Great collections of written works, manuscripts or, latterly, books have been around since mankind began writing. We have a wonderful Midrashic description of one such “collection” in the possession of the biblical Pharaoh, where the names and descriptions of all the known gods at the time were recorded (all except that of Israel’s God!) (Alpha beta de Rabbi Akiva). Whether this library existed or not is perhaps irrelevant. The sages wanted to suggest that such collections could have existed, even in the wickedest of environments. These collections bear witness to the collective memory of a culture, without which that civilization would not be remembered.
The Jewish people are not called the People of the Book for nothing. It is what has kept them together from the Bible (which George Steiner called the book “which defines the concept of a text”) onward. One of the most impressive collections of Hebraic and Jewish literature today is to be found in Washington’s Library of Congress. Its collection of Judaica, started in 1912 with a gift of some 10,000 books from Jacob H. Schiff, now has 250,000 books, periodicals, and newspapers. To celebrate this collection, Brandeis University has just issued Books Like Sapphires, written by Ann Brener, who highlights a selection of the books in the library, dividing the large format book into sections that cover the Hebrew Bible, the literature of the sages, children’s books, and so forth.
Brener served as the Hebraic specialist at the Library of Congress from 2009 to 2022. Prior to that, she taught medieval poetry at Ben-Gurion University. Both these positions gave her the appropriate background to produce this extraordinary book. Her knowledge of these books and the stories that surround them attests to her profound grasp of what makes these texts exciting.
The Jewish texts at the Library of Congress
She not only describes the content of these books but also sheds light on the historical context in which they were produced, the reasons for producing them when they appeared, the problems of funding, and the patrons who helped expand the collection to its present number.
Among the many intriguing stories that surround this ingathering of the written word include the first printed version the Bible in 1482 in Bologna; a bar mitzvah book by Jerusalem paper-cut artist Archie Granot for his son in 1987; a swathe of “The Song of Songs” and The Book of Ruth throughout the ages; and a limited edition of the Book of Ecclesiastes illustrated by engraver Abraham Krol.
One story emerges from 16th-century Crete (known then as Candia) involving the validity of a betrothal of a young lady to a member of a card playing group of brothers in which a coin (or maybe three) was given as a pledge in jest or not, which in strict Halacha might mean that this was to be considered a binding marriage contract. But since the young lady, Kasti, claims that the coin was given and taken in jest, it was not a valid marriage contract. The case brought the two rabbis of Crete into a halachic contretemps, with one the rabbis – who happened to be Kasti’s father – deciding that the betrothal was valid and that Kasti would have to seek a get if she was to be legally married again. The two rabbis then sought confirmation for their opinion among rabbinical colleagues in Italy and across the Ottoman Empire. Though a final decision was never reached – but was put aside “for the sake of Heaven,” – it provided much material thereafter of which the library has an original manuscript in its collection, with details of the case. What happened to Kasti is not known. In fact, her fate was lost in all the discussions back and forth between the rabbis, who seemed to be more concerned with establishing their rights over any questions of betrothal and marriage.
Two other women, mother and daughter, are mentioned here in connection with books. Dona Gracia Nasi was well known as the head of a vast financial empire, combining wealth with great power, which she used on behalf of her people. She was the subject of much praise by Rabbi Almosnino in sermons in synagogues around Salonica, a city in which the much exiled Dona Gracia settled at one point in her career. The specific synagogue where her praises were lauded was named after her. The book in the library that tells of this story was Rabbi Almosnino’s Me’ametz Ko’ah (“increases strength”), which gathers together sermons and eulogies. It extols Dona Gracia’s beneficence, in that she gave of her wealth for the sake of the Jewish community and was therefore a graceful model for other members of the community. Her daughter, Reyna Nasi (1530 –1599), is credited with being the first Jewish woman to establish a Hebrew press. One of these volumes was by Rabbi Moses Alshekh, one of the most renowned rabbis of the time.
Inter alia, Brener also notes that Jewish books were the subject of burning by zealous antisemites throughout history. She cites destruction of books in Paris, Italy, Poland and, of course, during the Holocaust. Against this, she cites the printing of the Survivors’ Talmud, produced in 1945 by the American army, on the same printing press used by the Nazis for their hateful propaganda.
Other themes that wend their way through varied chapters of the book include the excitement and challenges of the invention of the printing press, which led to a huge new market for Jewish books. Many of the Hebrew poems and piyutim are also translated beautifully by the author throughout the book, which certainly adds to the depth and color of the texts being discussed. These include traditional religious poetry, as well as more modern poetry by such luminaries as Rachel and Chaim Nachman Bialik.
Finally, a word should be put in for her chapter on children’s books. Much of this was produced in Moscow and Odessa during the period of the Revolution in 1917, but also emerged in the young Zionist movement in Eretz Yisrael. Some of the books in the library are also beautifully illustrated by some of the leading artists of the time.
If there is one minor complaint to be directed at this volume it is the title, which works well in Hebrew but loses its resonance when translated into English. Still, as the sages tell us, we should not look at the casing but rather at the content.■
- Books Like Sapphires: From the Library of Congress Judaica Collection
- Ann Brener
- Brandeis University Press, 2024
- 272 pages; $50