Geniza Lab

Legal queries and responsa of Shlomo ibn Aderet. All having to do with marriage laws. Late.

Formulary for a legal document for the appointment of a ritual slaughterer (shoḥeṭ). Location: Cairo. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic.

Formularies for legal documents. Late.

Draft of lists of conditions for a partnership. In Judaeo-Arabic (first folio) and Hebrew (second folio).

Legal query in Judaeo-Arabic addressed to "sayyidnā al-shelishi" regarding a man who died and left his entire estate to one of his two cousins, but did not explicitly exclude the other one, to whom he gave the equivalent of a peruṭa (penny). A more complete version of T-S G1.2 (PGPID 1307). (AA)

Legal queries and responsa. Late.

Original text: (draft of?) Arabic legal document involving a certain Hārūn b. Sulaymān. Needs further examination. Later text: In Judaeo-Arabic, the archaeological secrets revealed by a certain "nāẓir," not explicitly about treasure hunting (like AIU VI.B.99), but with a distinctly esoteric flavor. Mentions al-Mayādīn, the Umayyad Castles, Cairo and Miṣr, Kahf al-Sūdān, Kahf al-ʿAqaba.

Recto: Fragment from a marriage document, probably a ketubba, for Sitt al-Kull, in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. BL OR 5566A.1 is also a fragment of a ketubba for Sitt al-Kull in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe, but these do not appear to be a join. Perhaps this fragment is her dowry list? Or different marriages, or different women? Verso: Fragmentary phrases from letters copied haphazardly. Notes added by MR from the AIU in person: a narrow strip from the middle or left-hand side of the ketubba, apparently cut before being reused on verso; but the shape suggests that it was reused in a book-binding. However, the glue-marks appear to be from conservation tape. Parchment, ketubba written on the hair side.

Betrothal agreement fragment (contains some of the same formulaic language as that edited by Ashur—Bodl. MS heb. f.56/57—in "How to Identify Prenuptial Agreements," Jewish History, 2019). There are numerous fragments in the hand of the same scribe, Yosef b. Shemuʾel b. Seʿadya (active ca. 1181–1209), e.g., Moss. VII,59, T-S 8.98, T-S NS 320.92, T-S NS 338.109, T-S AS 147.41, T-S AS 147.42. There are also larger fragments a hand that resembles his (e.g., T-S 12.141 and T-S 12.602). The date is likely ca.1200 CE. Verso contains some geomancy markings. Curatorial note: Exposition "L'Egypte au temps des Fatimids" Institut de Monde Arabe 1998.

Fragment of a ketubba. The hand of the scribe is known (one of the mid-12th-century ones). Groom: Might be Hillel b. Moshe. Signed by Yosef b. [...] ha-Levi. In between the lines, at 180 degrees, is biblical text including Deuteronomy 30:6. On verso is more biblical text including Jeremiah 50:20.

Contract of sorts. In Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew. Calligraphic. Dating: Late, possibly 18th or 19th century. All those who sign their names below seem to be committing to something, perhaps fasting and prayer, and there is a penalty of 10 silver pieces for whoever spends a night without [....]. Only the remnant of the name Refa'el is preserved at bottom.

Fragment of a legal document in which the signature of Toviyya b. Daniel appears.

Clockwise from upper left: (b) Legal fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. At the top there is a list of names including Bū l-Ḥasan; Sitt [...]; Abū ʿAbdallāh b. Khodadād (likely the same as in ENA NS 71.6); [...] ha-Kohen b. Yiṣḥaq (this is crossed out); [...] b. Yiṣḥaq; and Yūsuf b. Ayyūb ha-Levi. All these people had evidently gathered with Rosh ha-Qehillot, and then most of what ensued is lost; someone named Abū l-Barakāt is also involved.

Clockwise from upper left: (c) Legal fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Almost everything preserved is formulary.

This fragment is actually several fragments stuck together. In the lower right corner of 'recto,' at 90 degrees to the other text blocks, there is the upper right corner of a legal testimony in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe, concerning ʿArūs al-Urjuwānī (the purple merchant), probably Abū l-Afrāḥ ʿArūs b. Yosef and also [...] b. ʿAmram. Mentions Diyār al-Yaman (the lands of Yemen). All the fragments under the shelfmark AIU VIIA.38 were preserved in a book-binding.

Image not available. According to Schwarb catalogue: a registration of birth from Safed, 1713 and of death from 1720. AA

Image not available. According to Schwarb Catalogue: A communal document mentions Abu Saad ibn Hassun. AA

Legal testimonies. In Hebrew. Dated: perhaps 5408 AM (recto) and 5411 AM (verso), but these are not completely clear. In any case, the approximate dates are ~1650 CE. The first testimony is from Aharon Zaytūn and the second is from Moshe חדדו(?). They are both describing a convoluted case involving a Muslim named Muḥammad al-Wakīl and the Jews Yaʿqūb and his companion and perhaps a bricklayer (al-Labbān). It seems that Yaʿqūb and his companion were murdered (r17–18, v2–3). The Bassātīn cemetery may be mentioned (r10). These two testimonies are from Kislev, and the third is from Tishrei and in different handwriting, meaning it was from the following year at earliest, and perhaps several years later (the dates are given, but tricky to read). Yosef A[.]wāb testifies about a Muslim named ʿUmar. But the content is hard to determine. This testimony is signed by Yehuda b. Ḥizqiya ha-Kohen and Yosef b. Barukh. The first two testimonies are not signed.

Recto: A Karaite betrothal document from Fusṭāṭ 1048 CE (Kislev, 1360 Seleucid) for Maḥfūẓ b. Menaḥem and Fāḍilah bt. Avraham b. Muslim. The dower (mohar) is 50 pieces of silver (dirhams). The early marriage gift (muqdam) is 25 dirhams. Verso: Three recipes in Arabic. The first may be medical ("Smear it on the place. Effective.") The second, which occupies the bulk of the page, may be a recipe for red ink. The third, written sideways in the margin, is unclear. Its first ingredient is shelled walnuts. ASE

Legal document of betrothal for Yiṣḥaq ha-Levi and Esther bt. David ha-Kohen, listing the conditions and sums owed. Appears to be dated 22 August 1828 (12 Elul 5400+188).