(The following is a post by Ann Brener, Hebraic Area Specialist, African and Middle Eastern Division. The second and final part of a 2-part article focuses on the life Rachel Bluwstein via memoirs written by family and friends and by the poetess herself, presented here in English translation. Click here for Part One.) The training …
The 1st of a 2-part article focuses on the life Rachel Bluwstein via memoirs written by family and friends and by the poetess herself, presented here in English translation.
(The following is a post by Ann Brener, Hebraic Specialist, African and Middle Eastern Division.) This year, the Hebraic Section celebrates the Jewish holiday of Purim with a splendid new Scroll of Esther, the biblical book retelling the familiar story of palace intrigue in ancient Persia and of the Jewish Queen Esther, who saved her people …
In 2017, the Hebraic Section acquired a miniature Hebrew prayer-book of exceptional beauty and detail, handwritten and illustrated by one Joseph ben Meir Schmalkalden in Mainz, Germany in or around 1745. With its brightly painted images and exquisite detail, this miniature is one of the loveliest examples of a genre which enjoyed something of a renaissance in 18th century Central Europe. This blog places special emphasis on the life of the largely unknown artist who created this beautiful piece, and examines the connection between his signature and the rainbow with which he illuminated one of its pages.
The Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division recently acquired a rare Gospel book printed in Rome in 1548 AD. It is the first printed edition of the New Testament in Geez, ግዕዝ (Ethiopic), the ancient liturgical language of Ethiopia.
In 1911, Jewish children in the Russian Empire woke up to find a Tom Thumb of their own, a Hebrew Tom Thumb of the greatest charm imaginable, and written, moreover, by that greatest of modern Hebrew poets, Chaim Nachman Bialik (1873-1934). Bialik's "Etsba'oni" first appeared in the pages of Ha-Shahar [The Dawn], one of a growing number of Hebrew periodicals created specifically for children in the early decades of the 20th century, especially in Eastern Europe and Russia. The Library of Congress has an almost complete run of the periodical from its seven months of existence, covers included.
This blogpost highlights a single parchment leaf in Hebrew letters that has survived the centuries as binding for a Latin book printed in Frankfurt am Main in the late 16th century. The Hebrew leaf comes from a manuscript copy of "Beit Yosef" [The House of Joseph], a monumental code of Jewish law composed by Joseph Karo (1488-1575), one of the most important Jewish figures of all time.
Two Junior Fellows discuss the displays of the Hebrew calendars and American Yiddish Theater collections that they prepared for the Junior Fellows Display at the Library of Congress.
(The following is a post by Ann Brener, Hebraic Specialist in the African and Middle Eastern Division.) The spectacular news of the Venus flyby conducted by the Parker Solar Probe made headlines around the world last autumn, dazzling us all with its close-ups of the sun and reams of new data on nearby planets. Little …
