A collection of books and records on Jewish life dating from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries was presented by Louis Bamberger of Newark to the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York.
The most significant item in the group, in the belief of Dr. Alexander Marx, librarian of the seminary, is a “Pinkas of the Jewish community at Finale, Italy. It covers the years from 1660 to 1693 and gives day by day information of the economic and social conditions of the times and the relations of the Jews and Christians.
Another manuscript given by Mr. Bamberger is an eighteenth century copy of the privileges granted to the Jews of Pisa and Liverne in 1593 by Grand Duke Ferdinand of Toscana. There are also copies of laws dealing with the relationships between the Jews and Christians at the close of the Middle Ages.
A large parchment is occupied with the family tree of the family of Iben Yahia, members of which still live in Italy and Poland. It illustrates graphically how the Jews spread over the world under persecution and how they prospered in their new homes.
There also is a hitherto unknown outline of Aristotle’s logic in Hebrew and a number of medical works in Hebrew, including a translation of the Aphorisms of Hippocrates by Shem Tob ben Isaac of Tortoso.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
