Vatican Manuscripts from the Borgiani Ebraici/Hebrew Fond

Currently there are 18 of the 21 signatures. Only one of these, Borg.ebr.17 was actually part of the collection of Stefano Borgia, the bulk of this fond was donated by Giovanni Pastrizio/Ivan Paštriò (1636-1708), a professor of Hebrew and Greek at the Collegio Urbano di Propaganda Fide. One manuscript, Borg.ebr.14, was donated in the 19th C by a librarian at the College, Paul Louis Bernard Drach, who also supervised an inventory of the entire Borgiani collection, now Borg.lat.767

To the right is the text of "The Song of the Sea" (Ex. 15:1-18) from f.45r of Borg.ebr.17, a 13th C Ashkenazic Torah/Haftorah manuscript, with marginal commentary (Masorah). Here the scribe has stopped the three-column layout in use for the rest of the text and followed the wave-like layout found for this text in Torah scrolls.

Sources

Biblioteca apostolica vaticana. (2011). Guida ai fondi manoscritti, numismatici, a stampa della Biblioteca vaticana. Biblioteca apostolica vaticana. p. 368

Richler, B., Beit-Arié, M., Pasṭernaḳ, N., Biblioteca apostolica vaticana, & Makhon le-tatslume kitve-ha-yad ha-ʻIvriyim. (2008). Hebrew manuscripts in the Vatican Library: Catalogue. Biblioteca apostolica Vaticana. Studi e Testi 438


Borg.ebr.1, Yehudah Leon Mosconi יוסיפון Introduction to Josippon (1451-1500)

Scribe: Ephraim b. Joab b. Moses da Modena, done for Mordecai b. Benjamin the physician. Ff. 76-77 are not by him


Borg.ebr.2, Ahmad ibn al-Jazzar Yair Netiv/יאיר נתיב (1275-1300)

Sephardic semi-cursive. Anonymous translator from the Arabic of the Viaticum into Hebrew


Borg.ebr.3, Tosafot on TB tractate Shabbat (14th C)

stops at Shabbat 81a. Minute Ashkenazic semi-cursive.


Borg.ebr.4, Menahem Recanati Commentary on Rambam's 13 Principles of Faith, Kabbalistic Commentary, etc (1525-1575)

single scribe in Italian cursive script.


Borg.ebr.5, Meir b. Jacob ibn Yair ha-Meiri Sefer Yair Nativ/ספר מהלכות שחיטה ובדיקה הנקרא יאיר נתיב (17th C)

Italian cursive. Text on the laws of Schehitah (Kosher butchery)


Borg.ebr.6, Samuel Gallico, Mordecai Dato (gloss), Moses Botarel Assis Rimmonim/זה ספר העסיס מעסיס רמונים של ספר הפרדס שחבר הה"ר משה קורדוויאירו, Commentary on Sefer Yezirah/פירוש ספר יצירה לר"מ בוטריל (1579, c. 1479)

Two unrelated works bound together. Ff.1-110 is Abridgement of Moses Cordovero's Pardes Rimmonim, scribe: Hananel Hayyim b. Jacob Sforno. He signs on both f.1r and f.110r


Borg.ebr.8, Isaac b. Jacob Alfasi Code on Bava Kamma and Bava Mezia/הלכות הרי"ף על מס' בבא קמא ובבא מציעא (1590-1600)

Italian semi-cursive, part of a large collection of the Code by same scribe or scribes, Borg.ebr.7–12.


Borg.ebr.9, Isaac b. Jacob Alfasi Code on Gittin, Kiddushin and Hullin/הלכות הרי"ף על מס' גטין, קידושין וחולין (1575-1600)

Italian semi-cursive, part of a large collection of the Code by same scribe or scribes, Borg.ebr.7–12.


Borg.ebr.10, Isaac b. Jacob Alfasi, Mazliah ha-Galili and Solomon Ma'aravi (tr) Code on Yevamot and Ketubbot, Passages from Ketubbot in Arabic, translated into Hebrew (1575-1600)

Italian semi-cursive, ff.1-97 are part of a large collection of the Code by same scribe or scribes, Borg.ebr.7–12. Ff. 98-208 is a second, less cursive, hand


Borg.ebr.11, Isaac b. Jacob Alfasi Code on Shabbat, Eruvin and Megillah/הלכות הרי"ף על מסכת שבת עירובין ומגילה (1575-1600)

Italian semi-cursive, part of a large collection of the Code by same scribe or scribes, Borg.ebr.7–12.


Borg.ebr.12, Isaac b. Jacob Alfasi Code on Bava Batra/הלכות הרי"ף על מס' בבא בתרא (1575-1600)

Italian semi-cursive, part of a large collection of the Code by same scribe or scribes, Borg.ebr.7–12. This scribe is the same as Borg.ebr.10 ff. 98-208, excepting ff.4r-23r, a scribe unseen elsewhere in this collection


Borg.ebr.13, Jedaiah ha-Penini, Jehoseph Ha-Ezobi, Behinat Olam, Ka'arat Kesef, Assorted prayers (1475-1500)

Italian semi-cursive


Borg.ebr.15, Leon de Blantes or Levi b. Gershom, Israel b. Joseph Caslari Megillat Setarim/מגלת סתרים (17th C)

Provençal semi-cursive, some bits of the text are in Judeo-Provençal. Collection of parodies for Purim Ff.1-72 are a pair of printed books bound before the manuscript


Borg.ebr.16, Torah and Former Prophets/תורה ונביאים ראשונים (15th C)

Sephardic caligraphic semi-cursive. Includes the weekly parsha indication for the Sephardic rite. Page was ruled for Masorah Magna, but it was never added.


Borg.ebr.17, Torah, Five Megillot and Haftorot (c. 1300)

Ashkenazic square script. Main scribe: Hayyim son of the martyr Isaac, Masorah was added by 2 additional hands. Includes a 16th and 17th C censor note


Borg.ebr.18, Latin List of Hebrew Books (c. 1690)

Probably for the use of a censor


Borg.ebr.20, Amulet (c. 1835)

Oriental square and semi-square script


Borg.ebr.21, Sefirot tree/אילן הספירות (17th C)

diagram of the ten Sefirot in the form of a tree