This was originally written for the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies‘ magazine, 2024 edition. It is presented here with some light edits and news about a recent acquisition since the article was first published. The country of Yemen, at the entrance of the Red Sea, has been in the news quite a lot in […]
University calendars tend to operate on a different year than the standard January-December. The academic calendar begins in the fall, and the budget calendar restarts in the summer, and so January 1 is simply the restart after a holiday break. However, the new year is a good time to consider the many new unique and […]
From its inception in 1754, the founders of Columbia University felt that the study of Hebrew was critical to understanding the classics. Columbia’s collection includes founder Samuel Johnson’s own copy of a Hebrew-Latin psalms with the Hebrew alphabet written in his own hand. Another professor in the 18th century was Johann Kunze, who taught Hebrew […]
It has been a busy year for Judaica acquisitions at the Columbia RBML. Three important acquisitions have been added to our collection: A collection of forty Italian Broadsides depicting regulations on various communities (including Ferrara, Padua, Ancona, and others), only one of which is in the extensive Valmadonna collection of broadsides. We plan to digitize […]
The past few months have been busy for us, as we’ve acquired a number of new rare books and manuscripts for the Columbia RBML: 1. Divre Rivot – A compilation of various disputes and discussions relating to customs that took place in Mantua in the late 16th and 17th centuries. The wealthy members of the […]
We are very pleased to announce the recent acquisition of a haunting and beautiful portfolio of exhibition prints entitled All this has come upon us…, created by Dr. Mark Podwal. This series of images was created for an exhibition at the Terezin Ghetto Museum from April to July 2014. The series includes images relating to […]
In 1733, a man from Firenze, in Italy, named Moise (Moses) Vita (Hayyim) Cafsuto (Cassuto) set off on a journey to the Holy Land. He kept a diary of his travels throughout the Middle East, where he noted interesting sites (specifically Jewish ones, like graves and synagogues) and scenes along his journey. We recently acquired […]
"The Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics offers a systematic and comprehensive treatment of all aspects of the history and study of the Hebrew language from its earliest attested form to the present day. The encyclopedia contains overview articles that provide a readable synopsis of current knowledge of the major periods and varieties of the […]
I am pleased to announce the acquisition of manuscripts from the archive of the Franchetti family. The Franchettis were hatmakers, originally from Mantua, who moved to Tunis and established their hat business there. The business quickly became global, with connections in Leghorn/Livorno and Izmir. This new collection includes 8 volumes of business correspondence and records. […]
I am pleased to announce the acquisition of a new database for the study of Talmud at Columbia, the Sol and Evelyn Henkind Talmud text databank. The databank includes typed transcriptions and images of nearly all of the critical manuscripts and early printings of the Talmud, to allow scholarly research of variants and alternate readings […]