Highlights- Golden Haggadah, c. 1320 First Map of the Holy Land, 1475 Edict of the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain, 1492 First Printed Mishnah, 1492 Overview Under the Mamelukes 1250-1517, Teddy Kollek and Moshe Pearlman, Jerusalem- Sacred City of Mankind, Steimatzky Ltd., Jerusalem, 1991. Artifacts Moses in a Festival Prayer Book, c. 1320 Golden […]
Columbus’ Notes Handwritten notes by Christopher Columbus on the Latin edition of Marco Polo’s Le Livre des Merveilles. Marco Polo’s description of the Far East and its riches inspired Christopher Columbus’ decision to try to reach those lands by a western route. See also- Christopher Columbus Sets Sail, 1492
Christopher Columbus On Aug. 3, 1492, the day after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain in search of India. Columbus wrote in his first entry in Journal of the First Voyage– So after having expelled the Jews from your dominions, Your Highnesses, in the same month of January, […]
Damascus, Syria Exodus 20 This is one of the most significant manuscripts in the British Library’s collections, and reveals the Smaritan scribal tradition of copying manuscripts of the Pentateuch. It was written in Samaritan majuscule Hebrew characters by the scribe Abraham ben Jacob ben Tabya ben Sa’adah ben Abraham of the Pijma family, and is […]
San’a Pentateuch San’a Pentateuch, Yemen, 1469 The poem Give Ear; Deuteronomy 32. A fine 15th-century example of illumination in a Pentateuch. Hebrew manuscripts from Islamic lands contained no images, but were decorated with Jewish elements and adapted Islamic motifs. The handwriting style here is typical of Yemen. Penned in Hebrew square script in a typical […]
Barcelona Haggadah Barcelona Haggadah, Catalonia, Spain, 14th century. Mnemonic for Passover Stunningly illustrated with people, flowers, birds and imaginary creatures, this prayer book for the festival of Passover is one of the most richly pictorial of all Jewish texts. Meant to accompany the Passover eve service and festive meal, it was also a status symbol […]
Arabic Gospel The Four Gospels in Arabic, Palestine, 1337. Gospel of Luke This remarkable manuscript is very different to what the casual glance might suggest- despite the Islamic style carpet page, and the Arabic script, this is a Christian document – an account of the Gospels – made in Palestine in the 14th century. The […]
Pentateuch with Rashi Commentary Germany, first half of the fourteenth century Numbers 1 Rashi (an acronym of Rabbi Solomon ben Itshaki, 1040-1105, of Troyes, France) is considered the greatest medieval commentator on the Hebrew Bible. His unique commentary is still an essential companion to study of the biblical text. This is the beginning to the […]
Drawing of Mount Zion In this splendid manuscript, a copy of an original by Burchard of Mount Zion, drawn in 1455 for Philip of Burgundy, the Holy City is dominated by the domes of the Mosque of Omar, centre, the Mosque of el-Aqsa, right, and the Holy Sepulchre, left. Sarah Kochav. Israel-Splendours of the Holy […]
Ivory Horn Ivory horn decorated with gold bands from the 14th century palace at Megiddo. The horn of oil that Samuel used to anoint David as king of Israel might have been similar. Hoerth, Alfred J., Archaeology and the Old Testament. Grand Rapids- Baker Books, 1998.