Customer Reviews

The Cambridge Genizah Collections: Their Contents and Significance (Cambridge University Library Genizah Series)

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The Cambridge collections of Genizah materials may be the most overlooked items in the study of ancient fragments and scrolls. Why this is will remain a mystery for now. To be sure, the whole medieval world opens up as one pores over these texts, and the digital images available through the Cambridge Taylor-Schecter website are nice supplements to this volume of essays. The opening treatise surveys the significance of the genizah documents and situates them accordingly. Each of the following papers offers a specialized look into specific areas where further study is encouraged. The late M. Klein's article on "Targumic studies and the Cairo Genizah" sheds light-from the middle ages-on the Cain and Abel narrative (Genesis 4:8). H. Ben-Shammai wrote up the nice paper, "Medieval History and Religious Thought". In this he pays tribute to S.D. Goitein, the true doyen of Genizan-Mediterranean studies of years past. Be-Shammai proves that it is impossible to write a history of the Jews in Islamic lands during the middle ages unless one engages the genizah texts. This is a welcome edition for all scholars. All the papers are well written with many useful footnotes. Still, although these papers were presented in conference, the papers do retain the oral flavor of the scholarly participants. The final paper even contains a salute to ladies' voices from the past. In the article, "Women speak for themselves," J. Kraemer details the interesting relations women maintained, even literacy was advocated and encouraged in varying degrees among certain families. One importance of this particular paper is that a student is able to contrast Jewish legal issues with some of the predominant Islamic jurisprudence of the day.

This volume, I acquired and read many years ago. It seemed stranged that no one had offered a few words on this, though it is rich and full of material. Hopefully all who read through these printed lectures will be baited towards further Genizah studies and will become suitably acquainted with "their contents and significance." Stefan C. Reif is to be congratulated on this excellent gift for the educated citizen and scholar alike. The volume is beautifully bound in black hardcover. It has a red print-stamp upon which the title in gold type is embossed.