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Catalog of Judeo-Persian Manuscripts in the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America Études sur le Judaïsme Médiéval Fondées par Georges Vajda Dirigées par Paul Fenton Éditée par Phillip Ackerman-Lieberman Benjamin Hary Katja Vehlow volume 63 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/ejm Ms. 4432 e Catalog of Judeo-Persian Manuscripts in the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America By Vera Basch Moreen leiden | boston Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Library. Catalogue of Judeo-Persian manuscripts in the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America / by Vera Basch Moreen. pages cm. – (Études sur le judaïsme médiéval ; volume 63) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-28129-5 (hardback : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-90-04-28130-1 (e-book) 1. Manuscripts, Judeo-Persian–New York (N.Y.)–Catalogs. 2. Judeo-Persian literature–Manuscripts–Catalogs. 3. Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Library–Catalogs. I. Moreen, Vera Basch, author. II. Title. Z6621.J5724C38 2015 [PJ5081] 016.8924–dc23 2014025716 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 0169-815X isbn 978-90-04-28129-5 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-28130-1 (e-book) Copyright 2015 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill nv incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff, Global Oriental and Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill nv provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, ma 01923, usa. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper. In memory of my beloved sister, Livia (Lilly) B. Plaks (1947–2013) ∵ Contents Preface xi Table of Transliteration xiii Introduction 1 i Accounts 21 ii Dīwān 22 iii Epics 24 iv Folklore and Magic 59 v History 72 vi Liturgy 74 vii Medicine 82 viii Midrash 95 ix Miscellany 100 x Philology 348 xi Philosophy 354 xii Religious Texts 356 xiii Tales 402 Bibliography 409 Appendix. List of Manuscripts by Shelf Marks and General Content 420 x contents Indices Index of mss with Dates and/or Colophons 429 Index of Names 431 Index of Titles and Principal Headings 439 Index of Incipits and First Words of Lyrical Poetry 447 a Persian and Judeo-Persian 447 b Hebrew and Aramaic 470 c Index of Defective Judeo-Persian and Hebrew Poetry Incipits 487 Preface It is probably correct to compare the cataloging of a sizeable manuscript col- lection to embarking on a voyage with hazy, distant shores, treacherous, dis- tracting currents, and rocky shoals. Such has certainly been my experience of cataloging the Judeo-Persian manuscript collection of the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York. While the process was slow, filled with detours that con- tributed to increasing the knowledge necessary for accurate identifications, I am under no illusion that these descriptive entries cannot or will not be improved upon. In the interim, it is my hope that the present work will help to draw more scholars to the largely neglected field of Judeo-Persian studies and that they, in turn, will continue to expand its frontiers. As this author’s scholarly strengths lie primarily in the fields of Judeo-Persian and Persian liter- ature and history, it is recommended that Hebrew rabbinic texts in this Catalog should be consulted in tandem with Judah Brumer’s jts Library Catalog of Rab- binic Manuscripts (New York, reprint 2009) and the records of the Institute of Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. I would like to thank Dr. Mayer Rabinowitz, former Head of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, who commissioned the project, and Dr. David Kramer, current Head, for their patience during this protracted undertaking. I am also indebted to the courteous help of Rabbi Jerry Schwarz- bard and David Wachtel. Hector Guzman and Yevgeniya Dizenko were always unfailing in their prompt help. Dr. Jay Rovner, Manuscript Bibliographer, whose friendship and erudition I have enjoyed for many years, has helped in ways too numerous to cite; I owe him all my gratitude. Bella Ruth Reichard’s superb copy- editing has been indispensable for this project and she has my profuse thanks. In Philadelphia i benefited from the help of Mr. Gilad Gevaryahu. The year (2005–2006) I spent at the (now) Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, created the momentum necessary to bring this project to conclusion and provided the opportunity for consultation with reputable scholars in the field of Jewish manuscripts and printed books, such as Professors Malachi Beit-Arié, Joseph Hacker, and Aharon Maman. I am also greatly indebted to Dr. Seth Jerchower, then Public Services and Judaic Research and Instructional Service Librarian at the Center for his learning and generosity. I thank Prof. David Ruderman, Director of the Center, for grant- ing me the opportunity to be among scholars whose learning enhanced this work. My beloved family has endured the tribulations of this project, longer than any of my previous scholarly efforts, with humor and fortitude. Our sons, xii preface Gabriel and Raphael, grew to manhood and we became grandparents in the interim. I thank them, above all, my husband Robert, for their constant encour- agement and support. Table of Transliteration Judeo-Persian כ׳ خ א ء, آ, ا ל ل ב ب מ م ג گ נ ن ג׳ ج ס س ג׳׳ چ ע ع ק, ג׳׳׳ غ פ پ ד د פ׳ ف ז, ד׳ ذ צ ص ה ه צ, ז, צ׳ ض ו و צ׳׳ چ וו In plene spellings ג, ק ق ז ز ר ر ז׳ ژ ש ش ח ح ס, ש س ט ط ט, ת ت ז, ט׳ ظ ת׳ ث כ ک xiv table of transliteration Hebrew Persian vowels consonants vowels consonants َّ◌ ʾ ا a א a ◌ַ ʾ ب b ﻰ a בּ a ◌ָ b پ p ﻮ u ג e ◌ֵ ◌ֶ g ت t ﻰ i ד i ◌ִ d ث a ◌َ s ה h וֹ o ؃ ج o ◌ j ו w וּ u چ e ◌ِ ch ז u ◌ֻ z ح ḥ ﻪ a,e ח e ◌ְ ḥ خ kh َﻮ aw, ow ט ṭ د d َﻰ ay, ey י y ذ z כ k ز z ל l ر r מ m ژ zh נ n س s ס s ش sh ע ʿ ص ṣ פּ p ض ż פ f ط ṭ צ ṣ ظ ẓ ק q ع ʿ ר r غ gh שׁ sh ف f שׂ s ك k گ g ل l م m ن n و u/v ه h ي y Introduction The political and cultural history of Iranian Jewry is still a pioneering field of Jewish studies. Despite the efforts of major nineteenth-century scholars, such as Wilhelm Bacher, only a few scholars are presently active in the field, especially in its pre-modern phase. While researchers interested in Iranian linguistics have long known the value of studying early Judeo-Persian [jp in this Introduction] texts, the bulk of jp manuscripts are still neglected. Many factors contribute to this state of affairs, chiefly the lack of knowledge and interest in the Persian (as opposed to the Arabic) language and the absence of thorough familiarity with the Muslim world that Jewish scholars would need to work with these texts foremost among them. Continued efforts, such as the present catalog, need to be made in order to reveal the riches of this field. It is this hope that has inspired the author to accept the assignment of cataloging the jp manuscript collection of the jtsa, the third largest collection of its kind in the world. This Introduction will first provide a general context followed by the specific description of the collection. i The Origins of Judeo-Persian Manuscripts In the Middle Ages, until the end of the eighteenth century, the Persianate world,1 which consisted at various times of actual physical rule, and always of strong cultural influence, extended well beyond the present-day borders of Iran, incorporating territories from the southernmost tip of the Persian Gulf, well into the Caucasus—as far north as Azerbaijan, as far east as Bukhara (Uzbekistan), Afghanistan, and Northern India. While the main centers of Jew- ish life in Iran proper, from the Middle Ages until the twentieth century, were always Isfahan, Kashan, Shiraz, Hamadan, Qazvin and Kirman, the number of Jewish communities throughout Iran (most likely since antiquity) was much greater, as we know from two medieval jp chronicles from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.2 1 This term, along with “Islamicate,” was coined by the historian Marshall G. Hodgson in his The Venture of Islam (Chicago, 1975, 1, pp. 56–60), to include areas beyond present-day Iran, where Persian and Islamic culture have spread. 2 Moreen, Iranian Jewry (1987); idem, Iranian Jewry (1990). © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2014 | doi: 10.1163/9789004281301_002 2 introduction As is well known, the Jewish community of Iran is very ancient, possibly dating as far back as 722bce, when the Assyrians deported the Ten Tribes of Israel, or, more likely, to 586bce and the destruction of the First Temple.

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