R. Gergely (ed.): Microcard catalogue of the rare hebrew codices, manuscripts and anciens prints in the Kaufmann Collection reproduced on microcards

Prof. Ignácz Goldziher's lecture

David Kaufmann acquired this codex, which he, with good reason, ranked among the cimelia of his collection. It cost him a lot of trouble and, despite of the sacrifices he devoted to it, it nearly slipped out of his hands. When in February 1896 he could finally place it in his library, he gave expression to his joyful enthusiasm with a note in classical Hebrew on the binding of the book.

6 I could continue to enumerate the valuable pieces of the collection of manuscripts ; however, the task of the present report can not be such a detailed account. Nevertheless, before going on with my report, I only want to allude to a published piece of the collection, a hungaricnm, Nr. 349, which was, on the basis of this manuscript, edited and analyzed by Kaufmann himself in 1895 : this is a Hebrew account by an eye-witness of the recapture of Buda in 1686,

7 containing a number of interesting particulars. There are such reminiscences and notes of historical interest in large number in our collection. The second group in this collection of manuscripts which I should like to dwell upon, is a large number of Yamanite (South Arabian) manuscripts, partly Biblical and Targumic, partly liturgical (such as prayer-books and rituals etc.), and partly religious poems etc. in Hebrew and Arabic, with glosses and notes in Arabic in some of them. (See Nrs. 1—12, 407—410, 434—453 in the catalogue.) These may have been acquired by Kaufmann from South Arabian persons who had in the eighties emigrated to Jerusalem ; they are very valuable in linguistic and topical respects and give an opportunity to detailed study. In the third place, I refer to the very rich collection of the responsa, the consultations on religious and private affairs, especially from Italy. Such a material bearing on all sorts of relations of practical life, which only rarely is to be found in the same quantity and collected with the same care, has a great importance from the point of view of the history of civilization also, and I do not doubt that these documents will call the attention of the specialists. The digests under Nrs. 138—165 and 581—583 comprise about two thousand 6 [Its facsimile edition was published by G. Beer in the Hague in 1930.] ' See D. Kaufmann, Die Erstürmung Ofens und ihre Vorgeschichte, nach dem Berichte Isak Schulhofs (1650—1732). Megillath Ofen. Herausgegeben und biographisch eingeleitet, Trier 1895. 16