É. Apor , I. Ormos (ed.): Goldziher Memorial Conference, June 21–22, 2000, Budapest.

BEERI, Tova: The Intriguing Fate of a Geniza Document: Goldziher's Contribution to the Study of Hebrew Poetry in Babylonia

THE INTRIGUING FATE OF A GENIZA DOCUMENT: GOLDZIHER'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF HEBREW POETRY IN BABYLONIA Tova Beeri Tel-Aviv Deeply revered as one of the founding fathers of modern Islamic and Arabic scholarship, Goldziher's contributions to the study of Jewish culture, though perhaps less renowned, are also seminal. As a matter of fact Goldziher devoted a considerable portion of his talent to the study of Jewish theology and literature.

1 Having an absolute command of both cultures, he explored the common borders of medieval Judaism and Islam with deep insight, thus contributing to a better understanding of Jewish life and learning in the Middle Ages. His works in these fields are still fascinating. I would like to focus on an apparently minor work by Goldziher, one of his rare articles based on a Geniza manuscript, published in REJ in 1905.

2 The article in question presents the scholarly reader with a private letter written in Judeo-Arabic discovered among the then almost unknown treasury of Geniza manuscripts. ' The letter Goldziher published was written on vellum in Hebrew characters. It was sent from Qayrawan in summer 999 by one Nahum ben Yosef to the Gaon Shmuel ben Hofni, head of the newly reopened academy of Sura in Baghdad.

4 The writer, as 1 In J. Desomogyi (ed.), Ignaz Goldziher, Gesammelte Schriften, Hildesheim 1970, vols. 16, there are over thirty-five articles dealing with Jewish subjects, many of them relating to Islamic and Arabic issues as well. REJ 50 (1905), 182-188. It is part of a series of short articles dealing with Judeo-Arabic issues titled 'Mélanges judeo-arabes.' The series appeared in REJ vols. 43-52, between 1901 and 1910. ' The Cairo Geniza was formally discovered by Solomon Schechter in 1896. However, manuscripts originating from the Geniza were obtained, prior to this date, by universities and private collectors who did not realize their true scholarly value. 4 The Sura academy was closed after the demise of Saadya Gaon in 942. It was reopened sometime before 990 thanks to a generous donation by a rich nobleman of Baghdad, named Abraham. Cf. below, nn. 11-13. O

n Shmuel ben Hofni Gaon in general, see R. Brody, The Geonim of Babylonia and the Shaping of Medieval Jewish Culture, New Haven-London 1998, s.v. 'Samuel b. Hofni Gaon'. For a more detailed study of his academic activities, consult D. Sklare, Samuel b. Hofni Gaon and His Cultural World: Texts and Studies. Leiden 1996. 15