Oxford’s Bodleian Library houses one of the most important collections of Hebrew manuscripts in the world. One of the most famous manuscripts is Maimonides (1138-1204) book on Festivals (Zmanim) in the Mishneh Torah, which is the principle version on which is based the current published Maimonides.
Thus, when reading Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah on the Festivals today, one is essentially relying on the particular version of the Oxford manuscript.
Likewise, the current version of Maimonides’ Commentary on the Mishneh is also based on the version held at the Bodleian library, written by Maimonides in Judeo-Arabic with his own diagrams and illustrations.
As Maimonidean works are one of the main… Read More »