Collection ID: 0021 | Metadata type: TEI | TEI XML | Data

Title

Karaite prayer book for Passover and Shavuot

Other related names

• Gaster, Moses 1856-1939, former owner (http://viaf.org/viaf/12428346)

Call number

Gaster Hebrew MS 146
(Manchester, United Kingdom, University of Manchester, University of Manchester Library, Hebrew Manuscripts)

Alternate identifiers

• Former: Gaster 146

Publisher

University of Manchester Library

Language

Hebrew; Judeo-Arabic

Origin

Place

Jerusalem

Summary

Seventeenth-century Karaite prayer book for Passover and Shavuot in Hebrew with Judeo-Arabic liturgical instructions, all or in part produced in Jerusalem. Incomplete. The Passover and Shavuot parts have been written by a number of hands. With Tiberian vocalisation. Prayer book for Passover: beginning and end missing. Headings of different sizes and blank space for indication of subdivision, when no heading is present. Tiberian vocalisation. Hand briefly changes on folios 91a-92a. Passover is being referred to as the Festival of Unleavened Bread (חג המצות). With Judeo-Arabic liturgical instructions.

Notes

• Occasional marginal corrections and additions of one or several words on e.g. folios 1b, 10b, 11a, 29b, 40a, 43b, 45b, 64a, 65b, 70b, 72b, 75a, 78b, 111a-b, 116b, 121b; three line addition written parallel to the edge of the paper on folio 61a, in the hand of the scribe; two lines addition written parallel to outer text margin continuing main text on folio 83b
   
• Prayer book for Shavuot: headings in larger characters. Tiberian vocalisation, at times in red ink (see decoration). This part was written by at least two hands.
   

Watermark

Circle: folios 9, 26, 29, 68, 81, 90; circle with arrow: folios 39, 43, 58; oblique rectangle: folio 45; five-angled star and circle: folios 55, 60, 80; star: folio 75; spade with curved line in circle: folios 58, 66, 67, 83; crescent: folio 98; six-angled star with crescent: folio 99; tail: folio104; flower: folios 109, 110; pedestal with letters VER: folio 111; flourish: folios 112, 116, 117, 119, 123, 124, 126, 127, 128; cross in box: folio 120

Extent

I+145+i; 151 x 105 mm

Foliation

Modern pencil foliation in Arabic numerals at the top outer corner of side a of each folio, legible up to folio 135; no foliation on blank folios between 13 and 14, 63 and 64, 96 and 97; two unnumbered folios at the beginning of the codex and three unnumbered ones after folio 137

Support

Paper

Binding

Black leather binding with modern fly-leaves

Layout

Long line with between 19 and 21 written lines

Prayer book for Shavuot: long line with between 19 and 23 written lines

Decoration

Initial-words on all pages are made in black ink: Folio 30a: delineated initial-words with a gold coloured line, initial-words surrounded by black ink dots; black initial-words delineated with red ink: folios 106a-108a, 109b, 110b-112a, 113a, 115b-117a, 118b-119a, 120a, 121a-b, 122b, 123b, 125a, 128b; folios 111b and 123b: Black ink initial-words delineated with red ink and decorated with red ink fleur de lys motifs; marginal words / text words / vocalisation in red: folios 10b, 12b, 15b, 19a, 102a, 104a, 106a, 107b-108b, 109b-115a, 116a, 117a, 118b-119a, 120a-123b, 125a-128b, 133a-b, 135b-136a, 137a-b

Script

Karaite square script

Colophon

[Folio 106a] [?כתב]תי אני בידי לעצמי אני אברהם כהן בן ?נהר / [...] כהן נבע בן כמר [...] ידידיה הכהן / [...] בירושלם ככבוד תחת כסא הכבוד נבע / [...] התכ"ח ליצירה ושלום על ישראל אמן

Provenance

• Acquired by The John Rylands Library from the heirs of Moses Gaster in 1954
   

Subjects topical

• Prayer--Judaism
• Judaism--Liturgy--Texts
• Karaites
• Karaites--Liturgy--Texts
• Piyutim

Genres

• Karaite manuscripts

Keywords

• Prayer book
• 17th century
• Jewish
• Karaite
• Colophon
• Israel
• Liturgy
• Piyutim

Licenses

• Text

  Images are ©2018 The University of Manchester Library Special Collections and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

  URL

  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

• Text

  Metadata is ©2018 The University of Manchester Library Special Collections and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

  URL

  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

Table of contents

• 1a — Gaster Hebrew MS 146/1: Prayer book for Passover, or Seder Tefillot le-Fesaḥ [ff.1a-96b].
• 97a — Gaster Hebrew MS 146/2: Prayer book for Shavuot, or Seder Tefillot le-Shavu'ot [ff.97a-137b].
• 106a — Colophon

Decorations

• 30a — Delineated initial-words with a gold coloured line, initial-words surrounded by black ink dots.
• 106a — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 106b — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 107a — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 107b — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 108a — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 109b — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 110b — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 111a — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 111b — Black ink initial-words delineated with red ink and decorated with red ink fleur de lys motifs.
• 112a — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 113a — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 115a — Red ink motif
• 115b — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 116a — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 116b — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 117a — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 118b — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 119a — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 120a — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 121a — Small drawing of a panel with the word הנוא in the margin. Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 121b — Black initial-words delineated with red ink.
• 122b — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 123b — Black ink initial-words delineated with red ink and decorated with red ink fleur de lys motifs.
• 125a — Word surrounded by a black ink square panel. Black initial-words delineated with red ink.
• 128a — Word surrounded by a red ink square panel.
• 128b — Black initial-words delineated with red ink
• 129b — Words surrounded by a square black ink initial panel that has been filled with black ink dots.