The Budapest J e w i s h Theological Seminary ( O r s z á g o s Rabbiképzo I n t é z e t ) w a s founded on 4 October 18 77. Two young s c h o l a r s w e r e invited to join its staff:
Vilmos BACHER and Dávid KAUFMANN. The l a t t e r , b o r n in Kojetein in M o r a v i a , gained his doctorate in Leipzig and completed his studies in B r e s l a u , now W r o c l a w . Only 25 y e a r s old, he was a l r e a d y a m a t u r e a c a d e m i c .
Four y e a r s l a t e r he became engaged to I r m a G O M P E R Z , whom he d e s c r i b e d to ZUNZ, the greying doyen of Jewish s t u d i e s , a s follows: "Sie hat das Herz und die Bildung, allen meinen Bestrebungen sich a n z u s c h l i e s s e n . "
His m a r r i a g e provided him with the financial m e a n s to s e c u r e r a r e and valuable m a n u s c r i p t s and books, enabling him to build up one of the l a r g e s t and r i c h e s t private l i b r a r i e s of Judaica and I l e b r a i c a in the w o r l d . Some of his own r e
-s e a r c h work wa-s b a -s e d on m a n u -s c r i p t -s in h i -s own collection: he publi-shed t e x t -s , h i s t o r i c a l s t u d i e s , and pioneering work in the field of J e w i s h a r t h i s t o r y .
I.
The Mantuan Rabbi Marco M O R T A R A ' s bequest f o r m s the core of the c o l -lection. His i l l u s t r a t e d codices were obtained mostly f r o m the TRIESTE b r o t h e r s of Padua and the b o o k s e l l e r N. RABINOWITZ.
A f t e r his sudden death on 6 July 1899, his widow continued to add to t h e collection; when Sámuel KRAUSZ went to P a l e s t i n e she a s k e d him to look out f o r Hebrew m a n u s c r i p t s . [1] She e n t r u s t e d the p r e p a r a t i o n of the catalogue to one of h e r h u s b a n d ' s past s t u d e n t s , Miksa WEISZ. Unhappily she did not live to s e e i t s publication:[2] on 19 June 1905 she followed her husband t o the g r a v e .
Her m o t h e r M r s Zsigmond GOMPERZ p r e s e n t e d the e n t i r e l i b r a r y to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Its then p r e s i d e n t A l b e r t BERZEVICZY in a l e t t e r of 21 D e c e m b e r 1905 e x p r e s s e d h i s g r a t i t u d e for t h i s g e n e r o u s g e s t u r e and noted the i m p o r t a n c e of the collection.
The world of scholarship c a m e to know of t h e m a n u s c r i p t s by m e a n s of t h e catalogue. The seven decades that have since elapsed have made a new edition n e c -e s s a r y , This i s now r -e a d y ; l-et us hop-e that it will soon b-e publish-ed.
The work d e s c r i b e s 591 m a n u s c r i p t s . The 592nd item w a s d i s c o v e r e d a f t e r World War II a t the bottom of a cupboard: a collection by the 16th c e n t u r y I t a l i a n Yedidya ben M o s e s . [3]
H e r e I would pick out only f o u r i t e m s for comment:
The collection contains the only complete m a n u s c r i p t of the 11th century M u t a z i l i t e philosopher Yusuf a l - B a s i r (A. 280). GOLDZIHER had s e v e r a l c h a p t e r s r e s e a r c h e d by his s t u d e n t s a s d i s s e r t a t i o n s ; a c r i t i c a l edition of the e n t i r e work i s being p r e p a r e d by P r o f e s s o r G. VAJDA. [4]
It t r a n s p i r e s t h a t the f i r s t H e b r e w d r a m a , the work of Leone Sommo de P o r t a l e o n e f r o m the 16th c e n t u r y , is r e p r e s e n t e d by two m a n u s c r i p t s (A. 550 and
551). T h e s e were used by SCHIRMANN in h i s edition. [5] In June 1963 the d r a m a w a s p e r f o r m e d in J e r u s a l e m . [6]
The twovolume Mahzor f r o m P e s a r o (A. 380) was copied in p e a r l l e t t e r -ing by A b r a h a m ben Matityah T r e v e s in 1481. The scenes taken f r o m Jewish life d e s e r v e special attention f r o m the point of view of f o l k l o r e . The s a m e s c r i b e had p r o d u c e d an identical codex a y e a r b e f o r e ; t h i s was auctioned a s a part of the Sassoon Collection in Zurich[7] on 5 N o v e m b e r 1975.
T h e r e is a beautifully i l l u s t r a t e d South German M a h z o r on fine p a r c h m e n t dating f r o m about 1320 (A. 384), of which B . NARKISS h a s shown that a f u r t h e r p a r t i s in the British M u s e u m (Add. MS. 22413) and another in the Bodleian L i -b r a r y , O x f o r d (MS. M i c h . 619). T h e s e once formed a c e r e m o n i a l triptych which h a s e n d e d up in t h r e e d i f f e r e n t p l a c e s . [8]
I have long wanted to p r e p a r e a s e l e c t i o n of the i l l u s t r a t e d pages of the K a u f m a n n Collection f o r publication. It would both enrich our r e p e r t o i r e of m e -dieval a r t and also p o p u l a r i z e the O r i e n t a l Collection of the L i b r a r y of the Hun-g a r i a n A c a d e m y of S c i e n c e s .
II.
Let me now move on to my topic: t h e Genizah.
T h e Hebrew, A r a m a i c and A r a b i c m a n u s c r i p t s which a c c u m u l a t e d in the R a b b a n i t e synagogue of Old C a i r o ( F o s t a t ) — of which the e a r l i e s t date f r o m the
10th c e n t u r y — have been examined and indeed decimated by i n t e r e s t e d t r a v e l l e r s for t h e l a s t 110 y e a r s . T h e s e constitute the s o - c a l l e d Genizah, which was not only a s t o r e f o r damaged w o r k s but almost c e r t a i n l y a l s o an official s t o r e h o u s e for d o c -u m e n t s a n d other official r e c o r d s . It was d i s c o v e r e d in 1896 when SCHECHTER v i s i t e d t h e s c e n e and began to examine t h e a p p r o x i m a t e l y 250,000 f r a g m e n t s . He sent off 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 to the U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r y , C a m b r i d g e ; the r e m a i n d e r w e r e bought by p r i v a t e and public c o l l e c t i o n s in E u r o p e , A f r i c a and A m e r i c a . [9]
We do not know how KAUFMANN obtained his G e n i z a h s . I have long been trying t o l o c a t e his c o r r e s p o n d e n c e which m a y provide the a n s w e r . In London l a s t y e a r I unexpectedly t r a c e d it to a d e a l e r ' s h o u s e , although I did not have t h e opportunity of reading through even the l e t t e r s f r o m Schechter, in which r e f e r e n c e to t h i s t o p i c i s most likely to be found.
KAUFMANN n e v e r spoke of the m a t t e r , but the following p a s s a g e may be found in t h e m e m o r i a l speech of h i s student I z i d o r GOLDBERGER a y e a r l a t e r :
" . . . i t was m e r e l y the c a r e l e s s Hungarian connection which gave it t o . . . Cambridge U n i v e r s i t y . The s c h o l a r ' s only c o m f o r t i s to k n o w . . . that they went to a good h o m e . "[10] The s o u r c e was c l e a r l y KAUFMANN h i m s e l f . He at once recognized the e p o c h - m a k i n g significance of the G e n i z a h and wanted t o buy it a l l ; but he was too l a t e . Budapest might today have b e e n the shrine of the e n t i r e Genizah,
A s to the date, we have s o m e c l u e s . I have myself s e e n a l a r g e c a r d b o a r d box on which was written in KAUFMANN's hand the date 11 D e c e m b e r 1894 a n d the w o r d s "Aus der G e n i s a e i n e r egyptischen Synagoge". [11] T h i s a n t e d a t e s the actual uncovering of the m a t e r i a l by two y e a r s .
An even m o r e s u r p r i s i n g fact e m e r g e s f r o m K A U F M A N N ' s Hebrew study on the Genizah: at h i s i n s t a n c e the c a v e s of J e r u s a l e m too w e r e s e a r c h e d f o r Genizah m a t e r i a l . [12] Half a century b e f o r e the discovery of t h e Dead Sea s c r o l l s he had thought of such p l a c e s a s possible s o u r c e s of r e c o r d s .
I n c o r r e c t data have been c i r c u l a t i n g about the n u m b e r of f r a g m e n t s in the Kaufmann Genizah and t h e i r p o s t - w a r f a t e . [12a] Let me t h e r e f o r e state that t h e r e a r e 750 p i e c e s and they have not s u f f e r e d any d a m a g e . [13] It i s not a l a r g e c o l l e c -tion but it happens to include much of value.
F r o m the very beginning KAUFMANN kept up to date with r e s e a r c h on the Genizah with g r e a t e n t h u s i a s m ; indeed, he c o m m e n t e d on a number of t h e m . [14]
He did not, however, have t i m e to examine and study h i s own collection t h o r o u g h l y . He f u r n i s h e d data only on two Egyptian f r i e n d s of his f a v o u r i t e poet, Judah h a - L e v i . He published the introduction to the l a t t e r ' s f i r s t l e t t e r to t h e g r e a t l y r e s p e c t e d physician Samuel h a - N a g i d ; [15] t h e c o m p l e t e text was p u b l i s h e d some 60 y e a r s l a t e r by S. ABRAMSON. [16] Judah h a - L e v i ' s l a s t l e t t e r — p e r h a p s h i s last w r i t t e n work — was found by the p r e s e n t w r i t e r in C a m b r i d g e . [17] KAUFMANN a l s o p u b -lished a f i v e - l i n e f r a g m e n t of a poem by the judge Aaron A l a m a n i , who had been Judah h a - L e v i ' s host in A l e x a n d r i a ; the p r e s e n t w r i t e r found among the p a g e s of the Divan h e r e five m o r e p o e m s by Alamani. [18] KAUFMANN a l s o published m a -t e r i a l on -the m a r r i a g e c o n -t r a c -t s (ke-tubo-t) in h i s p o s s e s s i o n . [19] This was a l l he could achieve b e f o r e h i s t i m e on e a r t h was done.
Thanks to the f a m i l y connection, GOLDZIHER w a s t h e f i r s t to s u r v e y the Genizah m a t e r i a l . He was the f i r s t of t h o s e who w e r e m o r e i n t e r e s t e d in the l e t -t e r s and documen-ts -than in -the l i -t e r a r y m a -t e r i a l . "I can s a y , " he c o n f e s s e d ,
"that I found the c o n t e n t s of the documents of e x t r a o r d i n a r y i n t e r e s t . To s a y nothing o f . . . the l e t t e r s and inventories which b e a r d i r e c t w i t n e s s to e v e r y a s p e c t of life; in addition to t h e i r i n t e r e s t a s o b j e c t s , t h e s e r e l i c s provide i m p o r t a n t evidence both of e v e r y d a y language in those f a r - o f f t i m e s and a l s o of e p i s t o l a r y technique. I venture to hope that our A c a d e m y ' s p u b l i c a t i o n s will give s p a c e to the study of the d o c u m e n t s that have been given to its L i b r a r y . " [ 2 0 ]
What was then a pious hope h a s b e c o m e a r e a l i t y in the A c a d e m y ' s Acta O r i e n t a l i a . GOLDZIHER himself gave an account of h i s r e s u l t s in the R e v u e d e s Études J u i v e s under t h e heading ' M é l a n g e s j u d é o - a r a b e s ' . [21] Of these I would mention only a study on a f a l s e M e s s i a h , probably f r o m t h e Yemen, p e r h a p s the very one against which M a i m o n i d e s ' I g g e r e t Teman w a r n s ; [22] and the l e t t e r f r o m the t h r e e s t r i c k e n c o n g r e g a t i o n s in F o s t a t to the J e w s of Ashkelon. [23]
F o r his students he suggested d o c t o r a l topics f r o m t h i s m a t e r i a l : Sámuel KANDEL[24] and V i l m o s STEINER[25] w r o t e on Arab p e r s o n a l documents. The w o r k of the f o r m e r was even p r a i s e d by GOITEIN,[26] while t h e second s p e a k s f o r i t s e l f , since it r e l a t e s to Maimonides and the Egyptian Samuel ha-Nagid. Ch.
H e n r i k KIS published two c o l l e c t i o n s of geonic r e s p o n s a , including some f r o m Hai h i m s e l f . [27] I t s i m p o r t a n c e i s a t t e s t e d by the fact that s o m e y e a r s ago it was r e p r i n t e d . [28] Few d i s s e r t a t i o n s a r e so honoured.
Miksa WEISZ, t h e guardian of the Kaufmann l i b r a r y , took an e a r l y i n t e r -e s t in th-e G-enizah; h i s f i r s t study a p p -e a r -e d in 1903. [28a] His studi-es w -e r -e a l s o c o l l e c t e d and published in one volume; [29] a new edition, including an additional p a p e r , was published in 1969. It is a m a t t e r of r e g r e t that two f u r t h e r p a p e r s r e m a i n uncollected. [30]
WEISZ was p a r t i c u l a r l y a t t r a c t e d t o the geonic p e r i o d . He published a l e t -t e r of -the Gaon S h e r i r a of Pumbedi-tha (10-th cen-tury) -to -the J e w r y of Spain and A f r i c a appealing for funds f o r the A c a d e m y ; [31] J . MANN showed that this was w r i t t e n b e f o r e 967/968.(32] He a l s o published l e t t e r s f r o m Matzliah the f i r s t Gaon of Fostat (12th c e n t u r y ) t o the J e w i s h c o m m u n i t i e s of t h e Rif i . e . Egypt;
and geonic r e s p o n s a , including some f r o m P a l t o i (mid-9th c e n t u r y ) a l s o f r o m P u m b e d i t h a , with philological explanations and textual c o m m e n t s . [ 3 3 ]
His m o s t f o r t u n a t e find was a collection of Yozeroth on the book of G e n e s i s w h o s e author he identifièd f r o m the a c r o s t i c a s Samuel Yizke. He could not how-e v how-e r idhow-entify his p how-e r s o n , plachow-e of r how-e s i d how-e n c how-e , or phow-eriod. It h a s sinchow-e how-e m how-e r g how-e d that he w a s called Samuel ha-Shelishi b. Hoshanah;he lived in P a l e s t i n e and was one of t h e h e a d s of the J e r u s a l e m A c a d e m y . F o r a s yet unknown r e a s o n s he l a t e r moved t o F o s t a t . On the l a s t day of D e c e m b e r , 1011, at the burial of P u t i e l Hazzan he w a s an eyewitness to and himself a victim of a t h r e e - d a y p o g r o m , which he d e s c r i b e d on his r e l e a s e f r o m prison in the Megillat M i t z r a i m , the Egyptian c h r o n i c l e . [34] Today it i s known that he c o m p o s e d over 400 p o e m s , and although M . WALLENSTEIN [35] h a s devoted a monograph to the t h e m e s and s t r u c t u r e of h i s w o r k s and to the m e t h o d s of t h e i r c r e a t o r — c o r r e c t l y r e c o n s t r u c t i n g even the text of one of the i t e m s in the Kaufmann Genizah — his oeuvre s t i l l awaits pub-l i c a t i o n .
The pen that fell all too e a r l y f r o m the hand of Miksa WEISZ was picked up by Salamon WIDDER. It i s to h i s g r e a t c r e d i t that he p r e p a r e d a catalogue of the p o e t i c f r a g m e n t s in the Genizah; [36] unlike DAVIDSON'S T h e s a u r u s he indexed l a s t a s well a s f i r s t l i n e s .
The catalogue was completed by M. ZULAY, the m o s t thorough scholar in the f i e l d of Hebrew l i t u r g i c a l p o e t r y . [37] He brought new life t o r e s e a r c h , too.
New w o r k s c a m e to light f r o m the divan of the 10th century Spanish Jewish poet I s a a c ibn Khalfon, the f i r s t Jewish poet to m a k e a living out of p o e t r y . [38] The S a r a g o s s a n poet Ibn a l - T a b b a n was completely forgotten in the 11th century; when h i s p o e t r y was collected in our t i m e , one of t h e 72 poems c a m e f r o m the Budapest m a n u s c r i p t . [39] A f r a g m e n t of the m a k a m p o e t r y of the Egyptian M o s e s ben Levi (12th c e n t u r y ) was also found h e r e in Budapest. [40] The list could be continued.
WIDDER himself made some s p e c t a c u l a r d i s c o v e r i e s . Yannai, the f i r s t Hebrew poet in 6th c e n t u r y P a l e s t i n e , h a s been r e s u r r e c t e d in our t i m e . B e c a u s e of his difficult language a n d his even m o r e difficult a l l u s i o n s he w a s long m i s u n -d e r s t o o -d . His r e -d i s c o v e r y -d a t e s f r o m 1919; by 1938 enough of h i s work was foun-d to make up a book. WIDDER discovered a f u r t h e r 14 p o e m s . [41] In the words of the f i r s t s c h o l a r of t h i s t o p i c : the publication s u r p r i s e d the w o r l d of s c h o l a r s h i p a m i d the m a r c h i n g of Hitler and his a r m i e s . [42] Since that t i m e , thanks p a r -t i c u l a r l y -to -the e f f o r -t s of Z . M . RABBINOWITZ [42a], enough new m a -t e r i a l h a s come to light to fill a n o t h e r volume.
His next d i s c o v e r y was even m o r e sensational. S a m u e l ha-Nagid, s t a t e s m a n and g e n e r a l , was a m i n i s t e r under the Sultan of Granada in t h e f i r s t half of the 11th c e n t u r y . A scholar and p o e t , who even f r o m his camp sent v e r s i f i e d advice to h i s son which i s today a valuable h i s t o r i c a l s o u r c e , he was a l s o a g e n e r o u s patron who c e l e b r a t e d his talented p r o t é g é s in p o e t r y and was in t u r n c e l e b r a t e d by t h e m in t h e i r s . Outstanding a m o n g those enjoying h i s patronage w a s the youthful and f a t a l l y s t r i c k e n Salamon ibn G a b i r ő l . Once, being young and ill and a g e n i u s , he r e b e l l e d against h i s p a t r o n . What followed we know f r o m the A r a b i c P o e t i c a of M o s e s ibn E z r a , s o m e hundred y e a r s l a t e r ( c r i t i c a l edition published 1975). [43] G a b i r ő l paints the following p i c t u r e of wine in one of h i s poems:
IK T I C fiv 1ВЭ HJUtfl
"»лпрл ?K1DC ЛТЕ? 1СГ
Your liquid i s yet as cool a s the melting snow of Her mon, or as the p o e m s of Samuel Kehati.
This gibe wounded the s e n s i t i v e princely p a t r o n , proud of his poetic t a l e n t to the point of vanity. Gabiről fell f r o m g r a c e and t h i s no doubt affected him both socially and f i n a n c i a l l y . In his l a t e r p o e m s he t r i e d t o m a k e a m e n d s , and to lend s u b s t a n c e to his w r i t t e n words he c a r r i e d the penitential p o e m to the Nagid in p e r s o n , c a r i n g nought f o r the a r d u o u s journey:
- р л р » и ? j a t n m p Let the t i m e c o m e , don y o u r o r n a m e n t s !
Habent sua fata c a r m i n a . Both poems were l o s t . The poem begging f o r g i v e n e s s was found in the Genizah in 1910 by H. Brody[44] , both c r i t i c s and l i t -e r a r y h i s t o r i a n s g r -e -e t -e d this v-ery i m p o r t a n t find. Th-e po-em which o r i g i n a l l y c a u s e d the offence, lost for nine c e n t u r i e s , was found in the Kaufmann Collection in 1941.[45] It i s a polemical p o e m , a genre which w a s v e r y popular in the Middle A g e s , when the s w o r d argued with t h e pen, the Sabbath with the weekday, t h e body with the soul. H e r e it i s the sun that b a t t l e s with w i n e . P e r h a p s WIDDER i s r i g h t in thinking that t h i s was not the a c t u a l insult. The p o e m lampooned one of t h e
N a g i d ' s wine-songs a n d a t the s a m e t i m e d e m o n s t r a t e d how one ought to compose s u c c i n t l y in ballad r h y t h m . It was t h i s d a r i n g deed that f i l l e d t h e powerful m i n i s t e r with w r a t h at his fellow poet some q u a r t e r of a century h i s j u n i o r .
After the l i b e r a t i o n of Hungary in 1945 I began with my fellow t e a c h e r s to r e s e a r c h the Genizah s y s t e m a t i c a l l y . The r e s u l t was the work Ginze Kaufmann, V o l . I , [46] which s o m e y e a r s ago was published abroad in a s e c o n d edition ( J e r u -s a l e m , 1971). It wa-s e n t h u -s i a -s t i c a l l y r e c e i v e d by -s c h o l a r -s . P r o f e -s -s o r S. ABRAM-SON w r o t e : "Our plea t o the Hungarian s c h o l a r s is that they should not spend t h e i r t i m e p r e p a r i n g i n t r o d u c t i o n s and notes to t h e m a t e r i a l , but should r a t h e r publish t h e f r a g m e n t s t h e m s e l v e s the c r i t i c a l a p p a r a t u s can c o m e l a t e r either f r o m t h e m o r f r o m o t h e r s . T h e i r work is worthwhile even if they but b r i n g the Kauf-m a n n Genizah before t h e world of s c h o l a r s h i p ; for none but they know its t r u e w o r t h . "[47] The M e k i t z e N i r d a m i m undertook to publish Vol. II a s long ago a s 1949.
We shared out t h e w o r k .
Sámuel LOWING ER published the following: two f r a g m e n t s f r o m the book of N e h e m i a h , of which he e s t a b l i s h e d that t h e text was r e l a t e d t o that found in the Q u m r a n c a v e s [48] ; f r a g m e n t s f r o m the T a l m u d Y e r u s h a l m i . P e s a h i m [49] which w e r e e v a l u a t e d by S. LIEBERMAN; [50] new p a g e s of the t a l m u d i c work Metibot,[51]
which a c c o r d i n g to GINZBERG was c o m p o s e d in Kairouan a c e n t u r y b e f o r e the end of t h e Babylonian geonic p e r i o d ; and a geonic c o m m e n t a r y to the t r a c t s of Gittin and Q i d d u s h i n . [52]
István HAHN u n d e r t o o k work on the A r a b i c t e x t s , E r n ő ROTH on the h a l a k h a , [53] and Ottó KOMLÓS on the t a r g u m . [54] The l a t t e r a l s o published a v e r s e e p i s t l e from Daniel in Damietta to A b r a h a m Kohen, with whom he wanted to j o u r n e y t o Tripoli. In a l l Hebrew l i t e r a t u r e t h e r e is no m o r e d e t a i l e d description of f e m a l e beauty. [55] SCHIRMANN found the f i r s t part in the F r a k f u r t am Main G e n i z a h [ 5 6 ] ; WIDDER t h e poetic p a r t , s i n c e he copied the whole t e x t . My own c o n t r i b u t i o n will be m e n t i o n e d below.
Now the collection w a s a c c e s s i b l e t o foreign s c h o l a r s t o o . ALLONY, F L E I S C H E R , HABERMANN, SCHIRMANN and SPIEGEL [56a] published poetic t e x t s . GOITEIN u s e s a n u m b e r of d o c u m e n t s f r o m the collection in h i s wide-r a n g i n g descwide-ription of J e w i s h society a wide-r o u n d t h e M e d i t e wide-r wide-r a n e a n . [57] His student M i c h a e l MURAD published l e t t e r s to N a h r a i ben N i s s i m , the f a m o u s Tunisian t r a d e s m a n , banker and c o m m u n i t y l e a d e r , who died in 1098.
T h e French a r t h i s t o r i a n Mendel METZGER s t a t e s that the oldest i l l u s -t r a -t e d Haggadah page is a l s o -t o be found in our Genizah. [58]
IV.
In conclusion I would mention s o m e of my own contributions: those relevant to the h i s t o r y of the 10th to t h e 13th century which complement the t e x t s of o t h e r s ,
and have led to new r e s u l t s . In t h i s connection a r i s e s the question of the c o m p l e t e Genizah catalogue [58a] t o be published a s an international u n d e r t a k i n g . This would lead to new f r a g m e n t s being d i s c o v e r e d .
1. J e w i s h Bible c r i t i c i s m and f r e e t h i n k i n g can be t r a c e d back to the b e -ginning of the 9th c e n t u r y . This was the t i m e of Hiwi, who c a m e f r o m Balkh, a town in K h o r e z m . R e f e r e n c e s by A r a b g e o g r a p h e r s to Bab a l - J a h u d ("the J e w s ' gate" ) and to a l - J a h u d i j j a ("Jewish q u a r t e r " ) a t t e s t to i t s populous Jewish q u a r t e r . The views of the J e w i s h b o r n Ibn a r R a v e n d i and of Hiwi w e r e wrought in the f o u n d -r y of b e l i e v e -r s in I s l a m and among h e -r e t i c s , Rabbanites and K a -r a i t e s . H i w i ' s 200 q u e s t i o n s on the Bible, probably compiled in A r a b i c , a r e now l o s t ; they a r e often mentioned, cited and disputed in Jewish l i t e r a t u r e . [59]
It was p e r h a p s h i s example that i n s p i r e d , in the 10th c e n t u r y , the author of the She'elot Atikot.who a l s o composed q u e s t i o n s on the B i b l e . SCHECHTER d i s c o v e r e d the f i r s t f r a g m e n t of t h i s much disputed text. [60] M o r e r e c e n t l y it h a s been twice published, and a l s o t r a n s l a t e d into F r e n c h . A p a r t f r o m the Dead Sea s c r o l l s , no single work h a s occupied J e w i s h scholarship m o r e . A f t e r half a c e n -t u r y I found a f u r -t h e r f r a g m e n -t of -t h i s m a n u s c r i p -t in -the Kaufmann Collec-tion [61] , and a decade l a t e r , on the second day of my visit to C a m b r i d g e , i t s continuation in the s a m e hand. [62]
The 22 v e r s e c h a p t e r s c o r r e s p o n d i n g to the l e t t e r s of the alphabet contain in the closing stanza of each c h a p t e r the n a m e s of the a u t h o r , h i s f a t h e r , and h i s g r a n d f a t h e r . The fourth of the four l e t t e r s making up his n a m e , the qof, was found in the Kaufmann m a n u s c r i p t . C l e a r l y , h i s name must have been I s a a c (Yitzhaq).
At the t i m e I c a m e to the following conclusion: "We have, t h e r e f o r e , r e a c h e d the t h r e s h o l d of the solution in having d e t e r m i n e d the a u t h o r ' s n a m e . The task of a f u r t h e r and luckier d i s c o v e r e r will be the solution i t s e l f . "
I had hoped that t h i s step, too, would be made by m e ; I note without envy, h o w e v e r , that it was made by E. F L E I S C H E R . [63] He identified the author a s the Spaniard I s a a c h a - M a h b i l , who i s frequently mentioned by A b r a h a m ibn E z r a , who w r i t e s of h i s work that it should be b u r n t . All that we know of h i s work i s , in f a c t , what ibn E z r a q u o t e s . F l e i s c h e r h a s found that these quotations a r e identical with p a r t s of the S h e ' e l o t Atikot, proving beyond question that the t h o u s a n d - y e a r - o l d work, long believed lost, was indeed h a - M a h b i l ' s .
2. It was SCHECHTER too who in 1903 published t h e r e m a i n s of a booklet of poetry[64] ; f u r t h e r pages w e r e found in the British M u s e u m . [65] The author and the hand a r e the s a m e throughout. It is c l e a r f r o m the c o n t e n t s and the long a c r o s t i c s that they a r e all a d d r e s s e d to the same p e r s o n : A b r a h a m of Baghdad, who held a high post in the Sultan' s c o u r t . To his c r e d i t i s the reopening of the Academy at Sura. He had a p r i v a t e synagogue in his p a l a c e ; the Hazzan of the congregation was B a b y l o n ' s g r e a t e s t c a n t o r , the l i t u r g i c a l poet Nahum a l - B a r a d a n i . This e s t a b l i s h e s the period: about 1000. Exactly fifty y e a r s l a t e r I found in the Kaufmann Genizah the continuation of the Cambridge t e x t | 6 6 ] , and fifteen y e a r s a f t e r t h a t , another f r a g m e n t in the G a s t e r Collection in t h e B r i t i s h M u s e u m . [67]
The p o e m s I published a l s o deal with h i s military p r o w e s s . I identified the p e r s o n
t h u s lauded a s a m e m b e r of the Netira f a m i l y , who owed t h e i r wealth to t h e i r connections with the R a d a n i t e s (the e a s t e r n part of Baghdad was once called Radhan). [68] F o r t h r e e g e n e r a t i o n s the Baradani f a m i l y provided the court p o e t . I have shown that a p a n e g y r i c by Solomon ben Nahum B a r a d a n i , p r e s e r v e d in an Oxford m a n u s c r i p t , w a s a l s o a d d r e s s e d t o A b r a h a m . [69]
3. Most exciting of all is the s t o r y of Obadiah. His autograph Hebrew diary c a m e to light between 1919 and 1953 f r o m one London and t h r e e Cambridge m a n u s c r i p t s . The period could be identified f r o m the colophon of the Cincinnati p r a y e r -book: he b e c a m e a J e w in 1102. In 1954 I published f r o m a Budapest m a n u s c r i p t the beginning of the d i a r y , in which he w r i t e s of h i s ancestry[70] : he was born in Oppido Lucano, into a noble Norman f a m i l y . His original n a m e was Johannes, which he l a t e r changed to Obadiah, a name that w a s fashionable in the Middle A g e s , which m e a n s s e r v u s dei, SovÀoç « v p i o v . [71] On the f i r s t a n n i v e r s a r y of h i s o r d i nation a s p r i e s t he h a s a v i s i o n ; a s a r e s u l t he changes h i s f a i t h . F u r t h e r m o -tivation may have been p r o v i d e d by the M e s s i a n i s m of the p e r i o d and the study of the Bible in the original H e b r e w . [72] He b e c a m e a p r o s e l y t e in the land of h i s b i r t h . [73] He l e a r n s H e b r e w — in addition to F r e n c h , I t a l i a n , Latin and A r a b i c — and w r i t e s of his e x p e r i e n c e s in an a t t r a c t i v e Biblical s t y l e , and indeed p r o g r e s s e s a s f a r a s to attempt the c o m p o s i t i o n of a poem in Hebrew. I found this in C a m -b r i d g e . [74] One can h e a r in it the sound of the medieval C h u r c h hymn. He l a t e r
s e t t l e d in Egypt, where he p e r h a p s spent h i s life as a c o p y i s t .
In the E . N . A d l e r Collection (New York) t h e r e i s a Genizah page which h a s on it a piyyut with n e u m a notation. N. GOLB and I r e a l i s e d independently but at the s a m e t i m e , in 1965, t h a t this too was in O b a d i a h ' s h a n d . He i s thus the f i r s t t r a n s c r i b e r of a H e b r e w melody. [75] The topic h a s s i n c e spawned an e n o r m o u s quantity of l i t e r a t u r e . The melody was sung in Budapest by a choir four y e a r s a g o . In April 1970 Oppido was host to a c o n g r e s s on a r c h a e l o g y , a r t h i s t o r y and f o l k l o r e ; on this o c c a s i o n a s t r e e t was named a f t e r Obadiah, the t o w n ' s f i r s t w r i t e r .
Recently J . P R A W E R h a s subjected the autobiography to s c r u t i n y . [76]
4. About this t i m e t h e r e i s news of a colleague of h i s . In 1099 t h e r e a r r i v e s with the C r u s a d e r s in J e r u s a l e m an unnamed p e r s o n ' p u r e of h e a r t ' . He i s taken by Arab p i r a t e s , but r e s i s t i n g both t h r e a t s and g l i t t e r i n g p r o m i s e s he c o n v e r t s to J u d a i s m . His new c o r e l i g i o n i s t s s e c u r e his r e l e a s e , and he s e t s off for Egypt. The story c o m e s f r o m a v e r s e e p i s t l e in the Kaufmann Genizah. [77]
5. Il mondo e poco — w a s a p h r a s e much used in the t i m e of the R e n a -i s s a n c e . D-istances had a l r e a d y shrunk e a r l -i e r . In the seventh decade of the 10th c e n t u r y K a r a i s m began to s p r e a d in Byzantium. Constantinople t h e r e f o r e t u r n e d to the f a m e d Meshullam ben Q a l o n y m o s of Mainz to help it in i t s s t r u g g l e against the s e c t . He replied in a long l e t t e r , of which the beginning i s in our collection.!78]
P e r h a p s s o m e day the r e s t of it will a p p e a r . How did his f a m e s p r e a d a s f a r a s B y z a n t i u m ?
6. It was f r o m Baghdad that J o s e p h ben Jacob h a - B a v l i , otherwise J o s e p h Rosh h a - S e d e r , went to F o s t a t and was a c t i v e t h e r e at the end of the 12th c e n t u r y . He was the subject of my f i r s t Genizah publication, [79] and h a s i n t e r e s t e d m e e v e r since over the last 30 y e a r s . E a r l i e r the view was c u r r e n t that he was a man of many plans and l a r g e p r o m i s e s , of which none were e v e r r e a l i s e d . [80] He designed only t i t l e - p a g e s and c o m p o s e d only p r e f a c e s . I compiled a l i s t of his c h a r a c t e r i s t i c written works and it e m e r g e d that in the e n t i r e medieval p e r i o d no-one had p r o d u c e d such a quantity of w r i t i n g . I have r e a c h e d the number 275 in cataloguing h i s w o r k , but t h i s cannot be r e g a r d e d a s a final f i g u r e . [81] It is t h a n k s to him that many valuable r e l i c s of Hebrew l i t e r a t u r e have survived: for he copied t h e m . T h e r e a r e a number in the Kaufmann Collection. In addition, he w a s probably a b o o k s e l l e r : t h i s would account for t h e 20 booklists in h i s hand, [82] two of which list over 200
i t e m s . I have published four of t h e s e l i s t s , including one h e r e in Budapest. [83]
It would be m o s t important t o collect and publish t o g e t h e r the 120 or s o booklists that have been found so f a r . The volume would provide invaluable i n f o r -mation on Hebrew book c u l t u r e in the Middle A g e s .
I should like t o mention a m o r e p e r s o n a l p r o j e c t : I should like to p r e p a r e a catalogue of Genizah p r o s e . So that I might say, with J á n o s A r a n y , " T h i s one work I truly o w e d . "
*
I have r e a c h e d the end of my t h e m e . It is fitting that I should conclude with the words of the o n e - t i m e owner of the collection and the p e r s o n a f t e r whom i s n a m e d , words which I c o n f e s s n e v e r fail to move m e :
"And if they publish these t r e a s u r e s , it will be r e a l i s e d that I did not e r r and that my hopes w e r e not without foundation. P e r h a p s t h e r e will be r e v e a l e d b e f o r e our e y e s things we never even d a r e d g u e s s a t . . . When a g e s have p a s s e d . . . and the r e s u l t s will be c o m p a r e d with my e f f o r t s . . . it will be seen of what my d r e a m s were m a d e . "[84]
I hope I have shown that the prophecy made eighty y e a r s ago h a s been proved completely c o r r e c t . [85]
The living grow old; d r e a m s n e v e r .
Notes — 1. Egyenlőség 24(1905) XII. 31; 25(1906) IV. 8.
2. M.WEISZ, Katalog d e r hebräischen Handschriften und Bücher in der Bibliothek des P r o f . D r . David Kaufmann s . A. F r a n k f u r t a / M . 1906; I. GOLDZIHER: Akad. É r t . 17(1906) pp.
306-314; idem: Microcard Catalogue of t h e . . . Kaufmann Collection. Budapest 1959, pp.
12-21; A Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Könyvtára 18 26-1976. Budapest 1976, pp. 23-24.
3. D. KAUFMANN, G e s a m m e l t e Schriften II, Frankfurt a / M . 1910, pp. 183-186; U. CASSUTO:
Enc. J u d . V i n , Berlin 1931, pp. 913-914.
4. G. VAJDA: Kobez al Yad VIII (XVIII). J e r u s a l e m 1975, p . 285; idem: JA 268(1975) pp. 51-92.
5. The f i r s t Hebrew P l a y . The Comedy of Betrothal. Ed. J . S c h i r m a n n . J e r u s a l e m 1965.
6. Ibidem, pp. 175-176.
7. T h i r t y - E i g h t . . . H e b r e w and S a m a r i t a n M a n u s c r i p t s f r o m the C o l l e c t i o n f o r m e d by the late
42a. Z . M . RABBINOWITZ, Halakha and Aggada in the L i t u r g i c a l P o e t r y of Y a n n a i , Tel-Aviv 1965;
49. S. LÖWINGER: Alexander Marx Jubilee Volume, New York 1950, Hebrew P a r t : pp. 257-283.
50. S. LIEBERMAN: ibidem, pp. 284-286.
75. Idem: Studia Musicologica 8(1968) pp. 173-187; N. GOLB: J J S 18(1967) pp. 43-63;
E . W E R N E R : MGG 15(1973) col. 4; H. AVENARY: Tatzlil 14(1974) pp. 91-92.
76. J . PRAWER: T a r b i z 45(1975/76) pp. 272-295.
77. A. SCHEIBER: HUCA 39(1968) pp. 163-175.
78. A. SCHEIBER: Acta Orient. Hung. 21(1971) pp. 359370; Studies in Jewish History. P r e s e n -ted to P r o f . R. M a h l e r . Merhavia 1974, pp. 19-23.
79. A. SCHEIBER: Semitic Studies in Memory of Immanuel Low . Budapest 1947, Hebrew P a r t : pp. 158-168.
80. I. TA-SHEMA: Enc. J u d . X, J e r u s a l e m 1971, p. 246.
81. A. SCHEIBER: Acta Orient. Hung. 23(1970) pp. 115-130; J J S 22(1971) pp. 68-69; Acta Orient. Hung. 29(1975) pp. 247-249.
82. N. ALLONY: Alei Sefer 1(1975) p. 35.
83. A . SCHEIBER: K i r j a t h Sepher 44(1968/69) pp. 546-548; J J S 22(1971) pp. 68-77; Kirjath Sepher 48(1972/73) pp. 152-172 (with N. Allony); N. ALLONY: ibidem 49(1973/74) pp.
657-658; E. KUPFER: ibidem 50(1974/75) p . 340.
8 4 . D. KAUFMANN: Hashiloah 2(1897) p. 489.
85. S . D . GOITEIN : Involvement in Geniza R e s e a r c h . Religion in a Religious Age. Cambridge M a s s . 1974, pp. 139-146; M. BENAYAHU: Haarez 1976. IV. 20.