This essay was written for the Insitute for Israel and Jewish Studies’ Spring 2020 Magazine. The full magazine can be downloaded on the IIJS website. In presenting the rare Judaica to students and other visitors to the libraries, I have learned that sometimes basic terms can be confused. For instance, many people think that a […]
When is a Purim not on Purim?
When is a Purim not on Purim? When it’s a local Purim! The Book of Esther was seen as the “diaspora” book in the Hebrew Bible. There is no mention of God’s name throughout the text, and commentaries discuss the concept of a “hidden” miracle – that is, events orchestrated by God, but within the […]
Yiddish at Columbia – Online!
The Norman E. Alexander Library is proud to announce the digital version of “Yiddish at Columbia,” which appeared in a physical version the Chang Gallery of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library during the Spring of 2018. The exhibit was conceived to celebrate the completion of the digitization of the field notes from the Language […]
Fall Newsletter 2019
Our fall newsletter is live! Click the link below the image for a downloadable PDF with hyperlinks. Newsletter 2019-2 […]
Summer projects, Part II (Marianna Najman-Franks)
It’s been a busy summer in the Judaica collections at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library! Many collections were processed and are now available for use, thanks to the efforts of some fantastic students. This post, by Marianna Najman-Franks, is the second of a series describing some of the work on our collections this summer. […]
Summer projects, Part I (Yoav Varadi)
It’s been a busy summer in the Judaica collections at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library! Many collections were processed and are now available for use, thanks to the efforts of some fantastic students. This post, by Yoav Varadi, is the first of a series describing some of the work on our collections this summer. […]
NEA Library: Spring 2019 newsletter
The biannual Norman E. Alexander Newsletter is now available! A PDF version of the newsletter, with active hyperlinks, can be found here: Newsletter 2019-1 […]
Digitizing microfilm and a well-used Haggadah
Way back in 2011, the Libraries began a partnership with the Institute for Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts (IMHM) at the National Library of Israel (NLI) to digitize over 200 manuscripts from our Judaica collection that the IMHM did not have in microfilm. We subsequently posted those manuscript images on a specialized site on the Internet Archive, […]
Purim literature beyond the Book of Esther
In considering the literature relating to the holiday of Purim (due to take place next Thursday), the text that comes to mind instantly is the book of Esther, read on the eve prior and day of the holiday. One with more familiarity to Jewish texts might cite the Talmudic tractate of “Megillah,” which is dedicated […]
Samuel Johnson and Hebrew at Columbia
We’ve discussed the history of Hebrew language study at Columbia in previous posts, but until now, not much has been said about Revered Samuel Johnson’s connection to the study of Hebrew. Samuel Johnson was the founder of King’s College (renamed Columbia after the American Revolution), and its sole faculty member until 1757. He served as president […]