Basics Beatrix (szerk.): Zsidó kéziratok és szertartási tárgyak - A Ferenczy Múzeum kiadványai, D. sorozat: Múzeumi füzetek - Kiállításvezetők 7. (Szentendre, 2014)
Jewish Manuscripts and Ceremonial Objects The Hebrew script originated in an ancient alphabet known as Proto-Canaanite, which came into being around 1500 B.C. The early alphabet was used by the Israelites and their neighbors in the late 2nd and early 1st millennium B.C. By the 8th century B.C., another script, known as Aramaic, had branched off from the early script, and was soon in use throughout Near East. The Judeans who had been exiled to Babylonia in 586 B.C. adopted this universal Near Eastern Aramaic script and, when they returned to Judaea, preferred it to the early Hebrew script, which was retained only by the Samaritans. However, the old alphabet "Palao Hebrew”, was used deliberately in several Judean coins in the 1st centuries before and after Common Era, and for the Tetragrammaton in some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Aramaic script, known as Assyrian in Jewish tradition, came to be known as "Square Hebrew Script”. This is the writing seen in the Dead Sea Scrolls, which date from the mid-2nd century B.C. to the early 2nd century. From that time until the 10th century, there are relatively few examples of Hebrew script. Hebrew script remains conservative, and even in modern times there has hardly been any change in the basic shape of the letters. Although one can discern variations among the different Jewish communities throughout medieval and modern Jewish history, Hebrew script of any period, from the time of Dead Sea Scrolls on, can be read by the modern reader. After the revival of the Hebrew language and the flowering of the Zionist movement in the 19th and early 20th centuries, followed by the establishment of the State of Israel, the need arose for new Hebrew lettering and typography. Modern Hebrew calligraphy begins in the early 20th century, not long after the modern Latin calligraphy movement in Europe. All the items in the exhibition feature Hebrew letters or inscriptions and are either associated with religious customs or used as ceremonial objects in the home or in the synagogue. The inscriptions, in addition to the decorative and artistic value serve as historical documentation. On display are various types of script, written both trained scribed and folk artists; each type is characteristic of Jews in a specific part of the world. The decorations accompanying the text were influenced, like most Jewish ceremonial art, by the art of the countries in which they were produced. The letters were shaped and styled according to the material on which they were inscribed; this accounts for the slight differences between them and letters written on paper or parchment. All photographs and replicas are from the collection of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. The exhibition is supported by the Embassy of the State of Israel, in Budapest. 20
