Columbia’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library holds a diverse collection of Judaica, and its holdings relating to the holiday of Hanukkah span various collections, including rare books and manuscripts, graphic arts, and literature. This post will attempt to show some of the varied items from our collections dealing with the holiday, through legal and rabbinic […]
On the fall holiday of Sukkot (also known as the Feast of Tabernacles) Jews construct temporary huts (reminiscent of the temporary existence of the Jews in the Sinai Desert) and acquire a selection of greenery (palm fronds, citrons, myrtle and willow branches) for ritual use. The final days of the holiday, Hosha’ana Rabba, Shemini Atseret, […]
We are very pleased to announce the 2022 Norman E. Alexander Celebration of Collections on November 14, at 12:30 PM EST, featuring Charles E. Steinman, Dr. Susan Einbinder, and Dan Klein. Collections discussed include a medieval French manuscript that echoes the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, a 17th century manuscript discussing the plague in […]
Books tell stories. Not only through the texts written or printed within them, but also through the ephemera and paratexts – the bindings, the inscriptions, even wax seals casually stamped in the back of a volume. Such is the case with a volume in Columbia’s collection, cataloged with the call number B893.14 Y11. There are […]
We are constantly adding new physical books to the library’s Judaica collection, but during the summer, when Butler Library seems far away, electronic resources are key to scholarly research. In recent months, we have added a number of databases, e-books, and e-journals to our virtual collections which are accessible to Columbia users everywhere. Note that […]
Guest post by Daniela Goodman Rabner, BC ’22. Daniela spent the Spring 2022 semester inventorying and identifying Yiddish materials in the Zosa Szajkowski archive, so a new and significantly updated finding aid can provide increased access to the collection. She found some incredible gems along the way – some of the documents shown here will […]
In the very name of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library is a distinction between printed books and those written by hand, or manuscripts. Columbia’s printed books are housed separately from the manuscript codices, and they’re generally considered to be separate kinds of materials. In the early modern library, however, print and manuscript books sat […]
In recent months, we have been able to add many important materials to the Judaica collection. We acquired another set of letters (in Spanish, Hebrew, and Ladino) from the earliest days of the Amsterdam and Hamburg Sephardic communities in the 17th century (including one relating to the founding of the Sephardic community of Hamburg). These […]
“On the eve of Rosh Hashana, in the year 430 (1669/70), early in the morning, Rephael the pious went to Metz on a white female horse…” So begins the tragic story of Raphael Levy of Boulay, who was accused of murdering a Christian boy on the eve of the Jewish New Year. Tomorrow, on […]
Many thanks to Lucia Raspe for sharing her work on censorship in early printed Selihot, which was very helpful in writing this post. The Jewish month of Elul, coming right before the High Holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, is a particularly solemn one in Jewish religious life. Special penitential prayers, called Selihot, are […]