A Genizah is a place where sacred Jewish writings that can no longer be used are stored until they are sent for burial. But the Genizah in the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat (Old Cairo) was unique in two significant respects: (1) none of it was ever sent for burial, so it accumulated for nearly 1000 years, from the founding of the synagogue until the discovery of the Genizah by Europeans in the mid-19^th century; and (2) the Jews behind the Genizah apparently felt that Hebrew letters themselves were sacred, so anything written with Hebrew characters, including secular documents and writings in Arabic, for which Jews used Hebrew letters, was thrown into the Genizah.

The page before you is a letter regarding the disposition of orphans. It is written in Judeo-Arabic (Arabic written in Hebrew letters), the common language of local Jews and their neighbors. Note the few words written above the main text on the top right. This is the Hebrew version of the Muslim “bismillah” (“in the name of God, the merciful one”), also reflecting the influence of Muslim culture and religion on Jews in their midst.