The St Petersburg public repositories including such renowned institutions as the National Library of Russia, the St Petersburg Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian Museum of Ethnography, and the State Museum of the History of Religion to name but a few, hold many important artefacts and documents pertaining to Jewish culture. Over a period of centuries they were collected and evaluated by reputable scholars, clergymen and learned amateurs. The leader of the Krimean Karaites Abraham Firkovich (1787–1874), the Head of the Russian Christian Orthodox Mission in Jerusalem Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) 1818–1894, the merchant and art patron Moses Fridland (1826–1899) were just two. Other contributions to these collections came from the outstanding Semitists Abraham Harkavy (1835–1919) and Daniel Chwolson (1819–1910), the bibliographer Samuel Wiener (1860–1929) and the ethnographer and folklorist Shloyme-Zanvl Rappoport (An-sky, 1863–1920). Their scholarly activity, and collectors' zeal means that since the nineteenth century, until the present day, any serious advancement of various branches within the Jewish studies, including Biblical studies, history, ethnography, literature, philosophy, history of medicine or learning is simply impossible without proper consideration of the Jewish treasures viz. the manuscripts, early printed books and artefacts kept in St Petersburg. In other words the Jewish collections from St Petersburg are the most prominent in the world.
The book in hand is the first volume of a set “Jewish treasures from St Petersburg”. The set comprises two volumes and reflects extremely well the riches and diversity of the Jewish treasures from scrolls to domestic utensils as preserved in St Petersburg museums and libraries. This masterpiece has been designed and set by the Arca Publishers, The State Hermitage Publishing arm. The text matches the beauty of design. Of the highest scholarly standard and elegantly written, it will be perused with equal interest by a specialist and a general reader. The lucidity and clearness in treating various complex matters is to no small part due to the experience and profound knowledge of its author, Professor Shimon (Semen Mordukhovich) Iakerson of the St Petersburg Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy. A prolific academic writer and a specialist librarian, Iakerson has spent several decades studying and cataloguing Hebrew manuscript heritage of the territory of the former Soviet Union in Europe and the United States of America. His highly acclaimed works among others include the “Catalogue of Hebrew Incunabula from the Collection of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America” (New York and Jerusalem, 2004–2005) and “The Hebrew Book in the Middle Ages” (Moscow, 2003), of which the latter became a text book for colleges and universities.
The first volume of the set introduces rarest manuscript books from the St Petersburg collections. A succinct and at the same time very informative exposé pertaining to the history of collections in each instance is accompanied by a full set of colour illustrations. Most of them (79 out of 129) are published for the first time. Accompanied with translations from Hebrew, and when necessary detailed explanations, they make the presentations visual and “live”. In particular this relates to many “close ups” which literary allow one to consider a medieval manuscript as put under a magnifying glass.
The first volume describes and represents the world's oldest dated vellum copies of the Pentateuch and the Hebrew Bible. Among other rarities introduced to the learned public, there are unique complete manuscript copies of the works of medieval philosophers preserved only in St Petersburg, as well as the oldest dated Hebrew religious and secular manuscripts. They originate from various parts of the Jewish diaspora. The earliest dated manuscripts, codices on vellum and paper, were transcribed in Palestine (988/9), in Egypt (1008–13), Yemen (1144), Spain (1119), Tunisia (941–1039?) and Byzantium (1207).
As an important historian of Hebrew early printed and manuscript book, Iakerson spares no effort in presenting a codex as an artefact. An internal knowledge allows a member of the learned public to have an insight in to such aspects of medieval book production as paper, nibs, ink, illuminations, calculations of space, and many more. A variety of first-hand examples introduce a modern reader to the every day practice of a medieval scribe. According to a published colophon it becomes possible to calculate a daily “output” of a medieval scribe. The calculation yields an average number of folios – six, which one could transcribe, while preparing a calligraphic copy. One has to add that the colophons are organised in a special chapter. Twelve outstanding examples of them are supplied with a digital image accompanied by a meticulous translation into Russian and a detailed commentary, where needed.
Another exciting feature of the book are its personalities. Without a human creator, whether an author, or writer, or a collector one cannot imagine a book existing. Iakerson breaks the concept of a traditional Index of Proper names. Instead it has been converted into a brief “Who is Who” placed on the book's margins. Such a polyphonic arrangement provides the necessary material of the people directly or indirectly connected to the Jewish collections in St Petersburg. An impressive number of about one hundred individuals ranging from Rabbi Akiva (first century ce) to Ignatii Krachkovskii (d. 1951) and it includes writers, religious authorities and Russian Imperial officials, who were instrumental in purchasing, cataloguing and safe-keeping the treasures.
A detailed index vastly adds to the scholarly value of the book. There are also chronological tables and other information, which makes the treasures easily accessible for a scholar and a teacher or any interested member of learned public. No doubt the book will also be met with a great interest outside Russia, which urgently necessitates its translation in to English and Hebrew or perhaps even other languages of Europe and the Middle East.
