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

Title

Jewish moral tales & Hebrew liturgical poems

Other related names

• Gaster, Moses 1856-1939, former owner (http://viaf.org/viaf/12428346)
• Brudo, Freya, former owner
• Raffaell, Brudo, former owner
• Cohen, Benj., former owner
• Bintata, Salomon, former owner
• Cohen, Benjamin Arye Haim, former owner
• Judah Go[..], former owner
• Olsa, Josiph, former owner
• Cohen, Alexander, former owner

Call number

Gaster Hebrew MS 274
(Manchester, United Kingdom, University of Manchester, University of Manchester Library, Hebrew Manuscripts)

Alternate identifiers

• Former: Gaster 274

Publisher

University of Manchester Library

Language

Hebrew; Ladino

Origin

Place

Europe

Summary

Composite manuscript containing fifteen stories in Judeo-Spanish written by various hands (folios 1a-88b; 97a-99b) and some Hebrew liturgical poems ('piyyutim') for different occasions (folios 89a-96b; 100a-114b)

Notes

• Repairs in inner edge with transparent tape. Folios have uneven edges. The manuscript is accompanied by a note in English and Hebrew regarding its contents written by N. Shalem in London on 4 September 1938. Description based on Alexander Samely's unpublished draft catalogue and N. Shalem's note, revised and expanded by Stefania Silvestri and Renate Smithuis. Paper has visible laid lines.
   

Extent

Iv+116+i; 146 x 96 mm

Foliation

Modern pencil foliation in Arabic numerals at the top outer corner of side a of each folio. Folio 51 unnumbered, 2 folios numbered 65. Secondary foliation from folio 67: 1737-1739 (67-69), 17?40-1756 (71-87), [..]58 (88), 1759 (97), [..] (98), 162 (99), etc.

Support

Paper

Binding

One quarter binding: brown leather spine and brown chequered paper boards. Remains of two paper lables on spine. English printed matter used as fourth front fly-leaf and back fly-leaf. The manuscript must have been bound or rebound incorrently given the misplacement of folios 97-99 that should follow folio 88 and folio 110 that should follow 107. In view of the catchwords several more parts seem to be in disorder, see especially folios 37-38, 45-46, 63-64, 75-76, 87-88, 100a-b, 101a-b, 107-108, 108-109.

Layout

Long line with 21 written lines. Layout throughout the codex is irregular and leading close to the edges. Numbering of paragraphs is given in Hebrew.

Script

Sephardi semi-cursive script, different hands.

Sephardi square for the titles, different hands.

Provenance

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

Related resources

• Moses Gaster, The Exempla of the Rabbis Being a Collection of Exempla, Apologues and Tales Culled from Hebrew Manuscripts and Rare Hebrew Books (London; Leipzig,1924)
• Israel Davidson, Thesaurus of mediaeval Hebrew poetry (New York, 1924-1933)

Subjects topical

• Tales
• Piyutim

Genres

• Manuscripts, European

Keywords

• 18th century
• Jewish
• Sephardi
• Piyutim

Licenses

• Text

  Images are ©2017 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 ©2017 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 274/1. Jewish moral tales [ff. 1a-88b and 97a-99b]. Each Judeo-Spanish story is preceded by the word ma'aseh i.e. 'story,' in square script. Story 1, [ff. 1a-2b]: Man deals with a thief.
• 2b — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/1. Story 2, [ff. 2b-5b]: Rabbi Meir saves Judah from the snake; on the importance of almsgiving. Cf. Gaster, Exempla, no. 394, 151–52.
• 6a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/1. Story 3, [ff. 6a-8a]: Rabbi Joshua ben Levi and the butcher who will be his companion in paradise; on the importance of charity. Cf. Gaster, Exempla, no. 323, 117
• 8a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/1. Story 4, [ff. 8a-14a]: Rabbi Reuben ben Sabar and Matatiah ben Harash.
• 14a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/1. Story 5, [ff. 14a-18a]: Rabbi Meir and the wife of Rabbi Judah the butcher. Cf. Gaster, Exempla, no. 384, 147.
• 18a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/1. Story 6, [ff. 18a-20a]: Pious man saves fellow Jews from persecution in a town in Ashkenaz.
• 20a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/1. Story 7, [ff. 20a-21a]: The daughter of Rabbi Akiva is saved from a snake on her wedding day; on the importance of almsgiving. Cf. Gaster, Exempla, no. 318, 116.
• 21b — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/1. Story 8, [ff. 21b-24b]: Diligent student recovers stolen money.
• 24b — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/1. Story 9, [ff. 24b-27b]: The weasel and the well; man does not keep his promise to marry a woman. Cf. Gaster, Exempla, no. 89, 74.
• 27b — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/1. Story 10, [ff. 27b-31a]: Jewish woman enters the camp of the enemy to kill its general during the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem (i.e. the story of Judith and Holofernes). Cf. Gaster, Exempla, no. 251, 106.
• 31a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/1. Story 11, [ff. 31a-34a]: Nachum Ish Gamzu. Cf. Gaster, Exempla, no. 25, 58.
• 34a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/1. Story 12, [ff. 34a-39b]: Joshua ben Levi and the Angel of Death. Cf. Gaster, Exempla, no. 138, 85.
• 39b — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/1. Story 13, [ff. 39b-42a]: Solomon and a poor man in the time of King David.
• 42a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/1. Story 14, [ff. 42a-44b]: Nakdimon (Nicodemus) ben Gurion and the twelve water cisterns in Jerusalem. Cf. Gaster, Exempla, no. 85, 72.
• 45a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/1. Story 15, [ff. 45a-88b and 97a-99b]: Joseph.
• 89a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poems and songs for the end of Shabbat [ff. 89a-96b], for the rite of circumcision [ff. 106a-111b], and for putting on phylacteries [ff. 112-114b]. Though most incipits have been transcribed, the survey below is as yet incomplete. Liturgical poem 1 [ff. 89a-b]. Acrostic poem forming the name Isaac. Cf.411
• 89b — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 2 [ff. 89b-90a]. Acrostic poem forming the name Abraham Hazzak?
• 90a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 3 [ff. 90a-b].
• 90b — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 4 [ff. 90b-91a]. Acrostic poem forming the name Abraham (Ibn Ezra, Abraham ben Meïr, 1089-1164). Cf. 4916
• 91a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 5 [ff.91a-92a]. Alphabetical acrostic poem, preceded by a few opening words. Cf. 3121
• 92a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 6 [92a].
• 97a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/1. Story 15, [ff. 45a-88b and 97a-99b]: Joseph.
• 106a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poems for the rite of circumcision, פיוטים של מילה [ff.106a -111b], Liturgical poem 1 [106a]. Acrostic poem forming the name Jacob ben Tsur
• 106a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 2 [ff.106a-107a]. Acrostic poem forming forming the phrase "I, Moshe Hazzak"
• 107a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 3 [ff. 107a-b].
• 107b — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 4 [107b]. Acrostic poem forming the name Moshe Zakut ( Zacuto, Moses ben Mordecai, approximately 1620-1697). Cf. 260
• 108a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 6 [ff.108 a -b]. This is poem is preceded by the end of another poem (starting from רץ במצות אל) of which the incipit is unknown, because the folios are no longer in the correct order.
• 108b — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 7 [108b]. Acrostic poem forming the name Jacob (Ibn Ẓur, Jacob ben Reuben 1673-1752).
• 109a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 9 [109 a-b]. Acrostic poem forming the phrase "I, David Hazzak" (David ben Aaron ibn Ḥassin, approximately 1730-1792). This poem is preceded by the end of another poem (starting from יום השמיני נבחר למולה) of which the incipit is unknown, because the folios are no longer in the correct order.
• 109b — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 10 [ff. 109b-?]. Uncertain whether the poem is complete due to the fact that the folios are no longer in the correct order.
• 110a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 11 [110a]. Preceded by the note: סי עמנואל
• 110a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 12 [ff. 110a-b]. Acrostic poem forming the word Shaddai [שדי]. Cf. 2191
• 110b — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 13 [110b].
• 110b — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 14 [ff. 110b-?]. It is unclear whether the manuscript contains the rest of the poem, because the folios are no longer in the correct order.
• 111a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 15 [111a]. This folio might originally have followed folio 108 in view of the catchword קומי on 108b.
• 111a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 16 [111a].
• 112a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poems for putting on phylacteries, פיוטים של תפילין בע"ה [ff.112-114b]. Liturgical poem 1 [112a].
• 112a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 2 [ff112a-112b].
• 112b — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 3 [ff112b-113a]. Acrostic poem forming the name Jacob [יעקב]. Cf. א 7996.
• 113a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 4 [113a]. Acrostic poem forming the words 'I, Jacob Hazzak [אני יעקב חזק]. Cf. א 3536.
• 113a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 5 [ff113a-113b].
• 113b — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 6 [113b]. Followed by a liturgical note: מה דין לעמך. For the latter poem cf. ד 312.
• 113b — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 7 [ff113b-114a].
• 114a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 8 [114a].
• 114a — Gaster Hebrew MS 274/2. Liturgical poem 9 [ff114a-114b]. The poem is preceded by an introductory note.

Decorations

• Inside front cover — Handwritten in pencil numeral 274 and several numbers and calculations.
• Flyeaf 1a — Handwritten numbers and calculations.
• Flyleaf 1b — Handwritten numbers and calculations.
• Flyleaf 2a — Handwritten note reading Freja Brudo, Brudo Raffaell, 444
• Flyleaf 2b — Handwritten note reading Benj. Cohen
• Flyleaf 3a — Handwritten numbers and calculations.
• Flyleaf 4a — Printed matter
• Flyleaf 4b — Printed matter
• 1a — Handwritten in blue ink No. 274 / M Gaster
• 3b — Owner's signature at the top edge of folio, Salomon Bintata
• 4a — Owner's signature at the top edge of folio, Salomon Bintata
• 6b — Owner's signature at the top edge of folio, Salomon Bintata
• 14a — Owner's signature on the outer edge, Benjamin Arye Haim Cohen
• 29a — Owner's signature on the outer edge, Judah Go[..]
• 75b — Ownership note reading Josiph Olsa[...] 1790
• 88b — Handwritten note in blue ink reading v. 8 fols. further on
• 97a — Handwritten note in blue ink reading v. 8 fols. […]
• 105b — Handwritten numbers and calculations.
• 111b — Handwritten note possibly indicating a debt reading: Deve Sn Brudo Bentto Cohen Cohen
• 114b — Moses Gaster's signature in blue ink and in pencil.
• Flyeaf 1a — Printed matter
• Flyleaf 1b — Printed matter
• Flyleaf 1b — Owner's signature, Mr Alexander Cohen [...]