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An Introduction to Hebrew Manuscripts
Joseph Gutmann , Evelyn M. Cohen , Menahem Schmelzer , Malachi Beit-Arié
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| Seminar Introduction |
 | | NYPL, Dorot Jewish Division |
In this seminar, adapted from The New York Public Library's publication A Sign and a Witness: 2,000 Years of Hebrew Books and Illuminated Manuscripts and illustrated with sample manuscript pages drawn from the holdings of the Library{A146}s Dorot Jewish Division, four experts introduce the physical and cultural characteristics of the Hebrew manuscript books of the Middle Ages and reflect on the kind of information that they reveal.
The seminar begins with an exploration of the significance of the Hebrew manuscript as a source for the study of history and literature and continues with an outline of the techniques used in the construction and decoration of these books. The final session provides a guide to some of the great Hebrew manuscript collections formed in modern times.
Throughout the seminar, the scholars show how Hebrew manuscripts reflect regional variations in materials, culture and religious sensibility, and they consider how scribal practices and literary tastes evolved over the centuries as manuscripts were produced. They discuss many of the most notable and distinctive of these works, preserved in libraries and private collections around the world. Instructive, undoubtedly, but often also very beautiful, Hebrew manuscripts are shown to shed much light on the cultural and cultic life of the diverse communities of the pre-modern Jewish world.
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| Learning Objectives |
- Identify the primary ways in which Hebrew manuscripts help us to understand the history of Jewish literature and culture.
- Recognize the variety of Hebrew manuscripts that have been preserved in libraries across the globe.
- Compare and contrast the scribal practices used in the different geocultural zones.
- Describe the different types of decoration frequently employed in illuminated Hebrew manuscripts.
- Identify major collectors of Hebrew manuscripts in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
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| Sessions |
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| Credits |
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This seminar is adapted from Chapters 2-5 of A Sign and a Witness: 2,000 Years of Hebrew Books and Illuminated Manuscripts (1988), edited by Leonard Singer Gold and originally published jointly by The New York Public Library and Oxford University Press in 1988. Copyright 1988, 2002 by The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. All rights reserved. Checklist with detailed information about each of the images in this seminar. Copyright 2002 The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. All rights reserved. All images used in this seminar are from the collections of The New York Public Library's Humanities and Social Sciences Library and are intended for personal or research use only. For reproduction or any other use of any of these images, contact NYPL Photographic Services & Permissions at permissions@nypl.org.
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| Technical Requirements |
To appreciate this seminar experience, it is critical that you have the appropriate software, plug-ins, and network connections. Please take the time to download the latest versions of the plug-ins mentioned below if you do not already have them. Browser: Netscape versions 4.x up to 4.76, or Internet Explorer versions 4.x or later. Your browser must be JavaScript-enabled and must be set to accept cookies.
Network Connection: The recommended minimum connection is 56Kbps with a throughput of 34Kbps or more. A faster connection is encouraged to take better advantage of the media elements in the seminar.
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