Sepher Tehillim [Book of Psalms].

(BIBLE).

Erev Rosh HaShanah

(Moravia)

1814

Manuscript in Hebrew written on vellum in square and cursive calligraphic Ashkenazic hands in (waned) gold ink.

At the start of this fine manuscript is a page headed: “All of these came to donate toward the writing of this Psalms on parchment, each man according to his heart’s donation.” Thirty-six names are listed, each with the amount of his donation. After an elaborate introduction that includes Techinoth to be said prior the recitation of Psalms, all 150 chapters of the Psalms are written in a large, clear hand, divided by the seven days of the week according to the traditional format. Psalm 119, an epic alphabetic acrostic chapter, is written in a striking poetic layout. The end-matter contains various prayers for challenging times: Sickness; Difficult childbirth; Deathbed; as well as a prayer for changing the name of a gravely sick person. A final colophon names a particular donor, Yosef ben Shlomo Koenig, his son Esriel, and his wife Hindel bath Aharon Baer Segal of Trebitsch, Moravia. The opening title was originally composed as an illustrated page, however the passage of time has caused the illustrations to wear away and only shadows of the designs may still be seen. Clearly, despite best intentions, this manuscript was composed on slightly inferior materials due to limited funds and possibly limited skills. Yet that precisely results in a manuscript that is now of great codicological interest. For the particular common, folk inspiration behind the creation of this volume can most certainly be directly seen and just divined.