Maḥzor

Eliezer ben Abraham of Pisa

1531

Manuscript page with Hebrew text, decorative motifs in margins, illustration of jaguar on top of page, and illustration of lion under tree on bottom.
This maḥzor (holiday prayer book), containing the Jewish prayers according to the Italian rite, was written by the scribe Eliezer ben Abraham of Pisa, for Yema, the widow of Moses of Modena (referred to as Yema almanat Moshe mi-Modena). The beautifully decorated title page, pictured, features two coats of arms, one at the top and one at the bottom. The morning blessings, found on a later page in the manuscript, have been written to reflect the gender of the owner, blessing God for “having not made me a maidservant.”

Credits

Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen. Eli'ezer ben Avraham, of Pisa, 1531. Yema's Maḥzor. The Judaica Collection: The David Simonsen Manuscripts.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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