In 1897 cambridge professor solomon schechter stepped into the attic of the ben ezra synagogue in cairo and found one of the largest treasure troves of early and medieval jewish manuscripts ever discovered. And, the gineza has not yet given up all its treasures. The cairo genizah as the renowned rabbi moshe ben maimon maimonides wrote in thirteenthcentury cairo. Indiana jones meets the da vinci code in an old egyptian synagoguethe amazing story of one of the most important discoveries in modern religious. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading sacred treasurethe cairo genizah. The amazing discoveries of forgotten jewish history in an egyptian synagogue attic by rabbi mark glickman is a fascinating glimpse through time.
A genizah,for hiding place, is a depository for sacred hebrew books that are no longer usable. The 1896 discovery of the cairo genizah was one of the greatest jewish treasures ever found. Sacred treasurethe cairo genizah ebook by rabbi mark s. Sacred treasure the cairo genizah the jewish chronicle. The cairo geniza, alternatively spelled genizah, is a collection of some 400,000 jewish manuscript fragments and fatimid administrative documents that were found in the genizah or storeroom of the ben ezra synagogue in fustat or old cairo, egypt. Schechter noticed that several of the documents originated in cairo, where a centuriesold genizah was rumored to exist. This book is about the treasures that were found in a repository in cairo, the cairo genizah, a sacred storage place for hebrew documents and books, at the tail end of the 1800s. I was surprised how the pile of trashed letters, books, receipts and more went from. The amazing discoveries of forgotten jewish history in an egyptian synagogue attic by rabbi mark s. To this day, according to jewish tradition, texts with the name of god on them should not be disposed of casually, but gathered together respectfully and then buried in the ground. It will delight listeners with its fascinating adventure story of why this enormous collection was amassed, how it was discovered, and the many lessons to be found in its contents. Treasures in the synagogue attic the genizah moment solomon schechter the giblews may, 1896 a battlefield of books unpacking the boxes more treasures come to light professor genizah sheet music, longlost talmud, and a lame and decrepit hyena the genizah today the friedberg genizah project sacred treasure. Occasionally, though, this fate eluded these collections. Hightech scientists are using computers and ultraviolet images to gather fragments of the cairo genizah.
The term cairo genizah refers to the many sacred texts interred by the jews of egypt in adherence to this tradition. So far, theyve pieced together 1,000 documents from 350,000 tiny scraps. These are depositories for wornout books and papers stored there until they could receive a proper cemetery burial. Reading sacred trash made me realize how much the treasures of the cairo gineza have informed much of what i have learned about jewish prayer, text and history. The subject suggests dreary text and arcane terminology. Introduction jews of cairo collections of genizah documents history of genizah discoveries liturgy and poetry historical discoveries genizah research, 1960s1980s. The paperback of the sacred treasurethe cairo genizah. The amazing discoveries of forgotten jewish history.
The cairo genizah the amaz ing discoveries of forgotten jewish history in an egyptian synagogue attic. We, with our partners at the university of pennsylvania libraries, the princeton geniza project, the library of the jewish theological seminary, and the genizah research unit at cambridge university library, are delighted to announce the launch of scribes of the cairo geniza formerly known as surviving scripts, a project to sort and expand our shared. But the contents of the cairo genizah show that jews were allowed a far. Mark glickman documents the discovery of over 300,000 documents in an attic of a synogoge in cairo, egypt, describing why they were amassed, the circumstances surrounding how they were found, and what the. The amazing discoveries of forgotten jewish history in an egyptian synagogue attic by mark glickman. Since they cannot be thrown out because they contain the name of gd, these documents, often called. Click to read more about sacred treasurethe cairo genizah. Once in cairo, having established contacts within the local community, schechter was taken to see the genizah of the yearold ben ezra synagogue, into which wornout jewish books, documents and other writings had continually been placed since the middle ages in fulfilment of a rabbinic prohibition against the destruction of sacred texts. The amazing discoveries of forgotten jewish history in an egyptian synagogue attic. Rabbi mark glickmanswellwritten book sacred treasure the cairo genizah the name is sometimes spelt with an additional h that reads like a novel tells the history of the discovery of the contents of the cairo genizah and what many of the documents reveal. Rabbi mark glickmans wellwritten book sacred treasure the cairo genizah that reads like a novel tells the history of the discovery of the contents of the cairo genizah and what many of the.
During the years since, superseded manuscripts and books were placed in the genizah, which in this case was a dark. Moment hoffman and coles vivid portrayal of the discovery of the ancient cairo geniza. Indiana jones meets the da vinci code in an old egyptian synagoguethe amazing story of one of the most important discoveries in modern religious scholarship. Indiana jones meets the da vinci code in an old egyptian synagogue the amazing story of one of the most important disco. It is forbidden to destroy any sacred writing or its commentary or its interpretation.
The amazing discoveries of forgotten jewish history in an egyptian synagogue attic book online at best. Rabbi mark glickman is available to speak on the following topics. Interesting that both this book and sacred treasure the cairo genizah. The amazing discoveries of forgotten jewish history in an egyptian synagogue attic 9781580235129 by rabbi marc s. Best guess is that the importance of the cairo genizahs countless paper treasures has been. Cairo geniza the cairo geniza libguides at touro college. He reveals how in december 1896, rabbi solomon schechter of cambridge university. The story of the cairo genizah and its manuscript treasures has fascinated many generations of scholars, and its hold on the imagination of rabbi mark glickman is part of that tradition. Genizah manuscripts faculty of divinity 50 treasures. It has provided the world with the some of the most important documents of the medieval middle east. He had entered the synagogues genizah its repository for damaged and destroyed jewish textswhich held nearly 300,000. It is estimated that there are over 350000 individual fragments in this collection, making it the worlds largest and most important collection of medieval jewish manuscripts.
According to jewish tradition, sacred hebrew texts that are worn or damaged are not to be thrown away. Library book talk about the treasures of the cairo genizah. Sacred treasure is an extremely well written book that clearly elucidates the story of the genizah. I saw this one by rabbi glickman and remembered a short article about his interest in the genizah in reform judaism magazine. It will delight readers with its fascinating adventure storywhy this enormous collection was amassed, how it was discovered and the many lessons to be found in its contents. The amazing discoveries of forgotten jewish history in an egyptian synagogue attic kindle edition by glickman, rabbi mark s download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. The manuscripts were found in the genizah a sacred storeroom in a synagogue where papers too holy to destroy are stored of a very old synagogue in cairo. He also writes a regular religion column for the seattle times and has been featured in other books and journals. Rabbi mark glickman, lead rabbi at kol ami woodinville, wa and kol shalom bainbridge island, wa, reveals the answer to this that he wrote about in his book sacred treasure, the cairo genizah. And it will show you how schechters find, although still being unpacked today, forever transformed our knowledge of the jewish past, muslim history and much more. The cairo genizah has provided scholars with such an abundance of information that scores of books have been written on topics ranging from jewish religious practices to. What do you get when you combine indiana jones with the da vinci code in an old egyptian synagogue.
The cairo genizah, the amazing discoveries of forgotten jewish history in an egyptian synagogue attic, written. The hebrew manuscripts of the cairo genizah, from the edited h2g2, the unconventional guide to life, the universe and everything. Sacred treasure the cairo genizah is the first accessible, comprehensive account of this astounding treasure trove of documents and their discovery. He had entered the synagogues genizahits repository for damaged and destroyed jewish textswhich held nearly. The noun genizah describes a special place to store worn out or invalid books and manuscripts. Booktopia has sacred treasure the cairo genizah, the amazing discoveries of forgotten jewish history in an egyptian synagogue attic by rabbi mark glickman. The cairo genizah came into being between 1025 1140, when the ben ezra synagogue was rebuilt after its destruction in 1012 at the instigation of the fatimid caliph alhakim biamr allah. There were nearly 300,000 texts, many over 1,000 years old. In 1897, rabbi solomon schechter of cambridge university stepped into the attic of the ben ezra synagogue in cairo, egypt, and there found the largest treasure trove of medieval and early manuscripts ever discovered. This is because in the jewish tradition it is forbidden to throw away writings containing the name of god. The cairo geniza spelt also as genizah is the name given to a collection of jewish manuscript fragments that was discovered in cairo. Sacred treasurethe cairo genizah is the first accessible, comprehensive account of this astounding treasure trove of documents and their discovery. I read sacred trash and was disappointed so i searched the amazon site looking for other books about the cairo genizah. New project scribes of the cairo geniza daily zooniverse.
Sacred treasure the cairo genizah, by mark glickman. The cairo genizah an introduction to the greatest discovery. Sacred treasure the cairo genizah the amazing discoveries of forgotten jewish history in an egyptian synagogue attic. The hidden treasures of the cairo geniza ancient origins. Sacred treasure the cairo genizah audiobook by rabbi. These manuscripts outline a 1,000year continuum 870 ce to 19th century of jewish middleeastern and north african history and comprise the largest. Piled together were bills of sale, wedding documents, sacred texts and scandalous stories.
Sacred treasure the cairo genizah, with rabbi mark. For a thousand years, the jewish community of fustat old cairo, placed their wornout books and other writings in a storeroom genizah of the ben ezra synagogue, and in 189697 the cambridge scholar, dr solomon schechter, with financial help from the master of st. Buy a cheap copy of sacred treasurethe cairo genizah. For sacred treasure, mark glickman was able to trace the journey of. Buy a discounted paperback of sacred treasure the cairo genizah online from australias leading online bookstore. Treasures of the genizah sacred hebrew texts and commentaries. These manuscripts and records enlightened the world about jewish history and connected the history of the jews in an unbroken thread. Read sacred treasurethe cairo genizah the amazing discoveries of forgotten jewish history in an egyptian synagogue attic by rabbi mark s. Instead, they must be interred in a designated space genizah so that their holy contents are not desecrated. Buried treasures of cairo genizah languages of the world. The jews of fostat, though, preserved not only sacred texts but just. The amazing discoveries of forgotten jewish history in an egyptian synagogue attic by rabbi mark glickman available from rakuten kobo.
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