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Ezra Chwat

National Library of Israel, The Institute of Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts, Faculty Member

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A Bibliographer of Hebrew Manuscripts working for the National Library of Israel. Published numerous newly discovered works in various fields of Classic and Medieval Rabbinic literature. Produced a complete critical edition of the Alfasi Talmud Digest. Particularly active in Genizah research. Administrator of the Blog Giluy Milta B'Alma

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Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV)

Bar-Ilan University

Ofra Tirosh-Becker

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Eleazar Gutwirth

Tel aviv

Gregor M Schwarb

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Mauro I N Perani

Catherine Ansorge

University of Cambridge

Rebecca J . W . Jefferson

University of Florida

University of Cambridge

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Papers by Ezra Chwat

DANZIG'S CATALOGUE OF HALAKHAH AND MIDRASH and its Usage as a Reserach Tool

Jewish Quarterluy Review, 2000

Towards a model for catloging Genizah and other manuscript fragments to serve research and recons... more

Review: Yalkut Midrashim vols. I-IX ילקוט המדרשים - עורך: עידן דשא

Makor Rishon Weekly, Judaica and Literature Section. https://www.makorrishon.co.il/judaism/298377/, 2023

A review of the first Nine volumes of Yalkut Midrashim, ed. Idan Deshe. The discovery, collecting... more

Review: Yalkut Midrashim, collection of Minor Midrashim, ed. Idan Deshe ילקוט המדרשים דשא למקור ראשון

Makor Rishon (weekly) Judaica section https://www.makorrishon.co.il/judaism/298377/, 2023

Solomon b. Samuel Halevy: A Genizah Scribe in the Court of Maimonides

BELOVED DAVID: ADVISOR, MAN OF UNDERSTANDING, AND WRITER, A FESTSCHRIFT IN HONOR OF DAVID STERN Edited by Naftali Cohn and Katrin Kogman-Appel, 2024

A description of the works of a unique and prolific Genizah scribe, a member Maimonides' inner c... more

The complete version of Patah Eliahu הנוסח השלם של פתח אליהו

Yeshurun, 2023

Patah Eliahu is a most central statement of Zohar literature. R"M Cordevero focused on it as a ... more Patah Eliahu is a most central statement of Zohar literature. R"M Cordevero focused on it as a prime source to align Kabalic theology with accepted Rabbinic Philosophy, as it constructs the delicate relationship between the Sefirot and the Deity. It is recited daily in many communities. Yet the common edition, as found among the introductory articles of Tiqunei Zohar, is clearly a contracted version. We present here a complete version, found in three manuscripts. Yeshurun 2023.

Sheiltot Purim שאילתות פורים

Moriyah, 2024

The Rishonim cite a Sheilta of Purim different from the common version, including a Beraitha abou... more The Rishonim cite a Sheilta of Purim different from the common version, including a Beraitha about working on this festive day. A Rabbinic anthology found in the Cairo Genizah, bearing features similar to the Sefer Hamiqtzaot, includes an alternative Sheilta for Purim, which may shed light on the phantom source cited by the Rishonim.

Gaonic Talmud Commentary (Hullin 115-116) פרוש גאונים לחולין

Yeshurun 34, 2016

Fragments collected from the Cairo Ganizah, produced by the early- 12th century scribe Menashe b.... more

Rambam's Deliberate Effort to Round Out Mishneh Torah to 1,000 Chapters

Academia Letters

385 Printed Books Of The Fifteenth To Eighteenth Centuries, Bound With Medieval Hebrew Manuscripts In The Estense Library In Modena

"Genizat Germania" - Hebrew and Aramaic Binding Fragments from Germany in Context, 2010

The curious custom of recycling medieval Hebrew and non-Hebrew manuscript parchment folios during... more The curious custom of recycling medieval Hebrew and non-Hebrew manuscript parchment folios during the second half of the sixteenth century until the end of the seventeenth, and in some cases up to the eighteenth century, is well known to scholars working in the field of the history of book production or in that of medieval Hebrew manuscripts. The 385 volumes we found in the Biblioteca Estense in Modena are examples of this practice: in most cases they have a standard binding, with ribs in half-skin incised, and the handwritten folios were coloured by a yellowish picture after erasing the Hebrew text. This chapter formulates two questions: (1) How did so many Hebrew manuscripts come into the hands of Christian bookbinders? (2) What does this impressive quantity of fragments contain?. Keywords: eighteenth century; medieval Hebrew manuscripts; printed books

A new Fragment from Midrash Yilmidenu קטע חדש ממדרש ילמדנו, קורח

Mekhilta, 2021

Midrash Yilmidenu was well known and cited often by medieval sources, but lost in the shadow if i... more Midrash Yilmidenu was well known and cited often by medieval sources, but lost in the shadow if its close relative- Midrash Tanhuma. The lost Midrash was partially reconstructed, from citatons gleaned from Jacob Sicily's (14nth cent.) Yalqut Talmud Torah. and from a 16nth cent. copy in the Bodleian. We find here a folio from the missing portion Qorah.

Great Rabbis of the Muslim Empire

by Arshay Azim and Ezra Chwat

In 657, when Ali ibn Abu Talib-the fourth Caliph to rule after the death of Mohammedextended the ... more In 657, when Ali ibn Abu Talib-the fourth Caliph to rule after the death of Mohammedextended the Muslim conquest into Iraq, he was greeted wholeheartedly by the Jews there, then the most important of the world's Jewish communities. Ali saw the Jews of Iraq as a natural ally and granted them autonomy. This was the dawn of a new era of Jewish cultural creativity, one that lasted almost 600 years and was central in the development of Judaism.

Rambam's Deliberate Effort to Round Out Mishneh Torah to 1,000 Chapters

Academia Letters, 2021

A few points I would like to add to Menahem Kahane'sexcellent article 'The Arrangement of the Ord... more A few points I would like to add to Menahem Kahane'sexcellent article 'The Arrangement of the Orders of the Mishnah', just published in Tarbiz LXXVI pp. 29-40, on the numerological structure of the Mishnah. His point is well taken, that a deliberate effort was made to construct the Mishnah with esthetic or numerological significance. As would be expected, this has been alluded to in Zohar, Ra'ya Mehimna towards the end of Mishpatim 115a. In note 44, Kahane raises the issue of the esthetically perfect figure of 1,000 chapters in Mishneh Torah, as part of the Rambam's explicit intention to create an opus that duplicates the historic impact of the Mishnah (and replace it). Menahem Avidah (Sura II, 1955 267-275) was the first to relate to this feat, but omitted the issue of whether this round figure was deliberate or not (although stating emphatically that the Divine name formed by the first four words must have been intended). Since, presumably, we cannot read the intentions of the author beyond his explicit statements in the Introduction, this question was apparently not relevant. Yet in Kahane's statement it must be assumed that round figure of a thousand chapters was not the product of the Rambam's Ruach HaKodesh, (which he never claimed to have), rather a result of an effort to convey an esthetic value (which we didn't know he had). The Genizah has provided us with numerous pages of autograph draft of Mishneh Torah. The complete collection, with bibliographic details have been assembled by R. SZ Havlin in the appendix to Machon Ofeq's Code of Maimonides, the Authorized Version, 1997 pp. 376-407. All but one of these fragments are from the volume Mishpatim. In the page Oxford Bodley Heb. D. 32 fol. 48b we are first hand witness to the change in chapter numbers from the draft of Hilkhot Skhirut to the published edition in which the number at the heading was originally 8, has been crossed through and changed to 11. Subsequently

A Genizah Midrash on Slander מדרש בגנות לשון הרע

Moriyah, 2021

A Genizah rotulus containing a Midrash. Much of the material is collected from known sources, pri... more A Genizah rotulus containing a Midrash. Much of the material is collected from known sources, primarily Midrash Tehilim. Yet this source predates the other manuscript text witnesses offering important variants from when Midrash Tehillim was still in a formative state. There is also much material that is not found in known Midrashim. The editor weaves a flexible copy of the Midrashim, around a common theme.

Maimonides' draft of his commentary on Mishnah Shabbat III הטיוטה לפרוש המשנה להרמב"ם שבת ג

Sefer Zikharon L'Shiloh Rephael, 1998

Rambam's autograph draft copy of the Perush HaMishnah, found in the Cairo Genizah differs greatl... more Rambam's autograph draft copy of the Perush HaMishnah, found in the Cairo Genizah differs greatly from his final version, the one intended for publication.
In this article, we copy and translate the draft, and compare it systematically with the published version, to examine if there are consistent factors in the developmental process of the composition.
Originally published in Sefer Zikharon L'Shiloh Rephael . 1998

Great Rabbis of the Muslim Empire

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1999

A summary of Rabbinic figures and literature in the Post-Talmudic era, under Caliphate rule. Comp... more

A Commentary on Maimonides' Hilkhot Yesodey Hatorah "המפרש" למשנה תורה הלכות יסודי התורה Part II

Yeshurun 22, 2010

An anonymous commentary is found in the printed editions of Maimonides Hilkhot Yesoday HaTorah (M... more

A Commentary on Maimonides' Hilkhot Yesodey Hatorah "המפרש" למשנה תורה הלכות יסודי התורה

Yeshurun 21, 2009

An anonymous commentary is found in the printed editions of Maimonides Hilkhot Yesoday HaTorah (M... more

The Dawn of Talmud Exegesis

Yeshurun XLI, 2019

A Rotulus from the Cairo Genizah from which R. Nahshon Gaon's decisions were published, includes ... more A Rotulus from the Cairo Genizah from which R. Nahshon Gaon's decisions were published, includes on the flip side what appears to be a random assortment of Talmudic citations. When transcribed and analyzed, we find here 21 explanations of difficult terms from Talmud Gittin and Yevamot, an example of what was known to the Rishonim as Pinkas Starim- the birth of extra-talmudic exegesis. The rotulus also includes a version of Seder Tanaim v'Amoraim that predates by centuries all known versions. Published in Yeshurun LXI (autumn 2019).

New chapters of Kitab al-Sharika wal-Mudaraba קטעים חדשים מספר השותפות לרשב"ח גאון

by Ezra Chwat and Yehudah Seewald

Yeshurun XL, 2019

New Genizah findings of Samuel ben Hofni HaKohen Gaon's monographic work on Partnerships. The Gao... more

Yitzhaq HaLevi's Yozer for Shabbat Hatan, with commentary יוצר לשבת חתן מאת ר' יצחק הלוי, רבו של רש"י, עם פירוש

Moriyah, 2019

Rashi's mentor composed this Piyyut for Shabbat of a Wedding. Published here with a commentary fo... more Rashi's mentor composed this Piyyut for Shabbat of a Wedding. Published here with a commentary found in two manuscripts. The citation of Midrashim in the Commentary, and the allusions to them by the poet, consistently reflect not the original source, but rather the version retold in Rashi on Bible and Talmud. Some material has been added that appear to have emanated from El'azar of Worms, the 'Rokeach'. We see here how images, ideas and texts that appear in Rashi, and perhaps even Rokeach's mystical studies, may have been circulating in pre-crusade Worms. Published in Moriyah XXXVI (Shvat 2019) pp. 4-29.

DANZIG'S CATALOGUE OF HALAKHAH AND MIDRASH and its Usage as a Reserach Tool

Jewish Quarterluy Review, 2000

Towards a model for catloging Genizah and other manuscript fragments to serve research and recons... more

Review: Yalkut Midrashim vols. I-IX ילקוט המדרשים - עורך: עידן דשא

Makor Rishon Weekly, Judaica and Literature Section. https://www.makorrishon.co.il/judaism/298377/, 2023

A review of the first Nine volumes of Yalkut Midrashim, ed. Idan Deshe. The discovery, collecting... more

Review: Yalkut Midrashim, collection of Minor Midrashim, ed. Idan Deshe ילקוט המדרשים דשא למקור ראשון

Makor Rishon (weekly) Judaica section https://www.makorrishon.co.il/judaism/298377/, 2023

Solomon b. Samuel Halevy: A Genizah Scribe in the Court of Maimonides

BELOVED DAVID: ADVISOR, MAN OF UNDERSTANDING, AND WRITER, A FESTSCHRIFT IN HONOR OF DAVID STERN Edited by Naftali Cohn and Katrin Kogman-Appel, 2024

A description of the works of a unique and prolific Genizah scribe, a member Maimonides' inner c... more

The complete version of Patah Eliahu הנוסח השלם של פתח אליהו

Yeshurun, 2023

Patah Eliahu is a most central statement of Zohar literature. R"M Cordevero focused on it as a ... more Patah Eliahu is a most central statement of Zohar literature. R"M Cordevero focused on it as a prime source to align Kabalic theology with accepted Rabbinic Philosophy, as it constructs the delicate relationship between the Sefirot and the Deity. It is recited daily in many communities. Yet the common edition, as found among the introductory articles of Tiqunei Zohar, is clearly a contracted version. We present here a complete version, found in three manuscripts. Yeshurun 2023.

Sheiltot Purim שאילתות פורים

Moriyah, 2024

The Rishonim cite a Sheilta of Purim different from the common version, including a Beraitha abou... more The Rishonim cite a Sheilta of Purim different from the common version, including a Beraitha about working on this festive day. A Rabbinic anthology found in the Cairo Genizah, bearing features similar to the Sefer Hamiqtzaot, includes an alternative Sheilta for Purim, which may shed light on the phantom source cited by the Rishonim.

Gaonic Talmud Commentary (Hullin 115-116) פרוש גאונים לחולין

Yeshurun 34, 2016

Fragments collected from the Cairo Ganizah, produced by the early- 12th century scribe Menashe b.... more

Rambam's Deliberate Effort to Round Out Mishneh Torah to 1,000 Chapters

Academia Letters

385 Printed Books Of The Fifteenth To Eighteenth Centuries, Bound With Medieval Hebrew Manuscripts In The Estense Library In Modena

"Genizat Germania" - Hebrew and Aramaic Binding Fragments from Germany in Context, 2010

The curious custom of recycling medieval Hebrew and non-Hebrew manuscript parchment folios during... more The curious custom of recycling medieval Hebrew and non-Hebrew manuscript parchment folios during the second half of the sixteenth century until the end of the seventeenth, and in some cases up to the eighteenth century, is well known to scholars working in the field of the history of book production or in that of medieval Hebrew manuscripts. The 385 volumes we found in the Biblioteca Estense in Modena are examples of this practice: in most cases they have a standard binding, with ribs in half-skin incised, and the handwritten folios were coloured by a yellowish picture after erasing the Hebrew text. This chapter formulates two questions: (1) How did so many Hebrew manuscripts come into the hands of Christian bookbinders? (2) What does this impressive quantity of fragments contain?. Keywords: eighteenth century; medieval Hebrew manuscripts; printed books

A new Fragment from Midrash Yilmidenu קטע חדש ממדרש ילמדנו, קורח

Mekhilta, 2021

Midrash Yilmidenu was well known and cited often by medieval sources, but lost in the shadow if i... more Midrash Yilmidenu was well known and cited often by medieval sources, but lost in the shadow if its close relative- Midrash Tanhuma. The lost Midrash was partially reconstructed, from citatons gleaned from Jacob Sicily's (14nth cent.) Yalqut Talmud Torah. and from a 16nth cent. copy in the Bodleian. We find here a folio from the missing portion Qorah.

Great Rabbis of the Muslim Empire

by Arshay Azim and Ezra Chwat

In 657, when Ali ibn Abu Talib-the fourth Caliph to rule after the death of Mohammedextended the ... more In 657, when Ali ibn Abu Talib-the fourth Caliph to rule after the death of Mohammedextended the Muslim conquest into Iraq, he was greeted wholeheartedly by the Jews there, then the most important of the world's Jewish communities. Ali saw the Jews of Iraq as a natural ally and granted them autonomy. This was the dawn of a new era of Jewish cultural creativity, one that lasted almost 600 years and was central in the development of Judaism.

Rambam's Deliberate Effort to Round Out Mishneh Torah to 1,000 Chapters

Academia Letters, 2021

A few points I would like to add to Menahem Kahane'sexcellent article 'The Arrangement of the Ord... more A few points I would like to add to Menahem Kahane'sexcellent article 'The Arrangement of the Orders of the Mishnah', just published in Tarbiz LXXVI pp. 29-40, on the numerological structure of the Mishnah. His point is well taken, that a deliberate effort was made to construct the Mishnah with esthetic or numerological significance. As would be expected, this has been alluded to in Zohar, Ra'ya Mehimna towards the end of Mishpatim 115a. In note 44, Kahane raises the issue of the esthetically perfect figure of 1,000 chapters in Mishneh Torah, as part of the Rambam's explicit intention to create an opus that duplicates the historic impact of the Mishnah (and replace it). Menahem Avidah (Sura II, 1955 267-275) was the first to relate to this feat, but omitted the issue of whether this round figure was deliberate or not (although stating emphatically that the Divine name formed by the first four words must have been intended). Since, presumably, we cannot read the intentions of the author beyond his explicit statements in the Introduction, this question was apparently not relevant. Yet in Kahane's statement it must be assumed that round figure of a thousand chapters was not the product of the Rambam's Ruach HaKodesh, (which he never claimed to have), rather a result of an effort to convey an esthetic value (which we didn't know he had). The Genizah has provided us with numerous pages of autograph draft of Mishneh Torah. The complete collection, with bibliographic details have been assembled by R. SZ Havlin in the appendix to Machon Ofeq's Code of Maimonides, the Authorized Version, 1997 pp. 376-407. All but one of these fragments are from the volume Mishpatim. In the page Oxford Bodley Heb. D. 32 fol. 48b we are first hand witness to the change in chapter numbers from the draft of Hilkhot Skhirut to the published edition in which the number at the heading was originally 8, has been crossed through and changed to 11. Subsequently

A Genizah Midrash on Slander מדרש בגנות לשון הרע

Moriyah, 2021

A Genizah rotulus containing a Midrash. Much of the material is collected from known sources, pri... more A Genizah rotulus containing a Midrash. Much of the material is collected from known sources, primarily Midrash Tehilim. Yet this source predates the other manuscript text witnesses offering important variants from when Midrash Tehillim was still in a formative state. There is also much material that is not found in known Midrashim. The editor weaves a flexible copy of the Midrashim, around a common theme.

Maimonides' draft of his commentary on Mishnah Shabbat III הטיוטה לפרוש המשנה להרמב"ם שבת ג

Sefer Zikharon L'Shiloh Rephael, 1998

Rambam's autograph draft copy of the Perush HaMishnah, found in the Cairo Genizah differs greatl... more Rambam's autograph draft copy of the Perush HaMishnah, found in the Cairo Genizah differs greatly from his final version, the one intended for publication.
In this article, we copy and translate the draft, and compare it systematically with the published version, to examine if there are consistent factors in the developmental process of the composition.
Originally published in Sefer Zikharon L'Shiloh Rephael . 1998

Great Rabbis of the Muslim Empire

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1999

A summary of Rabbinic figures and literature in the Post-Talmudic era, under Caliphate rule. Comp... more

A Commentary on Maimonides' Hilkhot Yesodey Hatorah "המפרש" למשנה תורה הלכות יסודי התורה Part II

Yeshurun 22, 2010

An anonymous commentary is found in the printed editions of Maimonides Hilkhot Yesoday HaTorah (M... more

A Commentary on Maimonides' Hilkhot Yesodey Hatorah "המפרש" למשנה תורה הלכות יסודי התורה

Yeshurun 21, 2009

An anonymous commentary is found in the printed editions of Maimonides Hilkhot Yesoday HaTorah (M... more

The Dawn of Talmud Exegesis

Yeshurun XLI, 2019

A Rotulus from the Cairo Genizah from which R. Nahshon Gaon's decisions were published, includes ... more A Rotulus from the Cairo Genizah from which R. Nahshon Gaon's decisions were published, includes on the flip side what appears to be a random assortment of Talmudic citations. When transcribed and analyzed, we find here 21 explanations of difficult terms from Talmud Gittin and Yevamot, an example of what was known to the Rishonim as Pinkas Starim- the birth of extra-talmudic exegesis. The rotulus also includes a version of Seder Tanaim v'Amoraim that predates by centuries all known versions. Published in Yeshurun LXI (autumn 2019).

New chapters of Kitab al-Sharika wal-Mudaraba קטעים חדשים מספר השותפות לרשב"ח גאון

by Ezra Chwat and Yehudah Seewald

Yeshurun XL, 2019

New Genizah findings of Samuel ben Hofni HaKohen Gaon's monographic work on Partnerships. The Gao... more

Yitzhaq HaLevi's Yozer for Shabbat Hatan, with commentary יוצר לשבת חתן מאת ר' יצחק הלוי, רבו של רש"י, עם פירוש

Moriyah, 2019

Rashi's mentor composed this Piyyut for Shabbat of a Wedding. Published here with a commentary fo... more Rashi's mentor composed this Piyyut for Shabbat of a Wedding. Published here with a commentary found in two manuscripts. The citation of Midrashim in the Commentary, and the allusions to them by the poet, consistently reflect not the original source, but rather the version retold in Rashi on Bible and Talmud. Some material has been added that appear to have emanated from El'azar of Worms, the 'Rokeach'. We see here how images, ideas and texts that appear in Rashi, and perhaps even Rokeach's mystical studies, may have been circulating in pre-crusade Worms. Published in Moriyah XXXVI (Shvat 2019) pp. 4-29.

A History of the David Kaufmann Genizah Collection