This entry offers a short overview of women’s letters found in the Cairo Geniza, a collection of medieval manuscripts that provides a rare glimpse into the lives and voices of Jewish women in the medieval Islamic world. Despite the systemic exclusion of women from formal learning and literary production in Jewish culture, the Geniza preserved at least 240 letters of women, primarily written in Judeo-Arabic. These letters, which encompass both family correspondence and formal petitions, shed light on women’s predicament, resources, and actions within a male-dominated society and highlight their active roles in maintaining communication across social and geographic distances. The entry underscores the complexity of authorship, as most letters were likely physically written by male scribes, yet were regarded by women as their own. Women’s letters in the Cairo Geniza are a rich source for gender dynamics, economic realities, and the emotional landscapes of Jewish women in the medieval Islamic world.

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Women’s Letters in the Cairo Geniza

  • Oded Zinger

摘要

This entry offers a short overview of women’s letters found in the Cairo Geniza, a collection of medieval manuscripts that provides a rare glimpse into the lives and voices of Jewish women in the medieval Islamic world. Despite the systemic exclusion of women from formal learning and literary production in Jewish culture, the Geniza preserved at least 240 letters of women, primarily written in Judeo-Arabic. These letters, which encompass both family correspondence and formal petitions, shed light on women’s predicament, resources, and actions within a male-dominated society and highlight their active roles in maintaining communication across social and geographic distances. The entry underscores the complexity of authorship, as most letters were likely physically written by male scribes, yet were regarded by women as their own. Women’s letters in the Cairo Geniza are a rich source for gender dynamics, economic realities, and the emotional landscapes of Jewish women in the medieval Islamic world.