Auction 15
Lot 114:
The Book of Esther written by hand on parchment in Sephardi handwriting. 24 lines. Parchment height: 28 cm. The division into sections is according to Maimonides’s approach with changes of wording according to the Yemenite custom. In recent generations, many Ashkenazim read the words “lharog” twice, adding a ‘vav’ on the second time and do the same with “Bifneihem” and then “Lifneihem”. The reason for this repetitive reading is that it is unclear what the accurate wording is. The source for the wording of “Bifneihem” is the Mikraot Gedolot, Venice edition (1524-1526) which was proofread by Yaakov son of Chaim son of Yitzchak son of Adoniyahu. In the Megillah before us the wording is “Laharog” without the vav and “Lifneihem” according to the Yemenite liturgy. It seems that the scribe immigrated to Israel from Yemen in the first wave of immigration and was influenced by the Sephardi writing in Israel. Blemishes, tears. Fair condition.
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