Of Judaism, Journalism, and Jeopardy

PoliticalChic

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Oct 6, 2008
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No, the ‘Jeopardy’ isn’t a reference to the quiz show, it’s to the sort of dangers one finds in mystery novels.

I could have included ‘geography,’ as it centers on Syria and Israel, and includes Brooklyn, but, I had that alliteration thing with “J’s” going…..


I love books, and learning….in fact, my fav quote is by the Argentine writer, Jorge Luis Borges: “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”



A good pal sent me a book called “The Aleppo Codex,” with a note about my loving mystery thrillers, and I recommend it to all readers. It covers everything in the title of this thread, and more.

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This is not a novel…..it is an amazing true story.




The tale is about a sacred scroll, the singular and most correct copy of the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, written in the 10th century, and how such texts are honored by the Jewish people. This one is considered the most definitive, and given the honorific ‘The Crown of Aleppo.’



The events of the mid-20th century, the formation of Israel, and the violent response to same in Arab countries, Syria in this case, result in the destruction of the synagogue where the manuscript is kept.

In this book we learn of the passage of the Aleppo Codex, how it is secreted to Israel, how parts are stolen and hidden for decades….and about a murder that may have played a role.

There is a great deal of education about the antiquities industry, modern history and the Middle East, machinations reminiscent of the Medicis.


It reads like a mystery, and unfolds layer by layer, told by a reporter, Matti Friedman.

This book is a must read.




I checked,…and it can be found at a number of libraries….probably yours, too.
 
“The Hebrew Bible, of which our codex was the most perfect copy, the one use by Maimonides himself, was meant to serve humans as a moral compass. Its story is a tragedy of human weakness.
The book was the result of generations of scholarship in Tiberias, of the attempt to arrive at a perfect edition of the divine word.”
Matti Friedman, “The Aleppo Codex,” p. 276
 
“The Aleppo Codex, which dates back to the 10th century, is considered by many Bible scholars to be the most perfect copy of the Hebrew Bible that has ever existed. Yet most Jews have never heard of it.

Four years ago, Jerusalem-based reporter Matti Friedman set out to change that fact, researching the codex’s mysterious history: how it changed hands from the Jews of Aleppo, Syria, where it had been safeguarded for centuries, to tightly held institutional control in the state of Israel—where it became decidedly more imperiled, and where large portions of the codex went missing.”
The Most Perfect Copy of the Hebrew Bible, Safeguarded for Centuries in Syria, Is Now Imperiled in Israel
 
A codex refers to a book of multiple pages that are edge bound.

A sefer Torah, a meticulously handwritten copy of the Torah that adorns the bima of a shul during services and otherwise resides in an ark, has always been and is today a scroll, not a codex.

Any ancient copy of the Torah would be a scroll.
 
A codex refers to a book of multiple pages that are edge bound.

A sefer Torah, a meticulously handwritten copy of the Torah that adorns the bima of a shul during services and otherwise resides in an ark, has always been and is today a scroll, not a codex.

Any ancient copy of the Torah would be a scroll.


I hope you have the interest and opportunity to read this book....it's engrossing.
 
While the Jewish people….the religious ones, not the Progressive version, consider God as their King, the holy scriptures are referred to as ‘crowns.’
The Aleppo codex is the crown, with a capital ‘C.’




But, God requires no crown…..






“Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979),[2] known by his Hebrew and stage name Matisyahu (/ˌmɑːtɪsˈjɑːhuː/; מתּתיהו, "Gift of God"), is a Jewish Americanreggae singer, rapper, beatboxer, and alternative rock musician.

Known for blending Orthodox Jewish themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing sounds, Matisyahu's 2005 single "King Without a Crown" was a Top 40 hit in the United States.”
Matisyahu - Wikipedia
 
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A 1,000-year-old parchment from a Hebrew Bible manuscript is displayed at Jerusalem's Yad Ben-Zvi institute Dec. 2, 2007. The institute said the scrap forms part of the Aleppo Codex and was kept as a lucky charm by Sam Sabbagh, a Syrian Jew who in 1947 plucked it from the floor of an Aleppo synagogue that was torched after the United Nations vote to partition Palestine.(Ammar Awad/Reuters)
The Most Perfect Copy of the Hebrew Bible, Safeguarded for Centuries in Syria, Is Now Imperiled in Israel
 

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