[Piyuṭim ṿe-shirim be-ʿIvrit, be-Yaṿanit, uvi-leshonot aḥerot, ke-minhag Ḳorfu(?)]. [פיוטים ושירים בעברית, ביונית ובלשונות אחרות, כמנהג קורפו?]. [Collection of hymns and poems in Hebrew, Judaeo-Greek, and other languages].
Details
Type of record: Archive
Title: [Piyuṭim ṿe-shirim be-ʿIvrit, be-Yaṿanit, uvi-leshonot aḥerot, ke-minhag Ḳorfu(?)]. [פיוטים ושירים בעברית, ביונית ובלשונות אחרות, כמנהג קורפו?]. [Collection of hymns and poems in Hebrew, Judaeo-Greek, and other languages].
Classmark: MS ROTH/46
Creator(s): Espinosa, Binyamin ben Yaʻaḳov(author); Solomon ben Mazzal Tov (1480-1550)(poet); Najara, Israel ben Moses (1555?-1625?)(poet)
Date(s): [18th–19th century]
Language: Hebrew; Judaeo-Greek; Judaeo-Turkish; Ladino; Aramaic
Size and medium: 62 leaves : paper
Persistent link: https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/115470
Description
Title supplied by cataloguer.
Place of production: "Presumably from Corfu" (קורפו, Kerkyra) according to Roth, "Catalogue", in Alexander Marx: Jubilee Volume, vol. 1 (New York, 1950), no. 46.
Variant titles:
Pityuṭim u-tefilot, minhag Ḳorfu(?). פיוטים ותפילות, מנהג קורפו?.
Yefeh nof. יפה נוף.
Sefer ḥasidim. ספר חסידים.
Pinḳas peraṭi. פנקס פרטי.
Summary:
The notebook-like compendium consists of quires made of different kinds of paper; it was maybe written by more than one hand. It contains hymns in Hebrew as well as 7 hymns in Judaeo-Greek (Yavanit), 2 bilingual hymns (Hebrew and Judaeo-Greek) and 2 multilingual hymns (Hebrew, Judaeo-Turkish, Judaeo-Greek and Aramaic, and Hebrew, Judaeo-Turkish, Judaeo-Greek and Ladino).
All of the Judaeo-Greek or multilingual hymns are published based on other manuscripts, in David Benvenisti, "MultiLingual Hymns [in Hebr.]," Sefunot 15 (1971): 203–33, and/or Joseph Matsa, "Jewish Poetry in Greek [Heb.]," Sefunot 15 (1971): 235–366, who both do not refer to MS Roth 46.
Next to the hymns, the item contains passages from Yafe nof (יפה נוף) (Livorno 1773) by Binyamin ben Yaʿaḳov Espinoza (d. 1776), Sefer ḥasidim (ספר חסידים), as well as a discourse about ink and a recipe for the making of it.
There is an index according to the alefbet (folios 61v–62r).
Contents:
1. folio 1 (original fly-leaf): Hymn in Judaeo-Greek, most likely added by another hand דוקסאזמינו טונומאסו (Matsa, "Poetry," 333–35, no. 21) (possibly oldest Judaeo-Greek hymn from Janina).
2. folio 2r–3r (original fly-leaves): pen-trials.
3. folios 4r–9v: Hymns in Hebrew for Śimḥat Torah and other occasions by Shelomoh ben Mazal Tov, Israel ben Moses Najara (1555?–1625?), Yitsḥaḳ Shemuʾel (יצחק שמואל), and others.
4. folios 9v–10r: Hymn in Hebrew and Judaeo-Greek (Yavanit): י׳׳י אתה ידעת … מימאפיקיס טינפשי שי by Yitsḥaḳ Shemuʾel (Matsa, "Poetry," 355–56, no. 28; Benvenisti, "Hymns," 231–32, no. 14).
5. folios 10v–13v: Poems with expositions from Yafe nof by Binyamin Espinoza (עלמות שיר, and פרקי שירה).
6. folios 14r–22v: Hymns in Hebrew, many of them by Israel Najara.
7. folios 22v–24r: Hymn in Hebrew and Judaeo-Greek: אשחריך כי טוב חסדך … פירטי טאסינייא מיטון (Matsa, "Poetry," 360–61, no. 30).
8. folios 24–25: Hymn in Judaeo-Greek: אקשי גידינאמומיני סטאאוראינייא (Matsa, "Poetry," 325–28, no. 20, verses 1–72) (see folios 54–55 where the same hymn is copied).
9. folios 25v–27r: Hymn in Judaeo-Greek: אושאן טאסימי טוקאלו (Matsa, "Poetry," 280–81, no. 8).
10. folios 27v–35r: ...כתוב בספר חסידים סימן רמב (Sefer ḥasidim, no. 242, 800, 477, et cetera).
11. folios 35v–36v: Hymn in Judaeo-Greek: אייומורפייא אין אוחטון (Matsa, "Poetry," 318–22, no. 19).
12. folios 36v–40v: Hymn in Judaeo-Greek: קינא גלוסא נאמילייס (Matsa, "Poetry," 266–272, no. 5)(folio 39v is inscribed only with דוד שמואל).
13. folios 40v–41v: Hymn in Judaeo-Greek: איניחטא אייאפופסיסני קראטאיי (Matsa, "Poetry," 310–12, no. 17).
14. folios 42–43: מה שפירש הרמב״ם במסכת סוטה במעשה הדיו (discussion about the making fo ink).
15. folio 44: Recipe for the making of ink.
16. folios 45r: blank.
17. folios 45v–47r: Hebrew hymns, most of them for the circumcision ceremony (ברית מלה).
18. folio 47v: Hymn in Hebrew, Judaeo-Turkish, Judaeo-Greek and Aramaic: שעה ניב דל ... הירני קילאר גומלי (without the 5th stanza beginning with צבי לארץ מהר תבנה which completes the acrostic Shabtai of the previous stanzas and conveys the Sabbatian origin of the hymn) (Benvenisti, "Hymns," 223-24, no 10, see also 207).
19. folio 48: Hymn in Hebrew, Judaeo-Turkish, Judaeo-Greek and Ladino: מרום אל חי רם : שוקים וארסי באגישלא (Benvenisti, "Hymns," 214–15, no. 4).
20. folios 49–54: Hymns in Hebrew by Yitsḥaḳ Shemuʾel, and others.
21. folios 54–55: Same Judaeo-Greek hymn as in folios 24–25, beginning with פונאיידי טאפלזמאסאסו אגריקאי (see Matsa, "Poetry," 328-30, no. 20, stanzas 75–150).
22. folios 56–57: Hymn in Hebrew and Judaeo-Greek: ונפשי יהללך ורוחי נשמתי: קאפו מרוסטאסו ה׳ (Matsa, "Poetry," 357–59, no. 29).
23. folios 57v–59v: Hymn in Judaeo-Greek: סימוטינוס אין אותיגוס (Matsa, "Poetry," 244–45, no. 1).
24. folios 60r–61r: Hymn in Judaeo-Greek פאראקולוסי יא ראבי (Matsa, "Poetry," 342–243, no. 23, verses 13-32, and no. 24, verses 1–16, beginning with טייס אפאנו סינירו).
25. folios 61v–62r: Index according to the Alefbet.
26. folio 62v: blank.
State of text: Ink corrosion and seepage; some staining; frayed edges. The item underwent conservation work, folios 1 and 62 are repaired with tissue.
Insertions: Three pieces of paper and one small card in Roth's hand with miscellaneous bibliographical notes concerning the manuscript; on recto of small card: handwritten Purim greetings, 18.3.54, Oxford, from "Ludwig, Dan, and Rosie."
Bibliographical note:
Roth, "Catalogue", in Alexander Marx: Jubilee Volume, vol. 1 (New York, 1950), no. 46.
National Library of Israel (NLI), Online Catalogue, system-no. 990001856330205171. The NLI’s description is based on the microfilm of MS Roth 46 made on behalf of the Institute of Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts of the NLI during the 1960s. The microfilm can now be downloaded in a digitised form from the NLI-webpage.
Davis, Handlist 164 (Leeds, 2005), no. 46.
Decoration
Decoration 1: Headings in cursive.
Decoration 2: Use of cursive and square script for different parts of the texts (often not consistent).
Decoration 3: Completion formulas.
Decoration 4: Poetic spacing.
Physical characteristics
Foliation: iii (i is paste-down) + 62 + iii (iii is paste-down); modern pencil foliation starts on original fly-leaf, upper left recto: 1–62; Hebrew foliation by the scribe starts with א on 4th leaf and runs to נח on penultimate leaf (folio 61); folios 2v, 45r and 62v are blank; folios 1r–2r, and 3 were originally blank.
Number of lines: 12–24.
Script: Eastern Hebrew script.
Ms. codex: width 115mm height 170mm
Binding
Half black leather binding, with marbled paper over boards; spine is gilt-lettered with "MS. Poems in Judaeo Greek", and "MS Roth 46" (the latter was done by conservation).
Vocalisation and cantillation
Most of the Judaeo-Greek and multilingual hymns are vocalised.
Scribal information
Daṿid ben Shemuʾel (דוד בן שמואל) is inscribed on folios 19v, 27r and 39v; he was maybe the copyist of the whole item (except folio 1(?)) with its notebook-like character.
Former owners and annotations
Greek hymn on folio 1 was probably added later.
Pen-trial on folio 3.
Refaʾel ben Daṿid, on folio 2r: רפאל בכ"ר דוד.
Roth’s description of MS Roth 46, cut out from a copy of his printed catalogue, is attached to front paste-down.
Access and usage
Access
This material is not subject to restrictions under Data Protection or other relevant legislation that might limit access. However, other protections, such as donor conditions or conservation considerations, may still apply where advised.