Recto: Aaron b. Asher, Diqduqe ha-Ṭeʿamim. The text contains a somewhat expanded version of שער ח (according to Dotan’s enumeration of the sections: Dotan 1967: 119). Verso: masoretic notes on חלל, ירידה, וירא, ויראה, observing that in each case the preferred preposition for these terms is אל, and listing the exceptions to this general rule (where על occurs instead).Condition: Slightly tornLayout: 12 lines in 2 columns (recto); 13 lines in 2 columns (verso)
Material from Aaron b. Asher, Diqduqe ha-Ṭeʿamim (‘Rules of the accents’). The material begins on f. 2r with the latter half of Dotan’s שער ה (Dotan 1967: 115, line 6 to 116, line 12). It continues with material similar to that of Dotan’s שער כא (Dotan, 1967, 140, lines 1-5). Then follows a section entitled שער טעמים שמונה אשר בשלושה ספרים (‘The Section concerning the eight accents of the three poetic books’), corresponding to Baer and Strack’s §18 (Baer and Strack, 1879: 19-20). Thereafter follows material from Dotan’s שער ט, though with multiple variant readings and additions (Dotan, 1967, 120, line 1 to 123, line 16).Condition: HolesLayout: 18-20 lines + marginalia
Piyyut, אהבוך עלמות, by Aaron b. Jacob, and the first few lines of a piyyut אויב בעת נמחק בעברה, by the same author. Both piyyuṭim may have been intended for recitation on Passover.Condition: Fading, holesLayout: 11 lines (recto); 10 lines (verso)
Recto: invitation to hear דברי תורה, a sermon, sent to Suwayd and his two sons, Saʿadya and Yaḥya, from Aaron ha-Kohen אב בית דין בירבי.Condition: slightly fadedLayout: 13 lines (recto); traces of text (verso)
Letter from Aaron ha-Kohen b. Namr to ʿEli ha-Kohen b. Moses b. Ḡālib, mentioning the bearer of a previous letter, Abū l-Ḥusayn, and Ibrahim.Condition: torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 17 lines + marginalia (recto); 5 lines (verso)
Recto: part of a letter, from Aaron ha-Mūmḥe the cantor b. Ephraim, from Ṣōʿan (i.e. Fusṭāṭ), to the Nagid Solomon. It appears that the name Solomon was inserted, subsequent to the composition of the letter and in a different hand, into a gap that had been left by the original scribe. Verso: piyyuṭ in honour of Solomon, the recipient of the letter on the recto, written by the same scribe.Condition: torn, holes, stainedLayout: 31 lines (recto); 35 lines (verso)
Recto: family letter, ca. 11th century, from Abraham to his son-in-law Elijah and his daughter אתוכלי, Itwakkilī (Arabic, but unattested as a name). There are many greetings and good wishes from various family members. The writer states that Elijah’s brother wanted to visit him, but had been prevented by the grape harvest (הבציר). He wants the couple to send a letter at the next opportunity. Also mentioned is a debt and ‘the time that the river rises’, probably a reference to the flooding of the Nile. A number of different names are mentioned: Elijah’s sister is Sitt al-Rūmī (שטירומי); also mentioned are Irini (אריני), Leon (לאון) and his wife Sitt al-Bayt (שטילבית), another son-in-law Kalev, a wife Meršini (מרשיני, vocalised) and a son Šemarya. Verso: address and several lines of unrelated Arabic.Condition: tornLayout: 11 lines (recto); 5 lines (verso)
Letter to Mordechai Kohen from his brother Abraham, dated 5646 of the Era of Creation (= 1886 CE).Condition: tornLayout: 32 lines + marginalia (recto; verso is blank)
Letter, mostly in poetical Hebrew to Aaron Abū l-Ḥasan and his two sons, one named Yefet, written by Abraham, the muqaddam of Malīj.Condition: Torn, holes, slightly fadedLayout: 21 lines + marginalia (recto); 15 lines + marginalia (verso)
Letter to Caro Frances from Abraham Gabriel concerning business matters. Dated 168 (5568 of the Era of Creation = 1807 CE), and mentioning people including Nissim Minyani (מנייני).Condition: holes, rubbedLayout: 35 lines + marginalia (recto); 3 lines (verso)
F.1: grammatical and lexicographic treatise in Judaeo-Arabic. F.2: Abraham Ibn Ezra’s commentary on Genesis 1.Condition: badly rubbed, fadedLayout: 20–21 lines
F. 1v contains the heading ‘by Abraham Ibn Ezra’ (spelled Abram), followed by the opening two and a half stanzas of his meʾora ענו בהמון שירים. F. 2r contains the latter part of another poem, followed by a colophon in a different hand and ink “Completed with God’s support”. F. 1r contains jottings (the repeated letters alef and bet, randomly arranged).Condition: Slightly rubbedLayout: 9–12 lines (f. 2v is blank; jottings on f. 1r)
Recto: a piyyuṭ by Abraham Ibn Ezra (אמונתך נודעה ביום טובה ויום רעה) with a title ascribing the text to Avram Ben Ezra. Verso: a short note in Judaeo-Arabic mentioning the opening parts (petiḥot) of qinot.Condition: Torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 21 lines (recto); 2 lines (verso)
Abraham Ibn Ezra’s riddle לבקש סוד שתי נשים, copied both on recto and on verso. The riddle on verso is complete but is written in a messy hand with spelling mistakes and is badly laid-out. It may have served as practice for the text on recto, which is written in a calligraphic hand but is unfinished.Condition: Holes, stainedLayout: 4 lines (recto); 5 lines (verso)
Collection of piyyuṭim including a piyyuṭ for the last day of Passover לבבתיני אחותי אשר פני דמשק צופה by Levi b. Mar Saul (f. 1r), a rešut la-nišmat יפתח עלמת חן ומעין נעלמה by Joseph b. Ṣadiq (f. 1r, bottom), a poem מעשה אלהים על גדולתו עד by Abraham Ibn ʿEzra (spelled Aḇram) (f. 2v) and שהדי במרומים ובשחק עדי.Condition: Torn, holesLayout: 17–18 lines + marginalia
Letter, in which the writer (probably Abraham Kohen) denies influencing young men, and swears that he had not contacted ‘the teacher from Safed’ (c. 15th century).Condition: torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 35 lines + marginalia (recto); jottings (verso)
Recto: letter in the hand of Abraham Maimonides, mentioning Joseph. Verso: letter concerned with a legal dispute over an inheritance, mentioning Ibn Kamāl from Bilbays and Minyat Ḡamr.Condition: torn, holesLayout: 15 lines + marginalia (recto); 29 lines + marginalia (verso)
Letter, dated 3rd Kislev, from Abraham Maimonides, to Peraḥya the judge and his sons, probably in Bilbays, Egypt. He recommends the bearer of the letter as a worthy potential son-in-law, and urges the recipient to give the bearer a clear answer in this regard. Opens with a quote from Isaiah 12:2, and also quotes from BT Pesaḥim 49b.Condition: tornLayout: 25 lines (recto); 7 lines (verso)
Recommentation letter by Abraham Maimonides for the Nasi Obadiah, mentioning Peraḥya the judge. On verso are biblical citations from Isaiah 29:17-19.Condition: torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 22 lines + marginalia (recto); 5-9 lines in 2 columns (verso)
Letter from Abraham Maimonides to the judge Nissim in Alexandria, instructing him not to let Abū Manṣūr b. Abū l-Ḵayr, the tax-farmer of Sanhūr, re-marry before he has paid back his previous wife’s delayed bridal gift. In the hand of Solomon b. Elijah (13th century).Condition: holesLayout: 31 lines + marginalia (recto); 6 lines (verso)
Letter of greetings written and signed by Abraham Maimonides, to Anatoli b. Joseph.Condition: torn, rubbed, stainedLayout: 11 lines (recto; verso is blank)
Beginning of a letter or note in the hand of Abraham b. Maimonides to Moses, mentioning the elder Abū Naṣr b. Banīn (?). The note is prefaced with הנה אל ישועתי from Isaiah 12:2.Condition: torn, rubbedLayout: 5 lines (recto; verso is blank)
Recto: short letter referring to a lawsuit. Verso: last lines of a responsum by Abraham Maimonides; dated Sivan 1547 Sel. era (= 1236 CE).Condition: torn, holes, slightly rubbed, stainedLayout: 5 lines (recto); 4 lines (verso)
Recommendation letter by Abraham Maimonides (b. Moses Maimonides) in his own hand, addressed to a judge in a provincial town. Dated 1547 of the Seleucid Era (= 1235 CE).Condition: torn, holesLayout: 17 lines + marginalia (recto); 10 lines (verso)
Recto: letter from Abraham Masʿūd, dealing with trade in silk and linen, and mentioning Elijah Saloniko (אליא שלונקו). Verso: accounts.Condition: torn, holes, fadedLayout: 29 lines (recto); accounts + marginalia (verso)
Letter by Abraham Palieche to his sister, dated Elul 1564 (= 1253 CE). He is in Egypt/Cairo and wants her to come to meet him with the first ship to Alexandria.Condition: holes, rubbed, fadedLayout: 39 lines + marginalia (recto); 34 lines (verso)
Part of a letter, c. mid-16th century, from Abraham Sagis, in Jerusalem, to Joseph Qorqos, who is normally resident in Jerusalem but is currently visiting Egypt, regarding the distribution of funds sent to Jerusalem by various Egyptian donors, including the dignitary Solomon Alašqar, from which support was also given to the Ashkenazi yešiva and the recipient’s own yešiva, both in Jerusalem. Mentions David Zulati, Jacob Galican, Jacob Hami, Judah, Abraham, and Mordechai.Condition: torn, holesLayout: 41 lines (recto); 7 lines (verso)
Recto: letter from Abraham Sagis (סאגיש) in Safed to an individual in Egypt who had previously studied with the sage Moses di Trani in Safed. Abraham complains about an outstanding debt owed by the recipient, and the recipient’s stinginess toward the descendants of his former teacher. Signed Abraham Sagis. Verso: part of an address. C. late 16th century.Condition: tornLayout: 35 lines + marginalia (recto); 1 line (verso)
Letter to Joseph Ardia (ארדיעה) from Abraham Vilon (וילון) (probably 16th century), mentioning Francisco Grisolin (פרנסיסקו גריסולין) and dealing with large sums in florins. Address on verso.Condition: torn, holesLayout: 24 lines + marginalia (recto); 1 line (verso)
Commentary on the 1501 Astronomical Tables by Abraham Zacut (Zacuto b. Salamanca; 1452) written by Abraham Gascon (16th century) and adapted to the geographical position of Cairo.Condition: tornLayout: 20-23 lines
Letter by Abraham al-Dimašqī the teacher b. Jethro, with lengthy Hebrew blessings, and asking for support.Condition: torn, holesLayout: 22 lines (recto; verso is blank)
Recto: part of a Karaite ketubba (it mentions the custom of the בני מקרא), accompanied by a note. Addresses in Judaeo-Arabic (in different hands and ink, from each other and the ketubba) have been added to the blank space on recto and to verso. The sender is Abraham b. Abū Joseph, and the recipient, a Karaite (probably, suggested by הששנה הפרחת) named Manṣūr b. Abū l-Ḥasan of Damascus.Condition: Badly tornLayout: 10 lines (recto); 6 lines (verso)
Fragment of the start of letter, from Abraham b. Benjamin the teacher, quoting Isaiah 58:11, Psalm 132:11, Zechariah 10:6 and Psalm 18:45.Condition: tornLayout: 15 lines (recto; verso is blank)
Recto: draft of a Hebrew letter concerning consignments of money, charitable collections and the sending of books. Verso: Judaeo-Arabic letter from Abraham b. Hillel, introduced by 1 Samuel 25:6. It describes the arrival of a letter from ‘the son’ (probably the addressee’s) Moses ha-Kohen and sends congratulations on the opening of a perfumer’s shop, with jottings mentioning Manṣūr Ibn al-[...].Condition: torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 19 lines + marginalia (recto); 18 lines + marginalia (verso)
Letter from Abraham b. Isaac in Fusṭāṭ to Ḥalfon b. Nathaniel in Alexandria (c. February 1140 CE).Condition: holes, rubbedLayout: 22 lines + marginalia (recto); 20 lines + marginalia (verso)
Letter by Abraham Av Bet Din b. Isaac Alluf, formerly a captive, requesting aid on behalf of his fellow captives Joshua b. ʿEli and David b. Samuel. Addressed to the leaders of the congregation. Early 11th century.Condition: Torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 38 lines (recto; verso is blank)
Recto: letter to the dignitary Jacob in Alexandria from Abraham b. Isaac Ibn al-Zūlāfī in Palermo. The right margin has continuation of piyyuṭ from verso. Verso: piyyuṭ for Passover with many biblical quotations. Jottings in Arabic script at the top of the page.Condition: torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 31 lines + marginalia (recto); 26 lines (verso)
Letter from the head of the Alexandrian Jewish community (Abraham b. Jacob al-Darʿi) to the Nagid Mevoraḵ b. Saʿadya who appointed him, reporting on local affairs, especially the favourable treatment accorded the Jews by the new governor with regards to collecting the poll tax from the poor. Ca. 1100 CE.Condition: Slightly torn, fadedLayout: 40 lines (recto); 8 lines (verso)
Recto: begging letter to Mevoraḵ b. Isaac from Abraham b. Jethro from Damascus. Verso: list of names, most of them bankers, including Abū l-Faḍl b. Ṣaḡīr, Abū Naṣr b. Abū Sulaymān and Abū ʿImrān Mūsā, the ḡulām of Ibn ʿAwkal, and a poem in praise of a merchant, followed by a dirge.Condition: torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 38 lines + marginalia (recto); 36 lines, partly in 2 columns (verso)
Short letter from Abraham b. Nathan to an unknown recipient, acknowledging the receipt of cheese and a corresponding heqšer (certificate of kashrut), brought by Ṣedaqa b. Šemarya.Condition: holes, slightly rubbedLayout: 8 lines (recto; verso is blank)