Or 17070

Miscellany treating Hebrew linguistics, ethics, and approaches to Jewish issues. Complied and scribed by Hakham Ezra Reuben Dangoor (HED).

Direction 1 (opening the codex [right-to-left] oriented by what remains of the pagination pencilled onto the upper outside margin of each page):

Inner cover paste-in: ‘Book 6’ / ספר ששי

Folio 1r-v: Wise sayings listed alphabetically, from the ‘אמרין אנשי’ feature of the Jewish weekly Havatselet / חבצלת, year 32, no. 29: Jerusalem, 15 Siṿan, 5662 (Anno Mundi) / 20 June 1902 (CE), p. 226, columns a & b.

Folios 2r – 4r: from periodical The “ha-Yehudi” / היהודי, Vol. VI / year 6, No. 8-9: London, 29 Tishre 5663 (Anno Mundi) / October 30, 1902 (CE), produced by the religious Zionist Rabbi Isaac Suwalski (or: Suvalski; Suwalsky). From 2r – mid 3r: excerpts from p. 2: a plea for Jewish pride in the nobility of the Jewish religion, and thus for adherence to the religion; mid 3r – 4r: drawing on classical Jewish sources, promotes religious Zionism, rejects the Godless naturalism of secular Zionism, and apologizes for religious non-Zionism.

Folio 4v, top: Linguistic note from the Jewish weekly Havatselet / חבצלת, year 33, no. 28: Jerusalem, 25 Iyar 5663 (Anno Mundi) / 22 May 1903 (CE), p. 210, note at bottom of column b. ‘Letters that are adjacent to one another in the alphabet switch with one another / אותיות הסמוכות זל”ז בא”ב מתחלפות אשה בשכנתה’ ....

Folios 4v, bottom – 5v, top: extract from Havatselet / חבצלת, year 33, no. 28: Jerusalem, 25 Iyar 5663 (Anno Mundi) / 22 May 1903 (CE) (just cited), p. 214. Ethical importance of transparency.

Folio 5v, middle: In the name of Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari Zal), citing the work Ḥen ṭov / חן טוב (by Rabbi Tuvia ha-Levi of Safed, on the Torah portion Ki Tisa / כי תשא), substantive difference between different categories of sin, indicated by different Hebrew words: ḥeṭ / חטא, i.e. committed accidentally; in contrast to ‘aṿon / עון.

Folio 5v, bottom: Based on Duties of the Heart, Gate of Trust, Chapter 2, and commentary Marpe la-nefesh, Chapter 3: substantive difference between different categories of pity, indicated by different Hebrew words: raḥamim / רחמים, i.e. towards a person of understanding, who is pained by his lack; vs. Ḥemlah / חמלה, i.e. towards the clueless.

Folio 6r-v: In order to compete with secularism, there need to be up to date ‘schools’ [viz. full-service schools, with a full curriculum including secular studies] run in a religious spirit. The old fashioned ‘cheder’ will not be able to compete. ‘The “ḥaredim” / חרדים will not be victorious by means of “ḥadarim” / חדרים; however, they will be victorious by means of “schools” in accordance with their spirit’. An analogy is drawn from the Prussian victory in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, where the victory is anecdotally attributed to Prussia’s more modern military equipment (longer range rifles [viz. the Dreyse needle gun]). (The source-attribution for the article seems to read, ‘from “ha-Tsefirah”, year [5]664’ / ‘מהצפירה שנת תרס”ד’, although the text was not found there (or anywhere else).)

Folio 7r: Folk wisdom: the struggle to make a living can lengthen one’s life. From the ‘אמרי אנשי’ feature of the Jewish weekly Havatselet / חבצלת, year 34, no. 21: Jerusalem, 7 Iyar 5664 (Anno Mundi) / 22 April 1904 (CE), p. 167, column b.

Folio 7v: A series of wise sayings on the superficiality of this-worldliness, in Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic. The first saying begins with ‘the wise man said’; and the saying can be traced to the medieval Muslim sage Ibn al ‘Arabi. (‘This world [Hebrew: ha-‘olam ha-zeh / העוה”ז; Arabic: al-dunya / אל דנייא (ال دنيا)] is compared to salt water: the more one drinks, the more one thirsts.’)

Folios 8r – 9r: from periodical The “ha-yehudi” / היהודי, Vol. XI / year 11, number 29: London, 16 Ḥeshṿan 5668 (Anno Mundi) / 24 October 1907 (CE): The leader of communal prayer should have not only personal merit, but also ancestral merit and / or meritorious offspring.

Direction 2 (turning the codex upside-down, opening it [right-to-left] following the printed lineation):

Inner cover paste-in. HED’s name spelled in French, Hakham Ezra Dingour, followed by a French sentence.

Folios 111v-r: List of synonyms (shemot nirdafim / שמות נרדפים) that occur in my (??????) / הבאים בספרי?י’\בהפרי?י’ שלי], from [letters] Aleph / א to H / ה. The items in the list are followed by reference numbers.

Folios 106v - 104v: Explanation of synonyms, from the book Otsar kol keli ḥemdah / אוצר כל כלי חמדה = ‘Storehouse of all precious vessels’, on Proverbs.

End.