business letter from Yūsuf b. Ibrahim b. Bundār to Abū Zikrī Kohen (aka Yehuda b. Yosef Sijilmāsī). In Judaeo-Arabic and some Hebrew, with the address in both Arabic script and Judaeo-Arabic. Only the formulaic opening and the address are preserved. Reused on verso for the text of the Shabbat Mussaf prayer. (Information in part from Goitein’s index card.)

Letter from Umm al-Khayr, the widow of Eliyya al-Dimunshī, in Ragusa, Sicily, to her son Yehuda b. Eliyya in Fustat. Around 1060. The woman lives with her married daughters. The letter is a tearful plea for her son to return home before she dies. In fact, the family had heard a rumor that he died three years prior, so they held a large funeral and mourned him as if he had been present, believing that he died alone in a foreign land with no one to mourn him. But a letter from her son just arrived, awakening her yearning for him. She tells him that his father died in his lifetime, so he should return to his conscience and awaken his soul, and say to himself, "My father died in my lifetime, and now my mother will too. This will be counted as a tremendous sin on my account." She reiterates several times that he must come back before she perishes. (Information in part from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #798.) VMR. ASE.

Letter from Shemarya to his brother Yaʿaqov. Written in non-fluent Hebrew (e.g. uses אהיה as a copulative when there is no need; and more). The writer excuses not having written before, because he had suffered a five month illness of נפלות (perhaps to be read נפילות and understood as epilepsy). But God sent him health. He is worried about his brother because he hasn't heard from him in a year and a half. The brother had sent with the wife of Yona a גלילי כיפוכניכו garment (? perhaps this is Greek, and Shemarya is Byzantine. It is vocalized in the document). Shemarya heard that the 3 dinars he had sent his brother never arrived. He mentions R. Mikha'el. Needs further examination.

Letter from Yosef b. Avraham b. Bundār, in Aden, to Ḥalfon b. Netanel ha-Levi, in India. Dating: Ca. 1134 CE. Concerning textiles, musk, and pepper imported from India to Aden, and cinnabar, which was shipped in the opposite direction. (Information from India Book 4, Hebrew description below.)

Letter from Yosef ha-Talmud b. Yishay ha-Sar. In Hebrew. Complaining that the addressee has not fulfilled his vow to give Yosef sum of money in gold; Yosef has only received 10 silver coins. "What is my sin, that you have not fulfilled your vow?" He complains about hunger and poverty and asks for the money. In the margin he mentions at least one parnas.

Verso: Informal note, related to business. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 11th century. The sender is waiting on the return of Abū Yaʿqūb Iṣḥaq b. Yūsuf al-Andalusī. He reports on something that צרור/Surūr b. [...] al-Siqillī told him. He excuses the appearance of the letter ("written in a hurry on the road"). (Information in part from Goitein’s index card)

Recto: Letter in Arabic script. Fragment ((bottom only). The sender apologizes profusely for an unspecified failing and goes on at length about his distress over it: فوالله ان كنت الا على النار والله ما اردت الا احرق رأسي كلها بلساني. He says that he is not proud of what he has done and may refer to his mistake as "the head of an ass" (lā aftakhiru aysh ʿamiltu rāʾs ḥamīr), and expresses his willingness to remain in Fustat if the addressee deems fit. An amount of 1000 qiṭʿa (unclear what this means) and the name Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad Ibn al-Kūfī is mentioned. Scrawled ḥasbala in the margin.

Letter from Yosef b. Yehuda b. Simḥa (Alexandria) to Abū Zikrī Yaḥyā b. Nissim (Fustat), ca. 1050. The writer mentions a number of deals in beads and pearls. He is worried about owing money to a number of people including Yaḥyā b. Nissim and, although they do not demand payment, is anxious to settle the issue. He also mentions having heard about diseases (amrāḍ) that have spread in Fustat. The address is written in both Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script. (Information from Gil.)

Letter from Yosef b. Labrāṭ al-Fāsī (Qayrawan) to Yaʿaqov b. Yosef b. ʿAwkal (Fustat). The writer apologizes for a delay in returning a debt of 10 dinars that Yaʿaqov b. Yosef b. ʿAwkal lent him and explains that the delay is due to difficulties that he encountered when selling the merchandise bought with this money. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, p. 291.)

Letter from a man, in Fustat, to his brothers Yūsuf and Ibrāhīm, unknown location. He blames his delay on the ״כר״ that belongs to Baqā', who refused to let him use it. The sender had a fight with Baqā' (taḍārabtu) and was seriously injured (inkhabaṭtu) and fell sick again (maraḍtu marḍa jadīda) but is now doing better (qad tawajjahtu li-l-ʿāfiya) so no one need worry about him. He will come on Sunday. If the addressees have gotten their hands on Abū Naṣr's silver, they should send it, because Abū Naṣr has already come to the house asking for it 3 or 4 times "and he doesn't know that I am in Fustat." (Information in part from Goitein’s index card)

Letter from the office of Yehoshua Maimonides (d. 1355) to Fustat against improper competition in the making of cheese. Information from Goitein's index card.

Letter addressed to an important Jew. There are three lines of rhymed Hebrew text at the top, followed by a large space and 5–6 lines of a letter (mainly in Arabic script with some Hebrew), followed by 2 lines in Arabic script in a different hand, perhaps a continuation of the letter or the response. The letter itself reminds the addressee to fulfill a promise he had made involving Rosh ha-Seder.

Business letter, fragment, from Yaʿaqov Levi to an unknown addressee. In Hebrew. Goods mentioned include: alkali (הקלי) in line 6, and coral in line 8. The writer mentions his trip to Friuli (NE Italy) in line 9. Currencies: peraḥim. Uses the title "Agha." Dating: 16th century? Information from Avraham David via FGP.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Deals entirely with business matters. Mentions counterfeit promissory notes (wa-l-ḥujaj allatī taẓharu kulluhā zūr). Mentions certain villages and a man named ʿAlī b. Shādān. Mentions a judge. Almost certainly part of a join with the next shelfmark, but it is unclear how the two fit together.

See join (ENA 3817.5)

Letter fragment. In Hebrew. Asking the addressees to help the Jews and the Conversos (הן ליהודים הן לאנוסים). Dating: Presumably dated to after the Spanish expulsion in 1492. Signed by R. Shelomo Saporta (ר׳ שלמה ספורטה) and [Yaʿaqov b.?] Ḥayyim Astori (אסטורי), whose name has an ornate latin "L" next to it. ASE.

Letter in Hebrew. Mainly complaining about the conduct of a group of wicked people. Dating: Probably late. On verso there is a piyyut (in beautiful handwriting and vocalized).

Qaraite-Rabbanite polemic

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Probably a business letter. Very little substance remains. The hand is lovely and distinctive.