Piyut book : manuscript.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Contributor:

Shamasi, Mordekhay ben Yitsḥaḳ, former owner.

Ralli Brothers (Manchester, England), former owner.

Language:

Aramaic

Hebrew

Judeo-Persian

Subjects (All):

Sukkot.

Shemini Atzeret.

Jews--Uzbekistan--Bukhoro.

Jews.

Jews--Iran.

Genre:

Manuscripts, Judeo-Persian -- 19th century.

Manuscripts, Hebrew -- 19th century.

Manuscripts, Aramaic -- 19th century.

Piyutim.

Hymn texts.

Penn Provenance:

Formerly owned by Mordekhay ben Yitsḥaḳ Shamasi (inscription, f. 1r).

Formerly owned by Ralli Brothers, Manchester (19th-20th century pasted escutcheon on front paste-down; a Greek-owned mercantile firm in Manchester which imported items from the far east).

Sold by Masoret Auction House (Bene Beraq, Israel), auction 100, 2026 January 12, lot 84.

Physical Description:

98 leaves : paper, 12 x 9 cm

Production:

Uzbekistan or Iran, 1850?-1899?

Language Note:

In Judeo-Persian, Hebrew, and Aramaic.

Summary:

Manuscript Judeo-Persian piyut book, written vertically, composed mostly of Judeo-Persian hymns for Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret (such as: Yom śimḥah la-Yiśraʼel, traditionally sung on Śimḥat Torah by Persianate communities, on f. 96v; Adir yiveneh beti, f. 95r), with some piyutim translated to Judeo-Persian (such as Israel Najara's Yavo dodi le-gan ʻadno, f. 53v, and his Yeshar ḥelakh deḥil ḥeṭʼin, f. 1r). Written in an Oriental semicursive script, vocalized, in multiple hands; first folio written in an Oriental square script. Bound in a contemporary cardboard binding, with two inset mandorlae (filled-in with outgraved Persian text) on each board.

Cited as:

Piyut Book (Ms. Codex 2385). Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.

Contains:

Najara, Israel ben Moses, 1555?-1625?. Poems. Selections

OCLC:

1596152527