Jewish Aramaic magic bowl. Mesopotamia (Iraq), 5th century BCE.

These magic artifacts with spells written on them, dating to circa 600 C.E. Mesopotamia (Iraq), were buried under houses as a way for clients to protect themselves from demons and diseases. Over 2,000 bowls exist around the world in private and library collections, written in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, Syriac, and Mandaic, as well as in pseudo-script (gibberish). Two of the three bowls from the Ferrini paleography collection are in pseudoscript, while this one is an actual text.

Collection/Call #:4671

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Joseph ben Moses Sarfati. [ʻIr Siḥon]; Sefer Ḥeshbon [1440-1500].

עיר סיחון; ספר חשבון

Copied between 1440 and 1500, this vellum manuscript contains two mathematical treatises by Joseph ben Moses Sarfati likely composed in the first half of the 15th century. Both titles refer to a city-state conquered by Israelites invading Canaan after the exodus from Egypt, according to the Torah. Ḥeshbon translates as “[mathematical, transactional, moral] account[ing]” or “invoice.” This volume was owned by Cornell Professor Isaac Rabinowitz, who added notes in English and Hebrew throughout.

Collection/Call #: Archives 4600 Bd. Ms. 266 Misc.

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[Talmud Bavli]. Tractate Taʿanit with Rashi’s Commentary… Venice: Daniel Bomberg, 1521.

תלמוד בבלי

….

מסכת תענית עם פירוש רשי

The Talmud (Babylonian and Jerusalem versions) is a vast compendium of rabbinic law and lore transmitted orally, subsequently in manuscript, from ca. 200 BCE to ca. 700 CE. Its principal components are the earlier Mishnah and later Gemara and its languages Hebrew and Aramaic. One of several Tamudic tractates in the Jon A. Lindseth Collection dedicated to fables in Jewish culture and literature. The collection is on deposit with Cornell University Library (catalogue number F-1791).

[Tehilim]. Psalms. Basel: s.n., 1550.

תהלים

A high-quality edition of the Psalms printed in the 16th century. Bound in pigskin featuring stamped cameos of classical writers and orators, both qualities suggesting use of a Christian bindery or perhaps re-use from another book where such decoration reflected the contents. This volume is annotated in Hebrew and Latin throughout and is opened at Psalm 92, “a song for the Sabbath day.”

Gift of the Tudor Foundation.

Collection/Call #: Rare Books BS1420 1550 tiny

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Maḥazor ke-Minhag K.K. Bene Roma .... Mantua: Be-vet ... Yitsḥaḳ Yare ve- ... Yaʻaḳov Ḥaver Ṭov a.y. ... Yehoshuʻa ... Mikhal mi-Sitsi, 478 [1718].

מחזור כמנהג ק״ק בני רומה

Prayerbook with liturgy for the High Holy Days and festivals included, according to the Italian rite. Copious manuscript annotations document changes and substitutions in the liturgy and suggest an overlay of Sephardic influence. The parchment used for the binding was recycled from another large Hebrew text, and inverted so the 'clean' side faced outward.

The book is accompanied by an undated handwritten pamphlet in Hebrew and Italian noting what is to be said by the cantor and the community on specific occasions, such as Yom Kippur and Rosh ha-Shanah.

Gift of the Tudor Foundation.

Collection/Call #: Rare Books BM672 .R75 A3 1718 ++

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H.R. Jeudah Piza. Calendario facil & curiozo em Hebraico & Portuguez…. Amsterdam: Officina typographice de G.J. Janson, 1769 (Hebrew year 5529).

לוחות העיבור

Printed in Amsterdam in 1726, this multilingual convolute work includes the Pentateuch, lunar and solar calendars, and calendrical conversion tables. These enabled users of the book to calculate when Jewish holidays would fall on the Gregorian calendar for a given year. All the books in this volume were created for and by the Sephardic community in Amsterdam, hence the use of Spanish and Portuguese alongside Hebrew.

Donated by Larry Eisen.

Collection/Call #: BS1222 1726 v.5

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Hafṭarot and Targum [19th century?]

הפטרות ותרגום

Yemenite manuscript of the Hafṭarot (readings from biblical prophetical literature for Sabbath and holidays) in Hebrew and Aramaic. "Be-Shem Raḥaman" (in the name of the Compassionate One), echoing Muslim scribal and religious practice, is inscribed above the first page of text. This follows a tradition of dedicating textual works to God and referring to God as the Compassionate One.

Donated by Carol Epstein.

Collection/Call #: Archives 4600 Bd. Ms. 694 +

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Isaac Abraham Euchel. Toldot ha-Rav ha-Kolel he-Ḥakham ... Mosheh ben Menaḥem = Moses Mendelssohns Biographie. Wien: Gedruckt bey Georg Holzinger, 1814.

תולדות הרב הכולל החכם ... מושה בן מנחם זצ״ל

An early biography of Moses Mendelssohn written shortly after his death by one of his students, Isaac Euchel. Moses Mendelssohn was a philosopher and theologian, and a central figure in the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskalah).

Collection/Call#: B2693 .E86 1814

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Leopold Zunz. Zeitschrift für die Wissenschaft des Judenthums. Berlin: Schlesinger, 1822.

Publication of the Verein für Kultur und Wissenschaft der Juden (Society for Jewish Culture and Jewish Studies), which first established the study of Judaism and Jewish culture as an academic discipline. In this first issue of the journal, the Society announces its objectives.

Collection/Call#: DS101 .Z483

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Leopold Zunz. Die Gottesdienstlichen Vorträge der Juden: Historisch Entwickelt. Berlin: A. Asher, 1832.

Leopold Zunz's landmark work on biblical interpretation and homiletics. Zunz is widely regarded as the founding father of the Wissenschaft des Judenthums (science of Judaism) movement in the early 19th century. With handwritten index on the paste-down.

Collection/Call #: Rare Books BM660.Z95 G6 1832

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Postcard to Eduard Böhl, professor of Reformed dogmatics at the Protestant University of Vienna from J. Louis(?) of Hamburg on 4th February 1881. The presence of this letter used as a bookmark suggests a broad interest in Zunz's work, even by non-Jewish theologians.

Collection/Call #: Rare Books BM660.Z95 G6 1832

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Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th century). The Prince and the Hermit. Meshed (Iran): Copied by Nathan ben Isaac, 1861.

בן המלך והנזיר

This poetic version (Shahzada va-tsufi) of the tale authored by Ibn Hasdai was composed in the second half of the seventeenth century by Elisha ben Shmuel and recounts the quest of a prince to acquire Sufic knowledge. The work reflects a synthesis of Jewish and Perso-Islamic cultural elements and is known to be based on Sanskrit traditions about the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama). The manuscript, in Judeo-Persian, a literary language utilized by Jews in Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia, is in the Jon A. Lindseth Collection dedicated to fables in Jewish culture and literature. The collection is on deposit with Cornell University Library (catalogue number F-1789).

Raḥamim Bukh’rits. Sefer Ḳol Bikhyi. Livorno: Sh. Belforṭe, 1896/1897.

ספר קול ביכיי

Printed in Livorno, this volume contains the biblical book of Job in Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic, Sefer Metsudat Daṿid by David ben Aryeh Loeb Altschuler, and the Book of Lamentations in Hebrew.

Collection/Call #: BS1415 .3 .K65 1896

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Eleanor Roosevelt. Letter to Mr. Morris Eliach. August 22, 1938.

Fundraising book of the United Charity Institutions of Jerusalem supporting the Bikur Cholim Hospital in Jerusalem, as well as rabbinical training, vocational training, and food and clothing for the poor. It includes a copy of a letter from Eleanor Roosevelt, known supporter of Zionist causes, commending the Charity's efforts. The book also contains an authorization from the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada for two representatives to solicit funds in the name of the charity.

Collection/Call #: 8758 Bd. Ms. 133 +

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