Manuscript, Taj Torah (Keter Torah) – Bereshit and Shemot, with cantillation and vocalization, Masorah Gedolah, Masorah Ketanah and Machberet HaTijan, handwritten by a member of the family of Benaiah HaSofer. [Yemen, 15th/16th century].
Ink on paper, particularly neat Yemenite script, in large square (Stam) script, with vocalization and cantillation. Winding Peh in several places (such as the Song of the Sea).
Masorah Ketanah appears in margins, next to text; Masorah Gedolah at top and bottom of pages, with micrographic decoration (zigzag). The Song of the Sea is written in the format prescribed for a Torah scroll. On the pages of the Song, the Masorah Gedolah is written with a different micrographic decoration (a net; characteristic of the scribes of Benaiah's family).
Based on the form of the writing and other characteristics, the scribe appears to be a member of the renowned Yemenite family of Benaiah HaSofer. The page and line format in the present manuscript is notably identical to that of Bodleian Ms. Opp. Add. Qu. 97a, written by Yosef son of Benaiah HaSofer (based on its colophon), writing of which was completed in Cheshvan 1478.
At the end of the manuscript appears Machberet HaTijan (generally copied along with Taj books), in Yemenite semi-cursive script. This work is lacking in the middle and the end.
On the blank (front) side of the first leaf, various later inscriptions, including ownership inscription and inscription of scribe who added handwritten replacement leaves:
"As for this object, named Taj, I saw fit to mention my name as it belongs to me lest some wicked man come from the marketplace saying it is his, therefore this beautiful and desirable Taj belongs to Salim son of Yichya Sa'id. And should a man covet or steal it, may he be cursed by the heavenly and earthly courts, cursed by G-d and His retinue, may G-d not desire to forgive Him and may the people of G-d be at peace, I am [Salim son of Sa'id (calligraphic signature)]".
Below this inscription (and another calligraphic signature):
"The holy and pure labor began Sunday, 11th Cheshvan 1565 Seleucid era, written in the city of al-Jiraf, may it be destroyed and barren, and may Jerusalem be rebuilt".
This inscription, in a later hand, is likely misdated (to 1253!). A facsimile of this inscription appears in Encyclopedia LaKehilot HaYehudiyot BeTeiman, I, p. 124, where Gavra conjectures that the date should be 1965 Seleucid era (1653), although the inscription may be later.
Another inscription at bottom of the same leaf: "I, dust at the feet of the sages, saw that this book, namely Bereshit, was lacking three leaves in the hand of the ancient rabbi, so I will begin to write them in my own hand, Salih son of Salim son of Yichya son of Sa'id son of Suleiman Azani, may G-d assist me to complete Scriptures wherever they be, Amen. Written in the city of K.K. in the province of Rada'a… And with the help of the Helper we shall write it in black ink on white paper as the viewer shall see. And let the viewer not judge me for not writing in Ashuri [Stam] script like the ancient rabbi, for we in our sins are in an impure land, and as the Sages say, we forget as easily as one would put one's finger in a well. Woe to us that among our sins wisdom is distant from us, and understanding and knowledge have come to naught! All the more so is our memory lost as the dead is forgotten from the heart; forgetfulness comes easily, and the daily occurrences prevent us from settling down to study Scripture. But may G-d in His mercy bring our redemption closer, and in the merit of the Tzaddikim in the world in whose merit we are, may G-d, for the sake of His name, dispel the spirit of impurity from the land and bring us back as of old and redeem us, speedily in our days, Amen. And it was written in the year [1849]".
The Family of Benaiah HaSofer in Yemen
R. Benaiah son of Saadiah son of Zechariah – "the most renowned scribe in Yemen" (Encyclopedia LeChachmei Teiman, I, p. 42), head of the famous family of scribes active in Sanaa, Yemen. Colophons of other known books he scribed read: "The weak scribe… the least of scribes… Benaiah son of Saadiah son of Zechariah son of Benaiah son of Oded, known as Ben Margaz" (see: M. Beit-Arié, Asufat Ketavim Ivriyim MiYemei HaBeinayim, I, Oriental and Yemenite Scripts, Jerusalem 1988, plate 140). The famous traveler R. Yaakov Sapir, who visited Yemen in the 19th century, reports in his Even Sapir: "…I did not find as many early manuscript Bibles as I hoped, since their last exiles and tribulations did not leave much surviving; the oldest ones are some five hundred years old. The most accurate ones were produced by Benaiah, the expert and punctilious scribe, and unbelievably, he is said to have scribed four hundred books in his lifetime…" (Even Sapir, Lyck, 1866, leaf 102). R. Yaakov Sapir also mentions Miriam the scribe, daughter of R. Benaiah, who also worked as a copyist: "He also had a daughter who was an expert scribe, and I was shown a manuscript Chumash concluding with the inscription: 'Do not condemn me if you find any errors, as I am a nursing woman, Miriam daughter of Benaiah the scribe' – and it is accurate, with neat, beautiful script" (Even Sapir, ibid.).
R. Benaiah himself scribed books ca. 1450-1483, and he passed away ca. 1484, as evidenced by a colophon written by his son the scribe R. Yosef son of Benaiah, where R. Benaiah is mentioned as deceased (Ms. Jerusalem, Benayahu collection, quoted by: M. Riegler, Benaya the Scribe and His Descendants – A Family of Scribes from Yemen, Pe'amim, LXIV, 1995, p. 63).
According to Encyclopedia LeChachmei Teiman, R. Benaiah son of Saadiah is "the most renowned scribe in Yemen… His fame is due to the dozens of manuscripts he, his sons and grandsons copied… According to one opinion, he served as head of the Sanaa Beit Din… The vast majority of books he copied are Bibles with Masorah and Machberet HaTijan… His copyings are considered the most accurate, and he is viewed as the greatest Masoretic authority. The question of the relation of his Masorah to the Tiberian Masoretic school is greatly contested among scholars… Tradition holds that he and his family copied hundreds of manuscripts, of which dozens have passed down to us…" (Gavra, Encyclopedia LeChachmei Teiman, I, pp. 42-43). See there for a partial list of his known extant manuscripts.
The Hebrew Paleography Project lists some 40 manuscripts from the family of Benaiah, located today in various libraries and collections (M. Riegler, Benaya the Scribe and His Descendants – A Family of Scribes from Yemen, ibid., p. 54).
Stamps of kabbalist R. "Shlomo Yosef Mabari – licensed scribe and shochet – also officiates at divorces and marriages – Shaarayim near Rechovot".
Approx. 150 leaves (several missing leaves replaced in a later hand). Approx. 26 cm. Fair-poor condition. Stains. Most leaves with tears and open tears (some large), affecting text in many places. Some places repaired with pieces of paper with later handwritten replacements. Some leaves of Machberet HaTijan torn and lacking. Several leaves detached. Without binding.
Provenance: Library of Kabbalist R. Shlomo Yosef Mabari (1913-1969), a rabbi of the Yemenite community in Eretz Israel. In 1930, he immigrated from Dhamar, Yemen, to the Yemenite neighborhood Shaarayim, Rechovot. R. Shlomo and his father R. Yosef were known for their work as scribes of Torah scrolls and copyists. He was frequently visited for counsel, salvation and healing of the sick. During World War II, in 1943, he authored a prayer for salvation ordained to be recited by the community's rabbis.
