Bidspirit auction | Parchment Manuscript from the Rishonim

Parchment Manuscript from the Rishonim Era – Commentary of Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra on the Torah – Kastoria (Macedonia), 1381 – Earliest Known Manuscript Scribed in Kastoria – Textual Variations Compared to Printed Version – Unique Merging of the Ibn Ezra's Long and Short Commentary to the Book of Shemot - Manuscript on parchment, commentary of the Ibn Ezra on the Torah, written by the scribe ”Shevet Gad son of Yaakov”. Kastoria (Macedonia, today Greece), 1381. Thick volume. Impressive manuscript comprising 257 parchment leaves, in Oriental (Byzantine) script. The volume contains the commentary of the Ibn Ezra to the Five Books of the Torah (includes most of the commentary, save for several leaves). A detailed scribe's colophon appears at the end of the Book of Devarim, noting the year, place of writing and person for whom the manuscript was produced. The colophon states (for full text of the colophon, see Hebrew description): ” The Torah commentary by the great sage R. Avraham Ibn Ezra was completed… / Praise to the Creator of the World / By me, Shevet Gad son of Yaakov from the community of Kastoria, on Wednesday, 25th Tammuz 1381… as we are accustomed to counting the years, here in the community of Kastoria ”. Further in the colophon, the scribe indicates the name of the person who commissioned this book: ”And the owner of the book is R. Moshko son of the late R. Chananya…”. The scribe ”Shevet Gad son of Yaakov” is not known to have written any other manuscripts apart from this one (”Shevet Gad” seem to be his initials, or an allusion to his name), and the present manuscript is the earliest known manuscript scribed in Kastoria, Greece. Just one other manuscript from Kastoria is extant (BnF Paris, ms. 237), dated 1437, fifty-six years after the present manuscript. A unique phenomenon occurring in this manuscript is the merging between the short and long commentary which the Ibn Ezra composed to the Book of Shemot. The long commentary is the one published in the printed editions (beginning from the first edition, Naples 1488), while the short commentary was only published for the first time in the 19th century (see below). Manuscripts of Ibn Ezra's commentary usually offer one of the two versions. Some manuscripts contain the short commentary, while others comprise the longer commentary. In this manuscript, both commentaries are combined. Paragraphs of the short and long commentaries appear one after the other, linked by conjunctions (the merging may have been executed by the scribe, who had manuscripts of both versions of the commentary before him). This phenomenon is not known from other manuscripts. The present manuscript features textual variations compared to the printed commentary. These variances were not studied by us in-depth. The present volume comprises the majority of the commentary to the Five Books of the Torah. The commentary is lacking at the beginning (starts with Bereshit chapter 3, verse 7), and several leaves are lacking in the middle. 26 leaves were erroneously bound at the beginning and end (after the colophon): the volume opens with 10 leaves comprising part of the commentary to Lech Lecha, and the commentary to Vayeira, Chayei Sarah and Toldot. 16 leaves containing the end of the commentary to Masei and the commentary to Devarim, Vaetchanan, Ekev, Re'eh, Shoftim and part of Ki Tetze were bound at the end of the manuscript. A parchment leaf (damaged) was bound at the beginning of the manuscript – a fragment of a halachic composition following the order of the Torah portions (with a section of She'iltot of Rav Achai on Parashat Korach). At the end of the manuscript, two parchment leaves in a different hand were bound, from a manuscript on the Book of Iyov (chapters 6-9). The names of the Parashiot were written in the upper margins, in a later script. Early ownership inscription at the foot of the colophon leaf: ”A person should always write his name on his book…”. The signature is faded and difficult to decipher. [257] parchment leaves. 25 cm. Good condition. Stains, including dark stains and dampstains (affecting text in several places). Creases. Tears to several leaves (with loss and damage to text on first two leaves and a few other leaves). Margins of several leaves trimmed. Ink faded in several places. Original binding, front board detached, without spine. The Jewish Community of Kastoria The presence of Jews in Kastoria is documented as early as during the reign of Emperor Justinian. In the 11th century, the Jewish community of Kastoria was led by R. Toviah son of Eliezer, author of Lekach Tov, a collection of midrashim on the Torah (also known as Pesikta Zutrata). One of his disciples was R. Meir of Kastoria, author of Meor Einayim, midrash on the Torah (not extant. Both compositions are mentioned in the preface to the Ibn Ezra's commentary to the Torah. See Buber's introduction to Midrash Lekach Tov, Vilna 1880). During that time,