Seforim Online Blog

Excellent book about the Italian Geniza fragments. Contains many photos of folios of the manuscripts in the back.

Talmudic and midrashic fragments from the Italian Genizah: reunification of the manuscripts and Catalogue

By Mauro Perani, Enrica Sagradini

I came across this fascinating website which talks about various fragments of Hebrew manuscripts that were discovered in book bindings. The site contains some nice images of selected fragments. Read it here.

The Leiden Yerushalmi manuscript is online and can be viewed here.  Click on the METS icon to view the actual folios.

The description of the manuscript from University of Leiden’s website:

The Jerusalem Talmud: a gem from the Leiden Hebrew collections

The Talmud is the great repository of the Jewish rabbinic tradition. The most prominent collection originated in ‘Babylonia’ (Mesopotamia) in the fourth and fifth centuries CE, but a second, less voluminous collection was compiled in Palestine, the so-called Palestinian or Jerusalem Talmud.

The first edition was printed in Venice in 1523-1524 by Daniel van Bomberghen from Antwerp, more commonly known as Daniel Bomberg, who was active in Venice between 1511 and 1538.

This codex in two volumes, Leiden Or. 4720, is the only surviving manuscript that was used by Bomberg for his edition, and indeed the only complete manuscript of the text to have come down to us at all. Written on parchment and dated in the year 5049 of the Jewish calendar (1289 CE), it was made by the copyist and scholar Jechiel ben Jekutiel ha-Rofe, most probably in Rome.

In the mid-sixteenth century the manuscript was bought from Bomberg by the French ambassador and bibliophile Jean Hurault de Boistailler, who paid twelve gold pieces for his prize. After his death it passed into the hands of the famous humanist scholar Josephus Justus Scaliger, who moved from his native France to Leiden in 1593 and died there in 1609. It now rests among Scaliger’s bequest of Oriental manuscripts and books.

In the early 1970s the manuscript was lovingly restored by sister Lucie Gimbrère, who replaced the old, but not original vellum binding with one of sturdy oak boards. Now, for the first time, this literally unique manuscript is available online to the scholarly community.

I have added 2 manuscripts of the Tosefta to the seforim database:

I have added to the database 6 new manuscripts of the Tanach. This is a really rare find. Enjoy.

I have added a 5 volume edition of the Aruch with the commentary Maarachei Lashon by R’ Moshe Yisrael Landau.

I would like to feature a poem by Rabeinu Shmuel HaNagid who lived in the 10th century in Spain. The poem is one of my favorites, because it speaks to all Jews today as much as it spoke in his day. It seems that not much has changed in the last thousand years. Officially this poem does not have a name, but in some books it is called Bet Tefillah – The House of Prayer. The translation into English is mine, and was edited by my wife. You can find this poem printed in this sefer on page 19.

בית תפילה
ר’ שמואל הנגיד

?הֲיִרְהַב הַזְּמָן בִּרְבִי וְרָבָא
?וְאִם בֵּינָיו וּבֵין תַּלְמוּד מְרִיבָה
,וְלָכֵן סִדְּרוֹ עַל פִּי פְתָאִים
,מְתֵי בֶטֶן וְאַדֶּרֶת וְשֵׂיבָה
וְכָל בַּעַר אֲשֶׁר יֹאמַר “אֲנִי הוּא
“!מְפִיבשֶׁת, וְרַב הַאייַ כְּצִיבָא
יְדַמּוּ כִּי בְצִיצִיּוֹת וְזָקָן
.וּמִגְבַּעַת יְהִי אִישׁ רֹאשׁ יְשִׁיבָה
זְכֹר, אָחִי, בְּלֶכְתֵּנוּ שְׁנֵינוּ
אֱלֵי בֵית הַתְּפִלָּה יוֹם עֲרָבָה
וְשָׁמַעְנוּ חֲמוֹר נוֹעֵר וְצִוְחַת
בְּנֵי בָקָר, וְהֵם גּוֹעִים, קְרוֹבָה
וְשַׂחְתִּי “מִי אֲשֶׁר שָׁת בֵּית אֱלֹהִים
“?כְּבֵית רֶפֶת – וְהִיא חַטָּאת וְחוֹבָה
,וְאָמְרוּ “אֵין חֲמוֹר וּמְרִיא בְּבֵית אֵל
“!אֲבָל קוֹרִין בְּמַסֶּכֶת וּבָבָא
וְאָמַרְתִּי “הֲמִירוֹתֶם תְּעוּדָה
“?וְתוֹרָה, וַאֲנִי אָנָה אֲנִי בָא
- וּבָאנוּ זוֹעֲמִים אֶל בֵּית אֱלֹהִים
!וּמִי יִתֵּן וְנִטְעֶה בַנְּתִיבָה
וְהִנֵּה רַב וְתַלְמִידִים מְנִידִים
,לְרָאשֵׁיהֶם כְּעַרְעָר בָּעֲרָבָה
בְּפִיהֶם גִּדְּפוּ הִלֵּל וְשַׁמַּאי
,וְהִכּוּ עַל לְחִי רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא
וְהָרַב יַאֲרִיךְ לָהֶם טְעָמִים
.וְיִטְרֹף מִלְּשׁוֹנָם אוֹת וְתֵבָה
וְיָשַׁבְתִּי וּפָנַי זוֹעֲפִים מִן
,אֲשֶׁר אֶרְאֶה וְנַפְשִׁי בִי עֲצֵבָה
- וְשָׁאַלְתִּי שְׁלוֹם הָרַב בְּכָבוֹד
.וְעָנַנִי כְּאִישׁ מָדוֹן וְאֵיבָה
וְהֵחֵל לַעֲנוֹת מֵאָה בְרָכוֹת
,בְּקוֹל עָבֶה כְּקוֹל הָמוֹן וְצָבָא
יְבָרֵךְ אֵל לְמַעַן אִישׁ בְּרָאוֹ
:וְלֹא אִשָּׁה – הֲשִׁיבוֹתִיו תְּשׁוּבָה
?הֲתָשִׁית נַפְשְׁךָ מִן הַזְּכָרִים”
“!וְאֵל יָעִיד בְּךָ כִּי אַתְּ נְקֵבָה

Translated by Eli Gurevich
Edited by Rachel Gurevich

Is Time mocking Rebbi and Rava? Starting with the Talmud a fight?

With fat-bellied fools, in long overcoats, “teaching” what they “feel” is right.

Any ass can say, “I am the great Mefivoshet, and Rav Hai is just an amoeba,” –

And he’s raised up high, with Tzitzit, beard and hat – because anyone can become Rosh Yeshiva.

Remember, my brother, the speech at Shul, on last Hoshana Rabbah night?

When we heard the ass bray, and the cows mooing their pleasure, at rubbish and foolish trite.

And I said, “How has God’s house become a barn? It is sinful! Disgusting! A disgrace!”

But they replied, “There is no ass, no cattle here – this is the Torah that we embrace!”

And I said, “You have changed the testimony and Torah. Where should I go now? How far?”

But with nowhere to go, we relented and entered, and saw more actions, increasingly bizarre.

There it was – a Rabbi and students – waving like juniper trees in the wind.

They babbled about Hillel, mumbled about Shamai, and slapped Rebbi Akivah on the chin!

The Rabbi expounded his thoughts, but the students – he cut off at the start.

Still, I sat down, with a twisted face, as I watched with a broken heart.

I asked the Rabbi, “How are you?” in a voice dripping with respect. But he shouted and yelled,

Tossing at me one hundred Berachot, and I felt myself further repelled.

Then he blessed God for not creating him a woman, as he twisted his Peyot into curls.

But I answered, “You place your soul with men, but God knows — you are no better than a girl!”

I added another sefer to the database #254.

I just added 2 seforim:

The Leningrad Codex (or Codex Leningradensis) is one of the oldest manuscripts of the complete Tanach produced according to the Tiberian mesorah. It is dated from the year 1008 according to its colophon. This edition of the Leningrad Codex was compiled by Tigran Aivazian from the text published by the Westminster Theological Seminary.

The David Kaufmann Collection of Hebrew manuscripts from the Oriental Collection of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Library is online with the images of the manuscripts available for download.

It has 2 manuscripts of particular note. MS A-50 of the Mishna and MS A77 of the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah.