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This 14th and 15th century Ashkenazi copy of the Sefer Moreh Nevukhim (Guide to the Perplexed) by Moses Maimonides is the Hebrew translation of the work made in 1204 by Samuel ben Judah Ibn Tibbon (1150-1230). This copy also includes a preface from the commentary to the Moreh Nevukhim by Shem Tov ben Joseph ben Shem Tov, a 15th century Spanish rabbi and vigorous defender of Aristotelian and Maimonidean philosophy. In the 16th century, this manuscript was owned by Johann Buxtorf II, and used as the base for the latter's Latin edition of the Doctor Perplexorum (Basel, 1629).
Online Since: 03/19/2020
The Sefer Nizzaḥon Yashan is the name of an anonymous anthology of arguments against the Christological interpretation of biblical verses, supplemented by critique of the Gospels and Christian doctrines and morals. Composed in Franco-Germany circa 1300, most confutations are based on polemical themes and criticisms of Christian faith which were disseminated in Jewish circles in medieval Ashkenaz and northern France. There are few extant editions and manuscripts of this work, one of which is the Basel Nizzaḥon. This manuscript which bears some similarities with the other copies, should nevertheless be considered as an indirect, yet important witness to Jewish apologetic from medieval Franco-Germany.
Online Since: 03/19/2020
This small-format parchment volume contains the seven penitential psalms as well as three more psalms in Hebrew. It was owned by the Amerbach family and later probably passed into the hands of Johann Buxtorf (the elder?). The manuscript is decorated in a restrained manner with ornamental initials and pen sketches in the blank spaces; the text is vocalized.
Online Since: 12/12/2019
The greater part of the manuscript (pp. 21-598) is a compendium by Joseph b. Elijah Tirshom titled Sefer Shoshan Yesod Olam that includes 2174 numbered paragraphs, containing, inter alia, a book of magic called Harba de-Moshe (Sword of Moses) and other texts. Copied in the Ottoman empire in a 15th century Byzantine script with additions in later hands.
Online Since: 06/09/2011
This miscellany, compiled in 15th century Ashkenaz, is a handbook chiefly composed of a plethora of texts on astronomy, astrology, prognoses, popular medicine and medical-astrology, related to illnesses and bloodletting, to which are appended other texts on a variety of subjects: calendrical tables and treatises, ethical and liturgical poems, 13th century halakhic and scholastic philosophical material translated into Hebrew. Furthermore, a small but significant discovery in the manuscript helps to pinpoint the city of Cologne or its surroundings, as a possible location for the production this miscellany.
Online Since: 06/18/2020
The Arba'ah Turim is a work of legal nature and is divided into four books, the first of which is found in MS Cod. 253 is the Tur Oraḥ Ḥayim or ‘Path of Life' and encloses laws on daily Jewish practices of blessings (i.e. washing hands in the morning, tefilin, tsitsit), prayer and laws on the Sabbath, festivals and Torah readings. This section also includes aspects of the Hebrew calendar relative to the annual liturgy.
Online Since: 10/08/2020
The Sefer ha-Yashar is one of two Bible commentaries by the great R. Abraham Ibn Ezra (1089/92-1164/67). Written in Lucca, Italy ca. 1142-45, this work attained great recognition and popularity during the Middle Ages and has been preserved in numerous manuscripts and printed books. This 15th century Italian copy is of particular interest since it belonged, at some point during the 16th century, to Theodore de Bèze (1519-1605), the famous Genevan Calvinist theologian and Professor, who then gave it to one of his disciples and colleagues, Antoine Chevalier (1507-1572), the first Professor of Hebrew language at the Académie de Genève.
Online Since: 06/13/2019
A "small medicine book for poor people", probably written in the region of Venice/Northern Adriatic Sea; the work, written in Arabic in Hebrewscript, was completed on May 19, 1413, according to the date note. The manuscript was later probably part of a Jewish library that cannot be located more precisely; it was transferred to the Bernese Library at the end of the 18th/beginning of the 19th century, where it was evaluated by the Bernese theology professor Gottlieb Studer (1801-1889).
Online Since: 06/18/2020
Bifolium of a Hebrew (Babylonian) Talmud probably produced in Germany. Hermann Hagen probably detached the fragment before 1875 from his own collection. The relation to Jacques Bongars is unclear.
Online Since: 07/12/2021
The Samaritan Pentateuch contained in this manuscript is incomplete – it begins with Gn 11:17 (f. 1r) and ends with Dt 24:15 (f. 266v) – and it is also out of order – f. 2r/v with Dt 18:15–19:8 should be between f. 259 and f. 260.The two-language manuscript is copied in Samaritan-Hebrew characters in two columns (ff. 1r-237r), with the Hebrew text on the right and the Arabic translation on the left, and then in four columns with the same alternation of languages (ff. 237v-266v). The main part of this volume was copied by the scribe Ab Nēṣāna ban Ṣidqa ban Yāqob (fl. 1468-1502), known for producing eight other copies of the Pentateuch, some of which have been dated to between 873 and 890 AH, or between 1468/1469 and 1485 CE (cf. Evelyn Burkhardt, Katalog samaritanischer Pentateuchhandschriften). Thus, while the Bodmer Pentateuch does not have a date, its production can be dated to the second half of the fifteenth century. Two other scribes worked on this copy. The first completed the missing parts of the manuscript: two leaves from the book of Numbers (ff. 219r-220v), as well as the text from Dt 4:21 onwards (f. 232r). The last scribe copied, later and on paper, parts of Exodus (f. 66r/v, 78r/v). Concerning this Pentateuch's provenance, an acquisition note placed at the end of Numbers (f. 224r) states that it was sold in 1532. It appeared in Nablus in 1861, when it was bought by a London antiquities merchant, Mr. Grove, who resold it that same year to the count of Paris, Philippe d'Orléans, as his stamp attests (e.g., f. 38r, 52r, 67r). In 1960, Martin Bodmer bought it at auction at Sotheby's in London. A fragment of the same manuscript was discovered in December 2024 by Evelyn Burkhardt at the British Library, Add. 17553, f. 1-10.
Online Since: 09/26/2024
This Hebrew manuscript from the 15th century combines liturgical texts and contains commentaries on the rites that provide the framework for the observation of the Passover. This Pesach Haggadah, adorned with miniatures and rich illustrations, contains the complete liturgical version of the Exodus story. The first part of the manuscript contains the text of the Italian rite, the second part that of the Ashkenazi. The manuscript was written and illuminated by Joël ben Siméon, who signed his work with a colophon (f. 34r): I am Joel ben Simeon, called Veibusch Ashkenazi – blessed be his memory – and I am from Cologne, which is on the banks of the Rhine.
Online Since: 04/23/2013
This manuscript contains the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. The Samaritan community, an Israelite community that still lives in the West Bank and the Israeli city of Holon, recognizes only these five books as holy scripture. The Hebrew text is written in Samaritan characters and features various cryptograms. One of them contains the name of the copyist, Ya'akov ben Yossef ben Meshalma, who completed his work in the year 901 of the Hegira (1495 AD) in Damascus. Some pages of this neat manuscript have stains (e.g., f. 132r, 170r), which were caused by a special ritual during which the parchment is touched with bare hand. The origin of this manuscript is partly unknown: it was sold in Cairo in 1902 and not until 2000 did it reappear in a private collection, whereupon the Cantonal Library of Fribourg acquired it.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This paper manuscript which is dated thanks to its watermarks, is divided into two distinct textual units bound together. The first work is an Ashkenazi 14th century incomplete copy of the remarkable legal work Mishneh Torah by Maimonides (1135-1204), containing books 1, 2 and 5. The second text is an Italian 15th century anonymous lapidary entitled Inian ha-Avanim, followed by a text listing the carats of pearls and spinels, as well as the value of silver and gold in several cities and regions, including locations such as Paris, Venice, Genoa and Sicily. This miscellany entered the Bibliothèque de Genève at an unknown date between 1667 and the end of the 17th century.
Online Since: 06/18/2020
De vita solitaria is one of the Latin works by the famous Italian poet Petrarch (1304-1374), who wrote it in 1346 and revised it several times in the course of the following years. Two books praise the secluded, solitary life dedicated to study and meditation. This paper manuscript shows a certain elegance, in the page layout as well as in the two gold initials (p. 7, 103). Its origin is unknown, but before 1892, when it was acquired by the library, it was owned by the canons of Lausanne and a family of notaries from Muraz (Valais). The binding originally consisted of a series of 14th century paper fragments, which were joined together in numerous layers and were later detached and restored. Some of these fragments are papal privileges addressed to members of various French dioceses, others are in Italian from the area of Tuscany, and one contains Hebrew text.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This substantial composite manuscript contains approximately 2.000 recipes and instructions, principally from art technology, but also other medical, culinary and alchemistic ones. The manuscript had been the property of the Bieler family, residents of Solothurn since the 17th century; the family counted several artisans in its ranks.
Online Since: 10/10/2019
Collected Fragments Volume I from the Abbey Library of St. Gall ("Veterum Fragmentorum manuscriptis codicibus detractorum collectio tomus primus"). The volume contains, among many varied single pages and fragmentary texts, fragments from the Aeneid and the Georgics by Vergil from the late 4th century which are significant to textual history (11 pages and 8 small strips), 17 smaller and larger bits of text from a pre-Vulgate Vetus-Latina version of the Gospels from the early 5th century, fragments of a copy of the comedies of Terence from the 10th century, documents from the 9th through 15th centuries, small fragments in Hebrewscript, and the "St. Galler Glauben und Beichte II" (formulas for shrift or confession, together with professions of faith from the 11th century). Pater Ildefons von Arx (1755-1833) assembled this composite volume in the year 1822 and dedicated it to his former supervisor, Abbey Librarian Pater Johann Nepomuk Hauntinger (1756-1823).
Online Since: 07/31/2009
This manuscript contains the full text of the Pentateuch and haftarot (weekly readings from the Prophets). The manuscript has six illuminated initial word panels found at the beginning of each of the books of the Pentateuch and at the heading of the haftarot. The semi-cursive Sephardic Hebrewscript and other codicological features of this manuscript point toward a Sephardic origin from the second half of the fifteenth century. It is likely that the Braginsky Pentateuch was the work of an artist who was active in the Lisbon School, which is known for producing around 30 distinctive manuscripts characterized by their largely non-figurative decoration: filigree initial word panels, floral and abstract pen work in purple ink, and multicolored dots and flowers.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
The Roman rite, generally known as Nussah Roma, is the oldest order of prayer outside the ancient lands of Israel and Babylonia, retaining many old Palestinian traditions. The ornamentation of this manuscript includes many attractive initial word panels, decorated with geometric designs and floral pen work, usually in red and blue ink. The illuminated opening page contains the initial word Ribbon (Master [of all Worlds]), which is set within a rectangular panel with red and blue filigree pen work and gold-leaf letters. In the bottom border there is an unidentified family emblem depicting a rampant lion. The manuscript was copied by Samson ben Eljah Halfan, a member of the Halfan family of scribes and scholars, whose ancestors were among a group of Jews who were expelled from France in 1394 and found refuge in Piedmont, in northern Italy.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
Isaac of Corbeil († 1280) is the author of this halakhic Small Book of Commandments also known as Sefer Mitzvot Katan (abbreviated SeMaK). This abridged version of the 613 positive and negative biblical commandments, and a few additional rabbinic ones, has been divided into seven daily sections to be read sequentially and completed once a week. After becoming popular in France, the SeMaK quickly reached Germany, where it was recognized as an authoritative halakhic work. This manuscript, B115, is the latest of the three manuscripts in the Braginsky Collection (also B240 and B182), exemplifying the complex diffusion of the SeMaK in Germany. The glosses are the work of Moses of Zurich, who lived in Zurich in the middle of the fourteenth century. Consequently, manuscripts containing Moses' glosses are called the Zürcher. Often comments and glosses in the form of rectangular shaped “windows” were added in the margins or in the text itself, producing aesthetically pleasing and imaginative page layouts. By not identifying the sources of these glosses, scribes frequently created difficulties in determining authorship of the commentaries.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This manuscript by Jacob ben Asher (son of the rabbi and codifier Asher ben Jehiel) contains one of the oldest copies of the Jewish code Arba'ah Turim. The entire work treats all rules of Jewish law concerning prayers and the synagog. This manuscript contains only the first of four parts. The main text is surrounded by many glosses and commentaries; noteworthy is an autograph note by the influential 15th century German rabbi Jacob Weil in Slavic. The manuscript offers variant readings to the standard editions and contains some otherwise unknown Responsa ("rabbinic answers") by the important Rabbi Israel Isserlin (1390-1460).
Online Since: 03/19/2015
This manuscript contains the seven chapters of the aphorisms of Hippocrates in the Hebrew translation of Hillel ben Samuel of Verona (ca. 1220 – ca. 1295); in contrast to other extant translations, it is based on the Latin translation of Constantinus Africanus († before 1098/99) rather than on the Arabic translation from the Greek. The translation is accompanied by the commentary of Moses ben Isaac da Rieti (1388 - after 1460), Chief Rabbi of Rome and poet. His commentary is based largely on the commentaries of Moses Maimonides (1138 - 1240) and of Galen of Pergamum (second century AD). This manuscript preserves the first of two well-known versions of the commentary. The dating is based on the identification of the watermark in the paper.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
At the end of the last volume (Vol. 4) of this Hebrew Bible with Masoretic comments (textual criticism) is the older colophon, which states that Isaac ben Ishai Sason completed it in 1491 in Ocaña, (Spain). At the end of the original first volume, now the second volume (Vol. 2), another colophon states that this part was completed in 1494 in Evora in the Kingdom of Portugal, two years after the expulsion of the Jews from Spanish Castile. Originally this Bible was divided into two parts, presenting an unusual, non-canonical order of the books. In the 19th century, it was divided into four volumes (Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4), received a new binding and was decorated with a purple leather cover and gold embossing. In the 18th century, this Bible was housed in the Convent of the Discalced Carmelites of S. Paolo in Florence; after the convent was sacked by Napoleonic forces, the manuscript was probably in the Vatican Library, but in 1827 already it was sold in England. Before coming to the Braginsky Collection in Zurich, it was part of the collection of Beriah Botfield.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
At the end of the last volume (Vol. 4) of this Hebrew Bible with Masoretic comments (textual criticism) is the older colophon, which states that Isaac ben Ishai Sason completed it in 1491 in Ocaña, (Spain). At the end of the original first volume, now the second volume (Vol. 2), another colophon states that this part was completed in 1494 in Evora in the Kingdom of Portugal, two years after the expulsion of the Jews from Spanish Castile. Originally this Bible was divided into two parts, presenting an unusual, non-canonical order of the books. In the 19th century, it was divided into four volumes (Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4), received a new binding and was decorated with a purple leather cover and gold embossing. In the 18th century, this Bible was housed in the Convent of the Discalced Carmelites of S. Paolo in Florence; after the convent was sacked by Napoleonic forces, the manuscript was probably in the Vatican Library, but in 1827 already it was sold in England. Before coming to the Braginsky Collection in Zurich, it was part of the collection of Beriah Botfield.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
At the end of the last volume (Vol. 4) of this Hebrew Bible with Masoretic comments (textual criticism) is the older colophon, which states that Isaac ben Ishai Sason completed it in 1491 in Ocaña, (Spain). At the end of the original first volume, now the second volume (Vol. 2), another colophon states that this part was completed in 1494 in Evora in the Kingdom of Portugal, two years after the expulsion of the Jews from Spanish Castile. Originally this Bible was divided into two parts, presenting an unusual, non-canonical order of the books. In the 19th century, it was divided into four volumes (Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4), received a new binding and was decorated with a purple leather cover and gold embossing. In the 18th century, this Bible was housed in the Convent of the Discalced Carmelites of S. Paolo in Florence; after the convent was sacked by Napoleonic forces, the manuscript was probably in the Vatican Library, but in 1827 already it was sold in England. Before coming to the Braginsky Collection in Zurich, it was part of the collection of Beriah Botfield.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
At the end of the last volume (Vol. 4) of this Hebrew Bible with Masoretic comments (textual criticism) is the older colophon, which states that Isaac ben Ishai Sason completed it in 1491 in Ocaña, (Spain). At the end of the original first volume, now the second volume (Vol. 2), another colophon states that this part was completed in 1494 in Evora in the Kingdom of Portugal, two years after the expulsion of the Jews from Spanish Castile. Originally this Bible was divided into two parts, presenting an unusual, non-canonical order of the books. In the 19th century, it was divided into four volumes (Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4), received a new binding and was decorated with a purple leather cover and gold embossing. In the 18th century, this Bible was housed in the Convent of the Discalced Carmelites of S. Paolo in Florence; after the convent was sacked by Napoleonic forces, the manuscript was probably in the Vatican Library, but in 1827 already it was sold in England. Before coming to the Braginsky Collection in Zurich, it was part of the collection of Beriah Botfield.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
The Spanish kabbalist Abraham Abulafia (1240- after 1291) advocated a concept of Kabbalah that had little or nothing to do with the well-known schools of thought. He considered Kabbalah neither as a form of gnosis nor as a kind of theosophical theory that concentrates on the Sefirot, the emanation of the Divine Being. Instead he attempted to attain a state of prophetic-mystical ecstasy, based on his conviction that the experience of the prophets was an ecstatic experience and that all true mystics were prophets. This work of his was especially popular and circulated under the titles Hayyei ha-Olam ha-Ba ("Life of the World to Come"), Sefer ha-Shem ("Book of the Divine Name") or Sefer ha-Iggulim ("Book of Circles"); in this manuscript, however, it is called Sefer ha-Shem ha-Meforash ("Book of the Ineffable name"). The manuscript presents ten inscriptions in concentric circles in red and black ink, as well as 128 only in black ink. They contain detailed instructions for mystical meditation. While contemplating these circles, one should recite the 72-lettered name of God, which is arrived at by combining the numerical values of the letters in the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, of the Patriarchs, and the nine letters of the words shivtei yisra'el ("the tribes of Irasel"). The reader should "enter" each of the triple black and red circles at the point where an "entrance" is designated by means of a small pen stroke.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
The book Minhagim ("Religious Customs") is attributed to Samuel of Ulm, although the authorship is not unequivocally clear. Contentwise the manuscript contains various teachings based on the views of Jacob Moellin (1360-1427). He is regarded as one of the most important spiritual authorities of the Ashkenazic world. The manuscript probably was written in the last third of the 15th century in Northern Italy, since the pen drawings can be placed in the Northern Italian tradition of that period. Several motifs from the manuscript seem to "grow" out of an ornament, such as a head with a bumpy nose and heavy eyelids or a long city wall with round towers, and are considered typical for Joel ben Simeon, the most important representative of this Northern Italian tradition of illustration.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
This obviously much-used manuscript is in good overall condition; it is written in an elegant square and semi-cursive Ashkenazic script. It contains daily prayers and piyyutim for holidays and special occasions. In addition, it contains the entire text of the Haggadah, which at this time already tended to be copied out separately. The manuscript contains interesting evidence of the influence of censorship. During the Middle Ages, the prayer Alenu le-shabbeah was believed to contain an insult to Christianity. As in many other cases, here, too, the controversial passage was omitted by the copyist (f. 19r-v). In the 16th century, the entire manuscript was inspected by Dominico Irosolimitano in Mantua, one of the most active censors of Jewish writings in Italy. However, he did not expurgate a single passage, but merely signed the last page of the manuscript (f. 112v), thus confirming his inspection.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
This Miscellany for Life Cycle Events from the last third of the 15th century was probably a wedding gift. It was copied by Leon ben Joshua de Rossi of Cesena. It contains: prayers for circumcision; a formula for a marriage contract from Correggio 1452 (without names); texts for marriage rituals, including a hymn with the acrostic El'azar; a marriage contract, concluded in Parma in 1420 between Judah, son of Elhanan of Ascoli Piceno, and Stella, daughter of Solomon of Mantua; prayers recited at the cemetery with a Grace after Meals for mourners; a ritual for avoiding bad dreams; Ka'arat kesef, an ethical poem by the 13th-century Provençal poet Jehoseph ben Hanan ben Nathan Ezobi; finally, added in a different hand, a personal prayer by Moses Latif for Joab Immanuel Finzi. Immediately following the contract, there is a depiction of a bridal couple (f. 10v). The bride's headdress, clothing and veil correspond to the contemporary fashion of Ferrara, which confirms that the manuscript is of Italian origin, perhaps even from Ferrara.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
This 14th and 15th century Askhenazi miscellany is a vademecum for personal use, destined to a scholar and composed mainly of halakhic material on ritual slaughtering, reflecting the decisions of the most important rabbinical authorities from 13th to 15th century Ashkenaz. There are also numerous treatises and tables on the Jewish and Christian calendars scattered throughout the manuscript. In addition, there is a selection of liturgical and mystical commentaries, as well as excerpts of ethical, Midrashic and Talmudic literature. The margins of the manuscript are filled with small notes and texts on medical recipes and magical incantations for various occasions in Hebrew and in Old West Yiddish.
Online Since: 12/12/2019
The kabbalistic work Sefer ha-Orah or "Gates of Light" is one of the major texts of Jewish mysticism written in thirteenth century Spain, where Kabbalah flourished. It is considered to be the most articulate work on kabbalistic symbolism and its content provides a comprehensive explanation of the Names of God and their designation within the ten sephirot or attributes/emanations, through which Eyn Sof (the Infinite) reveals Itself and continuously creates both the physical and metaphysical realms. The work is organized into ten chapters, one for each sephirah.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This well-preserved pocket-sized Siddur, enclosing the statutory prayers of the Jewish liturgical year (daily, sabbath and new month prayers, Ḥanukkah, Purim, Pessaḥ, Shavuot, Rosh ha-Shanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret), is a precious witness of the production of these small prayer books for personal use in 15th- century Italy.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This small format siddur for personal use can be characterized as a vademecum for Jewish religious and communal life. It is divided into three parts, relative to liturgy, Jewish ceremonies, and a last miscellaneous one. The latter includes, among other significant texts, a rare and intriguing list of the names of books and incipits of chapters of all 24 Books of the Bible, with the Hebrew and Latin names, spelled out in Hebrew characters.
Online Since: 06/13/2019
This almost complete Italian 15th century paper copy is composed of Books II to VIII of the Hebrew translation of Averroes' Middle Commentary on the Physics by Aristotle. The learned Andalusian polymath, jurist and imam, Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Rushd – or Averroes (1126-1198), known as the Commentator, devoted his entire life on restoring Aristotle's original teachings, and writing commentaries on nearly all of Aristotle's works. He was therefore considered one of the most influential philosophic authorities of the Middle Ages, not only among the Latin Scholastics, but particularly among Jews, for the understanding of Aristotelian science through the Hebrew translations of his commentaries. The Middle Commentary is the least known of Averroes' commentaries on the Physics and exists today in two complete Hebrew translations from the Arabic and one partial 16th century Hebrew-to-Latin translation. The Hebrew translation found in Ms. Heid. 166 is that of the Provençal Jewish philosopher Qalonymos ben Qalonymos (1286-d. after 1328), entitled Bi᷾ ur ha-Shema', and was the most widely copied version of the Hebrew translations.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This pocket format 15th century Hebrew Book of Psalms from Ashkenaz, is representative of private use hand copies, which are more seldom preserved in separate textual units rather than incorporated in the Hagiographs section of Hebrew bibles and liturgical manuscripts. Nonetheless, this genre of biblical literature is already attested in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Additionaly, Ms Or. 159 contains 149 Psalms, rather than the canonical 150, which is only one among many configurations found in early and late medieval Hebrew manuscripts, enclosing between 143 and 151 Psalms. Lastly, two medieval Hebrew manuscript fragments of an Esther Scroll have been reused as flyleaves for the 16th century leather tooled binding, protecting this little exquisite Book of Psalms.
Online Since: 06/13/2019