Mishnah Torah L’HaRambam. Fragments of Parchment Pages. France, 14th Century

Fragments of parchment ...

Mishnah Torah L’HaRambam. Fragments of Parchment Pages. France, 14th Century

Fragments of parchment pages from a handwritten copy of the Mishnah Torah

L’HaRambam, written in Ashkenazic script circa 1370. These pages were removed from the binding of a 14th century manuscript.

The present lot includes:

1) Laws of Rotzeach (murderer) and Shmiras Hanefesh, Ch. 6 Law 2 – Ch. 7 Law 9.

2) End of the Laws of Theft and lost and Found through the Laws of Injuries and Damages, Ch. 1 Law 18.

This manuscript was inscribed in round Ashkenazic script with annotations on the page.

Page size: 37x31.5 cm. Apparently written in France circa 1370.

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When Secular Books Require Genizah...

These fragments were removed from a 14th century French manuscript. Medieval bookbinders often used Hebrew manuscripts confiscated by the church or government authorities or that had been abandoned by their owners who fled riots and expulsions to bind their books. One of the well-known cases of the destruction of sifrei kodesh was the mass burning of Jewish books in Paris in 1240.  

There have been many successful attempts in the past decades to locate these sacred fragments preserved in European book bindings. It is ironic to note that the deliberate intention to rob and desecrate these writings was actually what preserved them for centuries. It is understood that these parchments are in poor condition after having been used in bindings, albeit much text has survived. Here, once again, we witness tangible evidence of the transcendence of the Jewish People.

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