A book that President Reuven Rivlin donated to the National Library of Israel from the estate of his late father, the Middle East scholar Professor Yosef Yoel Rivlin, three months ago has turned out to be even more valuable than originally thought. The volume has been identified as a Persian Jewish manuscript containing unknown poems that will serve as material for a new generation of scholars. Rivlin presented the volume to National Library Board of Directors Chairman David Blumberg at a cornerstone-laying ceremony for the new library building. The book was then catalogued and examined, and was determined to be a 19th-century Persian Jewish manuscript that had been copied in 1899. The library is currently scanning the manuscript with the goal of making it available to researchers in Israel and abroad online. Rivlin was touched when he was informed of the discovery and spoke of his childhood: "I was 7 years old when my father was researching translations of Jewish poetry, for which he received the Tchernichovsky Prize [for exemplary works of translation into Hebrew]. I remember long days of sitting at his side while he was busy with his research and writing on the topic. I had no doubt about the book's scholarly and historical importance, but the news that the National Library has confirmed it is both touching and exciting." Dr. Yoel Finkelman, curator of the Judaica collection at the National Library, noted that "this is an especially neat closing of the circle, since Professor Rivlin was an important scholar who spent many hours researching and studying at the National Library." "Now a book that belonged to him has been donated to the library and has become a subject of research for a new generation of researchers and Middle East scholars." Finkelman discussed one of the poems in the book, about King Abbas II (1632-1666), who is considered an important ruler in the Safavid Empire. "The king went hunting and saw a beautiful deer. He chased it and entered a cave. Instead of the deer, he found Serah Bat Asher, an immortal figure in Jewish folklore, who according to some legends was buried in a cave in [present-day] Iran. At the end of the story, Serah Bat Asher asks the king to stop persecuting Jews."
Book donated by President Rivlin reveals Persian-Jewish treasures
President Reuven Rivlin presented the 19th-century manuscript, which belonged to his father, to the National Library three months ago • Volume includes previously unknown poems, being scanned and posted online • Poems will provide scholars with new research material.
Load more...