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ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 376

Cairo Geniza

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli (2nd-R) and Tourism and Antiquities Minister Ahmed Issa (3rd-R) touring around the newly-restored 19th century Jewish synagogue of Ben Ezra in Coptic Cairo on August 31, 2023. (Photo by Egypt's Prime Minister Office / AFP)
December 22, 2023, 3:52 pm
Historic synagogue creates tension between Egypt’s government and few remaining Jews
The antiquities ministry has exerted control over the 1,200-year-old house of prayer it paid to renovate. Now the tiny community fears it doesn’t respect their ownership of the site
By David I. Klein
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly (center) attends the inauguration of the newly restored Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, Egypt, August 31, 2023. (Egyptian Cabinet)
August 31, 2023, 11:59 pm
Egyptian synagogue once home to famed ‘Cairo Geniza’ completes extensive renovation
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly attends ceremony reopening tourist site, following ‘careful architectural restoration work,’ according to Egyptian cabinet
By Amy Spiro
Part of the handwritten list of words attributed to Maimonides from the Cambridge University Genizah Research Unit. (courtesy Cambridge University/José Martínez Delgado)
May 19, 2023, 4:36 pm
Mysterious trilingual Cairo Geniza vocab list found to be penned by Maimonides
Housed at Cambridge University’s Genizah Research Unit, crib sheet with words in Hebrew, Arabic and a Romance dialect gives a glimpse into renowned philosopher’s method of thinking
By Melanie Lidman
Burial plots at the historic Jewish cemetery in the Bassatine district in Cairo. (Courtesy)
April 7, 2022, 4:56 am
US senator presses for answers after Egypt seizes buried trove of Jewish documents
Gary Peters wants the Biden administration to pressure Cairo after government reportedly confiscates uncovered genizah of discarded papers before Jewish scholars can review them
By Ron Kampeas
The Damascus Document Scroll, found in Cave 4 at Qumran (Library of Congress / Wikipedia)
September 28, 2021, 11:23 pm
Ancient text said to solve mystery of why Dead Sea Scrolls were placed in Qumran
Israeli researchers believe 1,000-year-old document from Cairo Geniza shows site hosted an annual event where Essene sect gathered, bringing religious scriptures they left behind
By ToI Staff
Arabic petition with Hebrew writing from Cairo Geniza (Michelle Paymar)
May 16, 2019, 4:32 am
Documentary unravels history — and digital future — of mysterious Cairo Geniza
Film includes interviews with 40 experts who chart the strange discovery and continued scholarship of the mass of rare random documents that make for a rich ‘medieval Facebook’
By Renee Ghert-Zand
Michael David Lukas at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco in 2014. (Wikimedia Commons)
May 2, 2019, 12:20 pm
Novel spanning centuries of Mideast Jewish life wins $100,000 literature prize
Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature awarded to Michael David Lukas for his book ‘The Last Watchmen of Old Cairo’ telling stories drawn from the Cairo Geniza
By Josefin Dolsten
A child’s alphabet and doodles, circa 1000 years old, from the Cairo Geniza, part of the Discarded History: The Genizah of Medieval Cairo exhibit on display from April 27, 2017 (Cambridge University)
April 27, 2017, 11:48 pm
Sex and business among medieval Cairo’s Jews go on display at Cambridge
New exhibit showcases dozens of fragments, some newly translated, that tell the story of ordinary folks living under Islam in the Middle Ages
By Ilan Ben Zion
A fragment from Maimonides' legal compendium Mishneh Torah, found in the Cairo Geniza (photo credit: Courtesy of the Cambridge University Library)
May 27, 2013, 4:38 pm
9th century, meet 21st: Supercomputer revolutionizes Cairo Geniza research
When complete on June 25, a computation project in Tel Aviv will have matched thousands of fragments from the famed collection
By Matti Friedman
An ancient manuscript discovered inside caves in a Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan (photo credit: AP/The National Library of Israel)
January 4, 2013, 2:54 am
National Library unveils trove of medieval manuscripts uncovered in Taliban caves
Documents from the 11th century provide first physical evidence of Jewish life in ancient Persia
By Aron Heller
January 25, 2012, 6:42 am
Medieval texts found in Afghan cave
In a war-torn Afghanistan province, a collection of 1,000-year-old documents is discovered that could shed light on an ancient Jewish trading network
By Ben Harris
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