Duke University - Perkins Library Rare Book Room Hebrew Text Exhibit

At Duke University in the Perkins Library Rare Book Room, there was an exhibit of modern and old Hebrew Texts.  These are some of the artifacts on display.

This is a Torah Scroll of the Book of Exodus - Shemot ( שְׁמוֹת) in Hebrew meaing "Names" - From the first sentence in Exodus ("These are the names of the sons of Israel...")

This scroll is from the 1700's and is entirely hand-written on the skin of a kosher animal.

All synagogues have at least 1 Torah scroll. (The Torah is the first 5 Books of the Old Testament - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy).  Torah means "Law."  This is where Jewish people find the 613 commandments.

This picture is taken from the scroll above.  This is from Exodus  15:1-18, the "Song of the Sea," the song sung by the Israelites after crossing the Red Sea.

Notice how the text is written.  It's written in an artistic manner to symbolize the Israelites in the middle column and the sea on both sides open so that they can cross.











Title Page of the Talmud.  The Talmud is a central text in Judaism.  It contains Rabbinic teachings on many aspects of Jewish Law including commandments, how to follow those commandments, ethics, tradition, and so forth.  Click here to learn more about the Talmud.



This line says "Talmud Babali" (meaning Babylonian Talmud)

This book is 1 of 16 in this version of the Talmud.









Here is one page from the Talmud above.  Jewish Scholars will generally study 1 page of the Talmud per day.  Reading the Talmud is difficult but fascinating because it contains Biblical Verses, commentaries on those verses, commentaries on the commentaries, and even opposing viewpoints. The main section is in the middle, and the commentaries are on the sides.













Here is a Children's Book, "Peter Pan" in Hebrew.  The Hebrew letters look different from the Hebrew you may have seen.  That is because this is written in Hebrew "cursive."  It is similar to how we can print or write in cursive in English

This picture is the title page of the Zohar - a book on Jewish Mysticism known as Kabbalah.  Click here to read about the Zohar.   The top line says "Sofer HaZoahr" ("Book of the Zohar")

This is a page of Jewish art from 1923.  It is the Biblical Book "Song of Songs," (also known as "Song of Solomon").  It was illustrated by an artist named Ze'ev Raban (See picture above for information)

 This is an illustrated copy of the Book of Jonah.  The picture is a representation of the world of the Lord coming to Jonah.  It's hard to see in this picture, but the "cloud" above Jonah looks like wind and a fish (foreshadowing Jonah being swallowed by the fish later in the book).

This is the first verse of Jonah.  The Hebrew is hard to read in this picture.  Here is what it says (Remember, Hebrew is read Right to Left):
  וַיְהִי דְּבַר-יְהוָה, אֶל-יוֹנָה בֶן-אֲמִתַּי, לֵאמֹר. (Transliterated: Vayihi, davar Adonai et-Ye'honah, ben Amatai le'amod) (The world of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amatai saying...)