Published By
Created On
28 Apr 2021 02:21:02 UTC
Transaction ID
Cost
Safe for Work
Free
Yes
More from the publisher
26506
Author: Matti Friedman
File Type: epub
In an age when physical books matter less and less, here is a thrilling story about a book that meant everything. This true-life detective story unveils the journey of a sacred textthe tenth-century annotated bible known as the Aleppo Codexfrom its hiding place in a Syrian synagogue to the newly founded state of Israel. Based on Matti Friedmans independent research, documents kept secret for fifty years, and personal interviews with key players, the book proposes a new theory of what happened when the codex left Aleppo, Syria, in the late 1940s and eventually surfaced in Jerusalem, mysteriously incomplete.The codex provides vital keys to reading biblical texts. By recounting its history, Friedman explores the once vibrant Jewish communities in Islamic lands and follows the thread into the present, uncovering difficult truths about how the manuscript was taken to Israel and how its most important pages went missing. Along the way, he raises critical questions about who owns historical treasures and the role of myth and legend in the creation of a nation.From BooklistStarred Review Written in the tenth century, the Aleppo Codex is the most accurate copy of the Hebrew Bible. Named for the Syrian city in which it was kept, the codex is also known as the Crown of Aleppo and was said to protect those who cared for it and curse those who defiled it. Friedman, a Jerusalem journalist, came across part of the Crown in a museum and decided he wanted to write about itin doing so, he opened a treasure box of history, mystery, conspiracy, and convolutions that would do any biblical thriller proud. There are several intriguing strands in play here. First, there is the history of a vibrant Syrian community, under siege when Israel became a state. Add a cast of academics, spys, merchants, refugees, and bureaucrats, high and low, whose roles in getting the Crown out of Syria and into Israel loop and reloop throughout the narrative. Then there is the ever-evolving topic of the underground market for antiquities, fascinating in itself, but Friedman shows us, in addition, just how much is lost when the very rich purchase rarities and remove them from the public eye. The time line sometimes gets confusing, and so do the players (though an introductory cast list helps), but Friedman has done a remarkable jobfinding sources and digging through archivesof getting the Crowns fascinating story out of the shadows and into the light. In the process, hes become the latest in the long line of the Crowns protectors. --Ilene Cooper ReviewA superb work of investigative journalism that reads like a detective thriller.The Wall Street JournalFriedmans clear writing and dogged pursuit of some otherwise overlooked assumptions read more like a detective novel than history . . . Friedman has written an important account in accessible, gripping prose.The Christian Science Monitor A thrilling, step-by-step quest to discover what really happened to Judaisms most important book . . . Many of [The Aleppo Codexs] most astute and well-earned revelations are also its biggest surprises. The Boston GlobeThe Aleppo Codex builds to a moral crescendo more impressive than the climactic fight scene in any thriller.Salon Friedman creates a riveting story, one that the reader will have a hard time putting down.The AdvocateThrilling . . . a real-life National Treasure that reads like fantastical fiction.CultureMob [Friedman] opened a treasure box of history, mystery, conspiracy, and convolutions that would do any biblical thriller proud . . . Friedman has done a remarkable jobfinding sources and digging through archivesof getting the Crowns fascinating story out of the shadows and into the light. In the process, hes become the latest in the long line of the Crowns protectors.Booklist, starred reviewSharply etched . . . A carefully paced narrative of purloined Judaica.Kirkus Reviews Friedmans account of how the Codex was taken from Syria in the 1940s, later to resurface in Jerusalem, although no longer complete, is full of betrayals, controversy and surprises and raises larger questions about the ownership and preservation of historical treasures. Jewish WeekFriedman gives a masterful account of a major religious document . . . [he] delivers an atmospheric, tense story about the destruction of a sacred relic, raising inevitable questions about who owns a peoples historical treasures.Publishers Weekly, starred review*hr
Transaction
Created
1 year ago
Content Type
Language
application/epub+zip
English