Genizah Update #19: Sacred Treasure - It's Looking Like a Book

Genizah Update #19
Sacred Treasure - It's Looking Like a Book

May 5, 2010

Hello Everyone,

Another quick update this week.

The Book
In a previous email, I mentioned that I had completed the first draft of my book. Although that was true, the first draft that I had completed was, at the time, very raw. Certain sections were repeated, some interviews had not yet been incorporated, and there remained a few interviews that I had yet to conduct. I continued to plug away at it, however, and after a sixteen-hour writing marathon on Monday, the book is finally starting to look like a book. It appears that I am going to make my June 1 submission deadline – phew!

Attached
The folks at Jewish Lights Publishing recently told me that not only will they be featuring my book in their Fall catalogue, but that the book will also appear on the cover of the catalogue. I have attached a copy of the cover – it’s not a huge splash for my book, but Sacred Treasure is the only of JL’s many titles that the cover even mentions.

I have also attached a very brief book excerpt – feedback, as always, is most welcome.

PRI’s The World
I received a lot of nice feedback from my appearance on PRI’s The World. If you haven’t heard the broadcast, it is still online: http://www.theworld.org/2010/04/23/cairos-jewish-medieval-manuscripts/.

Funding Needed
As I mentioned in previous emails, many of you have been very generous in your support of this project. I have been using these funds for travel and other expenses I incur in writing my book, and at the conclusion of this project I will donate all remaining funds to the Jewish Theological Seminary or The Cambridge University Library to support their care of the Genizah documents. The two libraries own 230,000 of the 300,000 known Genizah manuscripts.

And, of course, Expedition Genizah T-Shirts are still available for the low, low price of $20 – all proceeds will be included in the donations I described above.

Please give generously – you can send you donations to:

Rabbi Mark Glickman
15030 232nd Ave. NE
Woodinville, WA 98077

As always, thank you for your ongoing support and enthusiasm.

Shalom,

Rabbi Mark Glickman

April 24, 2010

Hi Everybody,

Just a few quick notes tonight:

• PRI’S THE WORLD

For those of you who missed it, here is the link to the Friday interview that ran on PRI’s The World. The posted some pictures and links, too:

http://www.theworld.org/2010/04/23/cairos-jewish-medieval-manuscripts/

• BOOK COVER AND CATALOGUE PAGE

Attached is a copy of the page describing my that will be in an upcoming catalogue of Jewish Lights Publishing. I’m also told that they will feature it on the catalogue’s cover

• BLOG

As I mentioned in a previous email, I am also posting these updates on a blog – www.expeditiongenizah.blogspot.com. Feel free to visit and post at will. Also, if anyone has time to help me snazzy it up, please let me know.

• BOOK STATUS

Also as I mentioned before, I have completed my first draft, and I’m now in the editing process – a labor-intensive task with which the demands of daily life are not cooperating. One of my challenges is that I’ve been working on this project for a few years now, and in that time, “Genizah-land” has changed. New research has shown some of what I originally wrote to be incorrect and/or incomplete. This is a dynamic field and an ever-developing story. That makes it exciting, and it also makes writing a book about it feel like I’m herding Genizah-cats!

• GIVE IT UP FOR THE GENIZAH
Please remember that the caretakers of the Genizah documents are in desperate need of support. With your help, we can play an important role in making sure these documents are available for posterity. Donations are eagerly sought; T-shirts are still available for only $20.


Thank you for your ongoing interest and enthusiasm.

Shalom,

Rabbi Mark Glickman

Hello Everyone,

I just heard from the producer at PRI’s The World that they plan to air my interview at “19 minutes after the hour, give or take a minute or so.”

If you’re not available then but would like to hear the story anyway, it will be available on their website later in the day: www.theworld.org.

Shalom,

Rabbi Mark Glickman

Genizah Update #17: National Press Coverage

LISTEN TO “PRI’S THE WORLD,” FRIDAY, APRIL 23

Hello Everyone,

Just a short note to let you know my Genizah project is about to hit the national airwaves. A reporter from “PRI’s The World” will be interviewing me on Thursday, and I am told that they plan to broadcast the story on Friday.

As you may know, “PRI’s The World” is a nationally syndicated public radio program, airing on more than 300 radio stations across the United States and Canada. It’s on at different times in different cities, but here are a few that might be of interest to subscribers of this list:

City	Station	Call #	Time
Seattle	KUOW	94.9 FM 1340 AM	3:00 PM
New York	WNYC - AM	820 AM	12:00 PM
Los Angeles	KPCC KCRW	89.3 FM 89.9 FM	12:00 PM 1:00 PM
Chicago	WBEZ	91.5 FM	7:00 PM
San Francisco	KQED	88.5 FM	2:00 PM
Cambridge, Kabul, Cairo and Jerusalem,	XM Satellite	XMPR-133	6:00 PM Eastern

If you live elsewhere, you can find out when and where to hear the story at http://www.theworld.org/stations/. More general information about the show is available at their homepage, http://www.theworld.org/. I believe that the story will be available there after it airs.

The reporter who will be interviewing me is a woman named Jeb Sharp. Unfortunately, I don’t know when during the hour the segment will run, but if I find out I will let you know.

Now, back to editing and the hunt for elusive reprint permissions.

Thanks, and best wishes to you all,

Rabbi Mark Glickman

Hello Everyone,

It has been several weeks since I last updated you on the progress of my book about the Cairo Genizah – that’s because I have been busy writing it. My June 1 manuscript deadline is looming darker and darker.

The good news is that, at about 10:30 last night, I completed the first draft of the book! 101,655 words, 377 pages, of pure Genizah Goodness! There is still a lot more work to do, of course – major clean-up of the manuscript, photograph permissions, acknowledgement writing, and even a couple more interviews. But I finally have the raw material I need to begin sculpting what I hope will become a well-polished book.

Now, the writing can really begin.

TITLE

The many suggestions I received from you were all very helpful. I shared some of them with the publisher, I had a couple of conversations about them with the editor, and then they told me what the title will be:

SACRED TREASURE: THE CAIRO GENIZAH

The Amazing Discoveries of Forgotten Jewish History in an Egyptian Synagogue Attic

I wasn’t crazy about it at first, but I have to admit that it’s growing on me – especially since the title will effectively been the first line, with the second something of a throwaway description.

COVER

Then, last week, the publisher sent me these two drafts of the cover. I’m sure that whichever one they decide to use will be tweaked before publication, but seeing a real book cover made the whole thing feel very tangible and very exciting. It was especially a thrill to see that the cover included the two “G-Words” – Genizah, and Glickman!

I’m partial to the sand-colored one myself, but some of the teens in my house noted that they’d probably be drawn to the blue more readily than to the beige. Your comments, as always, would be most welcome.

Give it Up for the Genizah!

The more I read, the more aware I become of how important it is to support the people and institutions now caring for the Genizah manuscripts. As one example, most of the 30,000-35,0000 documents at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York are stored in PVC plastic – the same stuff they make our pipes out of, albeit in transparent, paper-thin form. PVC was the standard material used for manuscript storage when JTS received its collection in the 1920’s, but now we know that there are acids in these PVC casings that, over time, eat away at the manuscripts they hold. JTS needs to replace the PVC casings with more newly developed acid-free ones, but doing so would cost them tens-of-thousands of dollars.

When this project concludes, I hope to be able to use the funds I have raised to kick-start an effort to replace the PVC casings at JTS so as to help preserve these precious Genizah treasures for posterity. The money will also go to support the work of other institutions now caring for Genizah manuscripts.

Please give generously. You can send your donations to me at

15030 232^nd Ave. NE

Woodinville, WA

Also, don’t forget that for only $20, you can have your very own Expedition Genizah T-Shirt – this design on a lovely, dusty-blue shirt:

All T-Shirt proceeds go to the preservation efforts I mentioned above.

Again, my manuscript is due to the publisher on June 1, and the book is scheduled for publication in October.

Thanks for your support and enthusiasm – I will continue to keep you updated.

Shalom,

Rabbi Mark Glickman

Genizah Update #15: Home Again

March 11, 2010

Hello Everyone,

Well, I’ve been back home for a few days now, and I am finally feeling a sense of recovery from my travels. Many thanks to you all for your continued enthusiasm and support. It is a real inspiration to me.

Now…To Work

Now, of course, the big piece of unfinished business is actually writing the book…and my June submission deadline looms dark. However, I’m about 80% done with my first draft, so I think I should be OK. Or at least I hope so.

Excerpt Attached

Attached is an excerpt from one of the later chapters of the book. It describes part of my visit to the Cambridge Library. As always, I would welcome any feedback you care to offer. Please don’t hesitate to be brutal – brutal feedback tends to be the only kind that helps.

That said, I would like to add a few caveats:

· Of course, this still just a draft, so I apologize ahead of time for the lack of polish.

· The final version of the chapter will contain more - and more interesting – pictures. They forbade taking pictures in the library, and I had to pay their photographer to take some photos for me. The disc, I am told, is on its way, and should arrive soon.

· Many of the documents I describe seeing will have been discussed earlier in the book. So if some of what I say doesn’t make sense, let’s hope that it will in the context of the final version.

· Thanks in advance for your comments.

Expedition Genizah T-Shirts

I mentioned in an early e-mail that these would be available for sale. And now they are. For just $20, you can have this lovely T-Shirt (image attached). It is the latest thing in Genizah fashion. In fact, it was designed by the famous clothing designer and synagogue executive director, Larry Glickman…who also happens to be my little brother. The few dollars in proceeds that we earn from each shirt will go into our Genizah fund and be forwarded to one of the institutions now housing Genizah documents.

I am now in a position to take orders. If are interested, please email me size and quantities. If I need to mail it to you, there may be an added shipping cost.

Funds Needed

As I mentioned, on my expedition I saw first-hand not only the important work that various libraries are now doing to care for these manuscripts, but also how much more support they need. With the remaining funds, I hope to support the following two projects:

· Fighting the Acid

Many of the Jewish Theological Seminary’s 35,000 Genizah manuscripts are being eaten away even as we speak. When the Seminary received them in the 1920’s, the came encased in clear PVC plastic sleeves – made from the same material as some of the plumbing pipes in our homes. What they weren’t aware of then, and what we know now, is that PVC contains acids that, over time, eat away at the paper it touches. As a result, there is a real danger that these priceless manuscripts will one day simply disintegrate. I hope to seed a project that will allow these to be re-encased in more modern, archivally-sound, coverings.

· Preserving the New Old Documents

As I mentioned in a previous update, just a couple of years ago the Cambridge University Library received a collection of 7,000 documents from the Cairo Genizah that had never before been fully examined. They had been gathered in the early 20^th century by a wealthy Jew from Cairo named Jack Mosseri, and had remained in a trunk owned by his family ever since. Now, the documents are being painstakingly unpacked and preserved. The work is so slow that conservators can only process ten or so manuscripts each day – at this rate, it will take a few years to process the entire collection. This is an off-budget project for the library, so they need to raise the funds for this work separately. I hope to help support their work as generously as possible.

If you can, please give generously, and forward me your donations at your convenience:

Rabbi Mark Glickman

15030 232^nd Ave. NE

Woodinville, WA 98077

USA

Hello, Everyone!

This is the final full day of Expedition Genizah, and we are looking forward to our return home.

Yesterday

Yesterday, we went to the Jewish Theological Seminary, where had several wonderful opportunities. First, we looked at some manuscripts. We read a legal edict, personally signed by Maimonides, encouraging Jews in faraway communities to support in the ransoming of Jewish captives in Egypt. We held in our hands the oldest known piece of Jewish sheet music. We examined one of the two oldest Passover Haggadahs in the world, saw a food stain splotching one of the pages, and wondered about the recipe of the charoses that made it. We’ve looked at many of these Genizah manuscripts on this trip, and it has remained an unspeakable thrill.

We also interviewed Dr. Burton Visotzky, a professor at JTS who has written a novel based on some Genizah manuscripts, We also interviewed Dr. David Kraemer, director of the JTS library. Dr. Kraemer gave us a fascinating tour of the facility, and showed us how the Seminary’s collection of more than 30,000 Genizah manuscripts is stored and cared for.

We then boarded a train with our friend and movie producer, Michael Strong, and took an hour-long ride to Bay Shore, Long Island, where I had the opportunity to share the “Genizah Story” at Sinai Reform Temple with Rabbi Emily Losben a delightful group of her congregants.

A Few Final Thoughts

For obvious reasons, I am still processing the events of this trip, and I will certainly continue to do so for a very long time. Here, however, in no particular order, are a few preliminary thoughts:

· Outside the United States, very few Jews seem to be researching Genizah texts.

No Jews in Egypt were working on the manuscripts, of course, but very few in England were, either. There are some Genizah researchers in Israel, I suppose, but the fact remains that these days much (if not most) of the important research into things Genizah is being conducted by American Jews and by European non-Jews. Maybe this is because the largest collection of Genizah documents these days, by far, is in Cambridge, England and, Cambridge, though a magnificent city is hardly a very Jewish place. New York, on the other hand, is a little different. Or maybe it’s because we are living, as I believe Rabbi Jacob Rader Marcus taught, in the Golden Age of American Judaism. The state of Genizah research today is one area in which we can see this. Or maybe it’s just a quirk. For many years, the Genizah unit at Cambridge was run by Stefan Reif, a brilliant scholar of these texts, and a Jewish one at that. Perhaps these dynamics swing back and forth over the course of time like a pendulum. Whatever the cause, it is certainly interesting.

· Egypt is beginning to awaken to the significance of the Cairo Genizah.

In fact, a high-ranking official at the Supreme Council of Antiquities told me that they will be opening a Museum of Egyptian Civilizations in a couple of years, and they will want to do justice to Egypt’s Jewish past. He told me that they’re interested in sending a scholar to Europe or America to study Jewish history, particularly as illustrated by the documents of the Cairo Genizah. I look forward to doing what I can to help make this happen.

· People Matter Most

The high tech wizardry now being applied to the Genizah is indeed fascinating and important, but what we need most of all is an ongoing chain of people who study these texts. People can only become Genizah scholars when there are others to teach them, and the number of scholars who can now study these old papers is limited. One break in the chain of scholarship over time will make it very difficult to resume the study of these texts.

· The Genizah Story Must be Told

The more I learn about this story, and the more times I tell it, the more I realize what a fantastic, thrilling, and genuinely Jewish tale it is. Very few people know about the Genizah, but this is a reality that I hope to change soon.

· The Thrill of Place

Jacob’s mother – my ex-wife, Debbie – has been nothing but supportive of my taking Jacob on this trip. At one point, however, she said, “So let me get this straight – you guys are travelling halfway across the world … to go into a closet?” She asked a very good question, of course, and it deserves an answer. I think that being in the place of the Cairo Genizah helped build a connection with the countless Jews who deposited their documents in it over the centuries. Not only was it interesting and surprising to see what the chamber looked like, but seeing it – imagining the many generations of hands who reached into it holding papers and parchments for deposit – forged a connection across time and space that I wouldn’t have been able to feel otherwise. I believe that place plus historical imagination can open vast new worlds to us. More reflections about this soon.

· The Genizah Needs our Support

The librarians at JTS, Cambridge, and the other Genizah sites are doing a fantastic job of preserving these old documents for posterity, but they desperately need our help. Many of the manuscripts, for example, are stored in plastic with acids that are eating away at them even as we speak. The manuscripts still need to be catalogued, studied, digitized, transcribed, translated, and much more…and all of this takes money. They are operating in many ways on a shoestring budget, and, again, they need our help.

· I hope I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew.

Not only is the Genizah story a fascinating one, but it is also a huge one. It documents the lives of many centuries of Jews living in many lands; it tells those stories in many languages; and understanding its lessons demand a broad swath of knowledge that very few people have. Writing a book that tells its story is therefore a daunting task, and I hope what I write does it justice.

Surely, many more observations will be coming in the months ahead. Thank you again for your ongoing interest. I look forward to seeing those of you who live near me in Washington sometime soon…and I look forward to seeing the rest of you sometime soon, too.

This has been the adventure of a lifetime. Now it is time to go home.

Shalom,

Rabbi Mark Glickman