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Research Article
1 October 2016

A Genizah finished product for She’elat Ḥalom based on Sefer Ha-Razim

Publication: Journal of Jewish Studies
Volume 67, Number 2

Abstract

The article presents the commented edition of a medieval finished product for She’elat Ḥalom uncovered in the Cairo Genizah, which contains a literal quotation from a divinatory recipe preserved in Sefer ha-Razim (the Books of Mysteries), a famous Jewish literary book of magic dating back to late antiquity. The pertinent citation of a section from Sefer ha-Razim in a document, whose codicological features show that it had actually been used in a magical ritual before being thrown in the storehouse of the medieval Ben Ezra synagogue, provides substantial evidence on the transmission of Jewish divinatory lore and on the relationship between literary books of magic and finished products. The article examines in detail the textual correspondence between Sefer ha-Razim and the Genizah finished product, highlighting the linguistic and ritualistic analogy between the medieval technique of She’elat Ḥalom and a specific divinatory recipe transmitted in Sefer Ha-Razim (SHR I §§109–14).

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Journal of Jewish Studies
Volume 67Number 21 October 2016
Pages: 305 - 326

History

Published in print: 1 October 2016
Published online: 25 January 2024

Keywords

  1. Middle Ages
  2. Cairo Genizah
  3. manuscripts
  4. Sheíelat Ḥalom
  5. divination
  6. magic
  7. dreams
  8. dream requests
  9. Sefer ha-Razim

Authors

Affiliations

Alessia Bellusci
Tel Aviv University, Israel

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