Three Different Uses of One Leaf by Rabbi Samuel b. Saʿadiah ha-Levi: Gaster Heb. ms. 1770/18
Rabbi Samuel b. Saʿadiah ha-Levi (active 1165–1203) was known among his contemporaries in Egypt, and likely by Maimonides himself, as “the Erudite Judge” (ha-dayyan ha-maskil).1Before the discovery of the Cairo Genizah, his name appeared in print only a few times, primarily due to his signature on enactments and responsa issued by Maimonides. Since the Genizah’s discovery, numerous details about Rabbi Samuel and his family’s life have come to light. Among the Genizah fragments are several documents written in his own hand. The Genizah has also provided extensive information about the activities of Rabbi Samuel and his two sons, Rabbi Joseph and Rabbi Solomon, in the field of copying books.2
Now, another fragment written in Rabbi Samuel’s recognisable hand is being published for the first time in its entirety: Manchester, University Library, Gaster Hebrew MS 1770/18. This fragment contains three separate items, unrelated to each other except for the fact that they were all written on a single sheet of paper by the same scribe. Each of the texts is interesting on its own, but together they offer us a round portrait of the interests of a communal functionary dealing with books, liturgical poetry and matters of the court.3 Here is a description of the contents on both sides of the sheet:
Side A
A title and a single paragraph from the beginning of Hilkhot Berakhot (Laws of Blessings) by Rabbi Isaac b. Judah Ghiyyat (d. Lucena 1089) were copied (blue square in the image below). The copying stopped after five lines (not including the title). At the bottom of the page, a list of individuals who commissioned legal documents (sheṭarot) was written (red square in the image below). This list is oriented in the opposite direction from the paragraph of Ibn Ghiyyat’s laws.
Gaster Hebrew MS 1770/18-2. The University of Manchester Library.
Side B
The left column contains a list of Seliḥot (penitential poems) without their author’s names. The first half of the right column also contains a list of Seliḥot, which appears to be a continuation of the same long list (both in yellow squares in the image below). The second half of the right column contains a list of individuals who commissioned legal documents (red square in the image below), which appears to be the beginning of the list at the bottom of side A.
Gaster Hebrew MS 1770/18-1. The University of Manchester Library.
Reconstructing the Use of the Page
While the Genizah fragment contains no explicit information about the order in which these items were written, the layout and cuts of the page suggest we can fairly confidently reconstruct the process of how this sheet of paper was used.
First, Rabbi Samuel copied the beginning of Rabbi Isaac ibn Ghiyyat’s work. For an unknown reason, he stopped copying almost immediately. It seems he then saved this page for a secondary, personal use and folded it lengthwise (the fold is clearly visible in the photograph). In the next step, Rabbi Samuel wrote the list of Seliḥot. Since the list fills the entire length of the left column but only the first half of the right, it appears that the Seliḥot list was written while the sheet was folded lengthwise, with Side B exposed and Side A covered. He began writing the list on one side of the folded sheet (the left column of Side B when unfolded). Once that side was full, he continued the list on the other side of the folded sheet (the right column of Side B when unfolded).
Some time later, Rabbi Samuel used the folded sheet again and wrote a list of those who commissioned legal documents. This list grew long, and after filling the end of the right column on Side B, he unfolded the sheet and wrote the rest of the list on Side A (in the opposite direction relative to Ibn Ghiyyat’s laws and at the other end of the page).
The conclusion that the legal paragraph was written before the lists is also supported by the relationship between the different writings and the page margins. The left edge of the legal paragraph has been cut, but the cut appears to have been relatively straight. In contrast, the lists fit the current width dimensions of the page. It is therefore plausible that the original left side of the page was intentionally trimmed slightly (about 3 cm) after the legal paragraph was written, and only then were the two lists added.
Details of the Three Items
Let's delve into the three items Rabbi Samuel b. Saʿadiah ha-Levi wrote on this page.
The Hilkhot Berakhot chapter from Rabbi Isaac ibn Ghiyyat’s work has not survived, apart from scattered quotes in a few medieval works. This fragment, therefore, is the only direct textual evidence we have for this part of his work, and it's a shame it is so brief. Evidence of this work’s existence in Egypt is also known from a list of books in the handwriting of Rabbi Joseph Rosh ha-Seder. This paragraph, along with three items from the list of documents, was published from this fragment as early as 1900 by the fragment's previous owner, Rabbi Dr Moses Gaster4 Most of the list of legal documents and the list of Seliḥot have not been published until now. The transcript below corrects Gaster's transcription and offers suggested completions for the parts that are missing due to the fragment's current physical state.
Of the list of Seliḥot, the records for 32 poems by various authors have survived. Presumably, these are Seliḥot that Rabbi Samuel copied for some liturgical purpose. The authors are not identified in the list, nor is it arranged by author. We have identified all the poems in the notes, except three that could not be identified due to the fragment’s current condition.5 All identifiable authors belong to the Andalusian poetical tradition, with Levi Ibn Mar Saul as the earliest poet (first half of the 11th century) and Abraham ibn Ezra (d. 1164) as the latest.
At the top of the list of those who commissioned legal documents is a title that, unfortunately, we could not fully read due to the fragment’s current condition. Therefore, we cannot currently determine the nature of the list from the title alone. It's possible that examining the original fragment with advanced equipment might allow the full title to be read. In this list, we find a distinction between a “ketubbah” (marriage contract) and a “sheṭar” (general deed), but the specific type of “sheṭar” is usually not identified (except in three cases where the type of document may have been written,6 but we could barely read only one of them due to the fragment’s damaged state). In one additional case, it seems that a deed of engagement was listed.7 Next to the designation “sheṭar” and/or “ketubah,” Rabbi Samuel recorded the identity of the person commissioning the document. Subsequently, in at least six entries, a numbering appears. The numbers that have survived are: א׳ (1), א> (1.5), ב׳ (2).
There is no explicit explanation for the numbers, but we believe Rabbi Samuel was noting the prices he received or expected to receive for writing these documents. After all, what other usage would a scribe have for noting to himself sums such as 1, 1.5 and 2 next to a list of legal documents? While the Geniza preserves thousands of legal documents of various sorts, we know very little about the costs of legal action.8From the perspective of legal consumers, the payments they made are an important consideration in understanding their choices (choices that served as the engine that powered the Jewish Egyptian legal culture). From the perspective of the Jewish community, such payments are important in understanding how the community maintained such a robust legal culture. Thus, every piece of information on court fees is important.
In Mishneh Torah, Laws of Sanhedrin 23:3, Moses Maimonides noted that “Every judge who sits and augments his honor in order to increase the payments to his cantors and scribes falls under those who incline to greed.” This statement suggests that the costs of writing deeds varied according to the length and size of the documents and the parties involved. The only source for Jewish court fees comparable to the list published here comes from a Geniza letter, dated by Goitein to around 1065, to Eli b. Amram, recently published by Elinoar Bareket and Tova Beeri.9 The letter mentions three ketubbahs for which the unnamed writer received 6, 4 and 3 dirhams and a bill of divorce (Heb. get) for which he received 2 black dirhams that sold for one good dirham.10 “Our” list also reflects the fact that ketubbahs fetched a higher price, probably because they required a large piece of parchment, were occasionally decorated, and were written for a happy occasion. The sums in the letter suggest that the numbers in our list denote dirhams. It is noticeable that our list contains a range of 1-2 dirhams while the letter, written about a century earlier, contains significantly higher sums. This change probably reflects the general deterioration of the financial circumstances of the Jewish community in the second half of the 12th century, which can also be gleaned from the sums mentioned in ketubbahs in the Geniza.
More specifically, the personal nature of the fragment suggests that Rabbi Samuel kept for himself the payments he received, emphasizing the personal nature of many of the Jewish legal institutions at the time.
It is unclear why Rabbi Samuel only noted the price in some cases. It is possible that he only marked the price after payment was received. Among the names of those who commissioned documents, we were able to identify a few figures who appear in other Genizah documents, as detailed in the notes. We have not yet been able to locate a single document from this list among the known Genizah documents written by Rabbi Samuel b. Saʿadiah, but it is hoped that such a match will be found in the future. The last three documents on the list, which were all commissioned by members of the same family (a father, a daughter and a son), were written in darker ink. This suggests that the list of commissioned documents was not written all at once.
The Text11
Item 1:
הילכות ברכות תאליף רבינו
יצחק הרב המובהק ביר׳
יהודה גיאת זכרם לברכה
מאימתי קורין את שמע בערבי[ן משעה שהכהנים נכנסים]
ל[א]כל בתרומתן וסימן לדבר צאת הכוכב[ים ...]
עד שיעלה עמוד השחר ובשעת הדחק קור[א אפילו ]לאחר? [שיעלה]
עמוד השחר עד קודם הנץ החמה הואיל ואיכא אינאשי דגא[נו]
Item 2:
<left column>
(Probably the first few lines are missing)
1. יום לריב תעמוד12
2. אל דמי לכם ילדי איתני13
3. מושל רום ברוב אונים14
4. ידידים לבית אל חשו15
5. בלילי על משכבי עצות בנפשי16
6. נורא מכל ואיום הדרש לצעקת17
7. מדמי הלבבות וחלבי הכליות18
8. אל בת הנמצאה יה ממרום שובה19
9. על עוני וזדוני את עיני לך אתלה20
10. אלהי ק...לב? ...ה
11. לך עיני? ... צופיות פנה נא21
12. לא בצדק[תי] עמדתי?22
13. לפני? ה[מלך] אשפ[ו]ך? [עתירתי]23
14. ידע...
15. משען עמו ומבטחם24
16. יה למתי צפנת25
17. יום להטיב תקרא26
18. חרדים? לבית ת[פילתם]27
19. שו...?
20. יצרי ר[אשית צרי]28
21. מפחד לפני יי׳29
22. מדי חירות30
23. אנא הנשא והעיר(!) פ[ל]אות31
24. בצר לי אקרא צור32
25. רצה רנת מתודים33
<right column>
1. [יד]ענו אלהים עונותי[נו]34
2. אלהי קדם מעונה ישובב יונה35
3. יי מה אדם הלא בשר ודם36
4. היכל יי ומקדש הדומו37
6. זמן הבלי ימי סכל40
Item 3:
7. אלשטאראת אלתי אליפנא? מ..שון41
8. כתובה לבן ברוך? ב ?42
9. [כתו]בה למוסי בן מסכה43
10. ...לאבו מנשה
11. [שטר וכתוב]ה לבן אל...ץ
(Empty line?) .12
13. ש[טר] למ[וסי?] אבו אל.פ. ב׳
14. שטר אברה? לבן אל… ב׳
15. שטר לאבו עמ[ר]אן ...
16. ש[טר לא]בו? מ… בן אלחרירי?44
17. שטר? [ל]אבו אלמני? למ?...45
18. [שטר] ל[מכא]רם בן אלאמשאטי ..46
19. כתובה? לב...?
20. ......א? לאבנה? …מכרם?
21. ...ם
22. שטר לת...
23. שטר לתמים? בן אלרצאץ47 א>
24. כא>?48
<Side A>
(The first few lines are missing)
1. [... שה]אדה? מוהוב? אלחזן א>
2. מלאך49 בנת .ברי בנת א.....>
3. ושטר אבראה? ל…ארח?
4. בן אלתיוזי וש[טר?] דין עלי... ?50
ֿ
5. שטר ללכהן אלצקלי51
6. שטר לביתה אלנאיחה א׳52
7. כתובה ושטר לאבנה אלשמאע
The authors would like to thank Kedem Golden and Omri Livnat for their invaluable help with some of the poetic material in this fragment.
Footnotes
1 See: M. A. Friedman, ‘Geniza Studies and Maimonidean Research’, in: M. A. Friedman (ed.), Maimonides and the Cairo Geniza (Jerusalem, 2023), pp. 185–98.
2 On Shlomo see: E. Chwat, ‘Solomon b. Samuel Halevy: A Genizah Scribe in the Court of Maimonides’, in: N. S. Cohn and K. Kogman-Appel (eds), Beloved David—Advisor, Man of Understanding, and Writer: A Festschrift in Honor of David Stern (Providence, 2025), pp. 375–98. On Joseph see: A. Ashur and A. Elbaum, ‘New Maimonidean Documents’, in: N. Posegay et al (eds), From the Battlefield of Books: Essays Celebrating 50 Years of the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Research Unit (Leiden-Boston, 2024), pp. 15–16.
3 For another study that tries to understand the relationship between different sets of writing on a single Geniza item, see: O. Zinger, ‘Meanderings in the Literary Genizot: New Texts and New Contexts’, Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 8 (2020), pp. 207–12.
4 M. Gaster, ‘Geniza-Fragmente’, in: M. Brann and F. Rosenthal (eds), Gedenkbuch zur Erinnerung an David Kaufmann (Breslau, 1900), p. 240.
5 The identification of the authors was done almost entirely by lists of “Ezra Fleischer Geniza Research Project for Hebrew Poetry” (on the “Ktiv” website).
6 Lines 14, 3, 4.
7 Line 2.
8 The evidence known so far regarding costs of writing deeds is recorded in O. Zinger, ‘Introduction to the Legal Arena’, in: M. Frankel (ed.), The Jews in Medieval Egypt (Boston, 2021), p. 102 no. 67.
9 T-S 13J20.17, ed. E. Bareket and T. Beeri, Eli Ben Amram: Leader and Poet (Hebrew; Jerusalem, 2020), pp. 279–81. For an English summary and partial translation, see: S. D. Goitein, A Mediterranean Society, 2:230.
10 It is also useful to compare these sums to the sum of one dirham promised to a scribe for writing a woman’s petition to the head of the Jews, see T-S NS 342.3 + T-S NS 342.7 (joined by Alan Elbaum) discussed in O. Zinger, ‘“God only knows how I wrote these lines’: Voices, Authorship and Communication in Women’s Letters from the Cairo Genizot’, to be published in Jewish Quarterly Review.
11 Here are the deciphering signs we used in the transcription:
... Several letters or words were difficult or impossible to read.
אאא? The reading of the word or letters before the question mark is uncertain.
[אאא] A completion based on reasoning or parallel texts.
12 By Levi Ibn Mar Saul.
13 By Moses ibn Ezra.
14 By Moses ibn Ezra.
15 By Moses ibn Ezra.
16 By Moses ibn Ezra.
17 By Moses ibn Ezra.
18 By Moses ibn Ezra.
19 By Yosef, published: Y. Ratzaby, ‘Me-otzar ha-piyut veha-shirah’, Sinai 28 (5711; 1950/1), pp. 173–5.
20 By Moses ibn Gikatilla.
21 Probably by Levi ibn al-Tabban: לך עיני צופיות פנה נא משמיך.
22 By Abraham.
23 By Moses ibn Ezra.
24 By Moses ibn Ezra.
25 By Judah Halevi.
26 By Yosef.
27 By Moses ibn Ezra.
28 By Judah Halevi.
29 By Moses ibn Ezra.
30 By Moses ibn Ezra.
31 By Moses ibn Ezra.
32 By Yosef.
33 By Judah Halevi.
34 By Moses ibn Ezra.
35 By Abraham ibn Ezra.
36 By Solomon ibn Gabirol.
37 By Judah Halevi.
38 By Haviv.
39 By Solomon ibn Gabirol.
40 By Moses ibn Ezra.
41 Perhaps it is possible to complete מ[רח]שון?
42 Maybe: אלשיוך.
43 Barakāt b. Mūsā Ibn Muska is mentioned in T-S 10J7.6 (1149 CE).
44 Maybe he is Abū Manṣūr al-Ḥarīrī (ENA 2559.10; CUL Add.3343; CUL Or.1080 J28) or Maḥāsin al-Ḥarīrī (T-S 13J36.11) or Makārim al-Ḥarīrī (CUL Or.1081 J1). All these sources were written near R. Samuel’s time.
45 Several instances of the name Abū l-Munā appeared in two other lists (of contributions) written by R. Samuel’s hand: T-S 10J26.13; T-S K6.149.
46 On him see: S. D. Goitein and M. A. Friedman, India Traders of the Middle Ages: Documents from the Cairo Geniza (‘India Book’), Leiden 2008, p. 110.
47 Raṣṣāṣ – maker/dealer in lead.
48 This word is not written as a direct continuation of the list, but rather a little below, and it is not clear what its function is. If the reading > is correct, this word might be the total sum.
49 Engagement deed, See: Amir Ashur, Engagement and Betrothal Documents from the Cairo Geniza (Hebrew; unpublished PhD diss., Tel Aviv University, 2006), pp. 27–8; J. Blau, A Dictionary of Mediaeval Judaeo-Arabic Texts (Jerusalem, 2006), p. 669; M. A. Friedman, A Dictionary of Medieval Judaeo-Arabic (Jerusalem, 2016), p. 478.
50 The nasab al-Tayūzī/al-Tawwazī (אלתיוזי/אלתוזי/אלתווזי) is mentioned in several Geniza documents. In Samuel b. Sa’adya haLevi’s period of activity we find Abū l-Faraj ibn al-Tawwazī in ENA NS 2.40, T-S 6J5.19, T-S 13J7.26. His son, yosef, is mentioned in T-S NS 225.102 and DK 231.1.
51 “Al-Kohen al-Ṣiqillī” (= from Sicily/Palermo) is mentioned in additional Geniza fragments, for instance: ENA NS 34.14; BL OR 8660.1.
52 “A deed to his house (i.e. his wife) the keener.” The wife seems to have been a professional mourner (see also: Bodl. MS heb. f 22/43, T–S Misc.28.184; T–S NS 320.7; Yevr.-Arab. I 1700.15 #36).
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