Encyclopedia of Jewish Book Cultures Online

Get access Subject: Jewish Studies

Being an encyclopedia on book cultures rather than book contents, this work places textuality and materiality of the book in the center of its investigation. The singularity of the Jewish book can only be understood in full if it is studied in its broader cultural and intercultural context. This encyclopedia does that by focusing on the paleographic features, intended function, cultural significance, readership, acceptance, and design of particular books and genres, as well as the producer-consumer relations involved in the making and circulating of books. It covers more than 2000 years of Jewish book cultures from all corners of the earth.

The Encyclopedia of Jewish Book Cultures Online will appear before the print edition and features full-text searchable, richly illustrated articles. The print edition will be released after all online content is complete and will include one introductory volume, dealing with the fundamental research questions in the wide field of Jewish Book History, followed by three alphabetically organized volumes, offering a classic entry-by-entry encyclopedia, with articles of greatly varying length. The online work reflects this framework and presents the introductory essays as a separate, but strongly intertwined, section.

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Hebrew Book Printing and Design in Israel in the 20th Century

(9,875 words)

Author(s): Weissblei, Gil
During the 20th century, the production of Hebrew books shifted to the Land of Israel. This movement follows the revival of the Hebrew language and the creation of a modern Jewish, Zionist culture. The waves of Jewish immigrants who arrived in Palestine from Europe before the Second World War laid the foundation for a modern Hebrew typography, graphic design, and printing industry in Israel. ⸙IntroductionAt the turn of the 20th century, publishing activity in Palestine had, at most, a marginal role in the process of creating a modern Hebrew literature and es…
Source: Encyclopedia of Jewish Book Cultures Online
Date: 2023-01-31

Hebrew Book Titles

(1,199 words)

Author(s): Cilia Werdmölder, Rachel
Hebrew book titles can, for the most part, be sorted into six general categories. Some were favored in certain periods and for particular genres, however, the increase in production of Hebrew literature in the Medieval period led to a proliferation of all types. A general commonality among titles of Hebrew books is a tendency towards two-word titles. ⸙Titles Reflecting ContentsSeveral books mentioned in the Bible, e.g., "Book of the Generations of Man" (Gen. 5:1), have titles reflecting their contents. Indeed, so does the Pentateuch itself: the "Book of…
Source: Encyclopedia of Jewish Book Cultures Online
Date: 2023-01-31

Hebrew Manuscripts in Arabic Script

(1,667 words)

Author(s): Vidro, Nadia
In a group of Qaraite manuscripts from the 10th and 11th centuries the Hebrew Bible is transcribed into Arabic script. These transcriptions represent the Tiberian reading tradition, which the Qaraites regarded as the original form of the Bible preserved since the time of the prophets. The transcriptions were study copies and were not intended to replace model Masoretic codices. ⸙ In a group of Jewish manuscripts Hebrew is transcribed into Arabic script. All these manuscripts are Qaraite (Qaraitica) and the majority were copied in …
Source: Encyclopedia of Jewish Book Cultures Online
Date: 2023-04-01