Encyclopedia of Jewish Book Cultures Online

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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.

More information Brill.com

Micrography

(8,273 words)

Author(s): Halperin, Dalia-Ruth
Micrography (Greek: miniscule writing) was used as early as in the most ancient extant Bible manuscripts to add masoretic text in the margins in the shape of vegetal and geometrical designs. The word was subsequently borrowed to describe this unique Hebrew scribal art, which usually fashions the outline of a design from miniscule Hebrew letters. As the forming text in Bibles is comprised of masoretic lists, this art is also referred to as masorah figurata. ⸙ Micrography (Greek: miniscule writing) was used as early as in Ancient Mesopotamia for cuneiform letters and cont…
Source: Encyclopedia of Jewish Book Cultures Online
Date: 2023-01-31

Midrash

(2,859 words)

Author(s): Langer, Gerhard
Midrash is of great importance primarily as an interpretation of the biblical text. Oral and textual transmission, the relationship of Midrashim to each other, the textual history, and also the nature of critical editions are strongly debated. The popularity of Midrashim and their wide dissemination after printing can be well illustrated by the example of Midrash Rabbah. Compendia and anthologies set emphases, often with a view to the aggadic tradition.⸙IntroductionThere is a long discussion about how narrowly or broadly one may define the term Midrash (for Midr…
Source: Encyclopedia of Jewish Book Cultures Online
Date: 2023-11-20

Minhagim Books

(1,502 words)

Author(s): Zohn Mincer, Rachel
The minhagim literature encompasses a vast body of works that vary in content and purpose. However, most provide liturgical guidance, primarily for the holidays. From the 13th century on, many minhagim books were produced and disseminated, particularly in Ashkenazic communities. Some targeted scholarly readers, while others were accessible to broader audiences. Minhagim books illustrate the continued evolution of Jewish practice and the diversity in customs that endured into the modern period.⸙ Minhagim books (custom books) began to flourish in medieval Europe, alt…
Source: Encyclopedia of Jewish Book Cultures Online
Date: 2023-11-20

Miniature Books

(847 words)

Author(s): Cilia Werdmölder, Rachel
Miniature books exist in the form of scrolls, rotuli, and codices, and have been produced in manuscript and in print. They have existed in Jewish book cultures since at least the 1st century BCE and are attested across the Jewish world. The most common texts in all permutations are religious works.⸙Miniature books are small in size and, for the most part, legible without magnification. However, the maximum size of a miniature book has not been standardized. The most common definitions require them to be under 7.5 or 10 cm in length and width. L…
Source: Encyclopedia of Jewish Book Cultures Online
Date: 2023-11-20

Mishnah

(1,761 words)

Author(s): Brody, Robert
The Mishnah is the central work of classical rabbinic literature; the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds may be broadly described as its earliest commentaries. Its redaction is attributed primarily to Rabbi Judah the Prince, active about the turn of the 3rd century. Rabbi Judah and his contemporaries did not create the Mishnah out of a formless mass of rabbinic traditions and opinions; our Mishnah is the culmination of a process which included competing "Mishnahs" promulgated by various rabbis.…
Source: Encyclopedia of Jewish Book Cultures Online
Date: 2023-01-31