[Tefilot, piyuṭim ṿe-shirim]. [תפלות פיוטים ושירים]. [Special prayers, poems and hymns].
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Type of record: Archive
Title: [Tefilot, piyuṭim ṿe-shirim]. [תפלות פיוטים ושירים]. [Special prayers, poems and hymns].
Classmark: MS ROTH/51/4
Creator(s): Dato, Mordechai(Poet); Urbino, Yosef Barukh ben Yedidah Zekharyah of Urbino(Poet); Harizi, Judah ben Solomon(Poet); Gaon, Hai ben Sherira (939-1038)(Poet)
Date(s): [18th-19th century]
Language: Hebrew; Italian
Size and medium: 17 leaves : paper (handmade)
Manifest: https://iiif.library.leeds.ac.uk/presentation/cc/v89mn86x
Persistent link: https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/678237
Description
English title supplied from Roth, "Catalogue", in Alexander Marx: Jubilee Volume, vol. 1 (New York, 1950), no.51 (iv).
Nature of the booklet:
The booklet is most likely a private notebook which possibly was started by Yedidiyah ben Laurah Baer(?) and finished by at least one other hand. The booklet begins with Yedidiyah's private prayer before Torah study which is followed by two early modern hymns about the Thirteen Principles of Faith (שלשה עשר עקרים). Both were authored by Italian Jews; one by Mordekhai Dato (1525-1601?) (see Davidson, Otsar ha-Shirah, vol. 3 (New York 1930), 11, no. 215), and the other by Yosef Barukh ben Yedidiyah Zekharya Urbino (17th century) (see Davidson, Otsar ha-Shirah, vol. 3, 277–78, no. 664). The two hymns are meticulously and professionally copied.
The poems thereafter are written in a much messier and swifter, most likely different, hand. It firstly copied Yehuda ben Shelomoh Al-Ḥarizi's (ca. 1167–1225) 'Refuʾot ha-geṿiyah' (see Davidson, Otsar ha-Shirah, vol. 3, 486, no. 1699), a poetic adaptation of chapter 4 of 'Hilkhot deʿot' of Maimonides's Mishneh Torah. This is followed by 'Musar haśkel be-melitsah' ascribed to Hai ben Sherira Gaʼon (939–1038) (see Davidson, Otsar ha-Shirah, vol. 2 (New York 1929), 429, no 3694) and Yeḥiʼel ben Asher's (c. 1267–1314) 'Maʿaseh ʿugah' (see Davidson, Otsar ha-Shirah, vol. 1 (New York 1924), 73, no. 1589). At the end of the booklet an Italian translation of song 'Tsur mi-shelo akhalnu' is to be found (sung during grace after meals on Shabbat).
Content
1. folios 1r–2r:" אני ידידיה באר בן לאורה מלפיניך מבקש שתפתח לבי בתורתיך".
2. folios 3r–5v: לאל עולם נתנה שיר" מאת מרדכי דאטו".
3. folio 6: עליון ודר חביון" מאת יוסף ברוך מאעורבינו (כנראה בלתי שלם) ".
4. folio 7r: one more stanza of the incomplete preceding poem "עליון ודר חביון" supplied in another far more messy hand; followed by pen-trials in Hebrew.
5. folios 7r–8v: pen-trials in Hebrew and Latin script as well as crude drawings; possible ownership note by David Reccanate(?)
6. folios 9r–11v: ."רפואות הגוויה לחכם רבינו יהודה [ב''ר שלמה אל]חרזי" .
7. folios 12r–13r: ."מוסר השכל במליצה לרב האי גאון זצ"ל" .
8. folio 13v: blank.
9. folios 14r–15r: "מעשה עוגה אחת שעשה הרב ר' יחיאל בן הרא"ש".
10. folios 15v–17r: pen trials in Latin script and crude drawings; possible ownership note by David Reccanate(?).
11. folios 17v–17r: Italian translation of "צור משלו אכלנו'', beginning, "Dio che ci notriscie e pascie."
State of text:
Worn, stained and slightly mutilated with a few small pieces of text rubbed illegible.
Insertions
b) 1 sheet with two stanzas of a different Italian translation of ‘Tsur mi-shelo’.
a) 1 sheet of notes titled “Last Verse” most likely written by Roth.
Bibliographical note:
Roth, “Catalogue”, in Alexander Marx: Jubilee Volume, vol. 1 (New York, 1950), no.51 (iv).
National Library of Israel (NLI), Online Catalogue, system-no. 000185645, 000185646, 000185648–000185650.
The NLI’s description is based on the microfilm of Ms Roth 51,i–viii 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. The microfilm makes the eight different manuscripts defined as MS Roth 51,i–viii appear to be one codex, i.e., ḳovets, and as such they are described in the NLI catalogue (see record-no 000185639). This means that the 12 single NLI records dedicated to Ms Roth 51 are describing the textual units it contains and not the codicological ones.
Davis, Handlist 164 (Leeds, 2005), no. 51 (iv).
Decoration
1: Ornaments between verses (folios 3r–6v).
2: Poetic spacing (folios 3r–6v; 14r–17v).
3: Endformular in bigger square script (folio 5v).
4: Crude drawing of tail-piece (folio 15r).
5: Crude unrelated drawings, mostly of birds (pen-trials?) (folios 7v–8v; 15v–16v).
Physical characteristics
Dimensions of written space: 106 x 76 mm. (irregular).
Dimensions of binding: 134 x 101 mm. (original wrapper).
Dimensions of binding: 136 x 102 mm. (modern wrapper).
Foliation: 17; modern pencil foliation, upper left recto, after folio [7] went missing; folio 13v is blank, folios 2v, 7r–8v, 15v–16v appear to have been originally blank.
Collation: 1¹⁸ (wants 7, folio [7], with loss of text).
Number of lines: 7–23 to a page.
Script: Italian semi-cursive and cursive Hebrew script.
Ms.: width 101mm height 134mm
Binding
Stitch-bound into a, most likely original, wrapper made out of very thick, formerly white, paper whose right cover is now missing. The item within its damaged original wrapper is stitch-bound into a newer white cardboard wrapper.
Vocalisation and cantillation
The prayers and poems are not vocalised.
Scribal information
Most likely written in at least two hands (maybe Yedidiyah ben Laurah Baer and David Reccanate(?)).
Former owners and annotations
Possible ownership notes by David Reccanate(?) (folios: 8v, 15v).
Annotation on folio 4.
Supplementation of missing text on blank page in an additional (folio 7r).
Many pen trials in Hebew and Latin (examples of chancery script) and crude drawings (folios 7v–8v, 15v–16v).
Modern ownership marks:
On the new wrapper's upper cover recto "MS 54" and, further below, "51/4" are noted in pencil. On the new wrapper's upper cover verso "MS Roth 51/4" is noted in pencil
Access and usage
Reproduction
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