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Country
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IL
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Name of institution (English)
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Bar-Ilan University
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Language of name of institution
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heb
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Contact information: postal address
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Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 5290002
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Contact information: phone number
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00972 03-5317955
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Contact information: email
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Lib.Ref@biu.ac.il
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Reference number
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Ms.
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (English)
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The Moussaieff Manuscript Collection
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Title (official language of the state)
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אוסף כתבי היד של מוסיוף (The Moussaieff Manuscript Collection)
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Language of title
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heb
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Creator / accumulator
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Rabbi Shlomo Moussaieff
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Date note
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14th century/19th century
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Language(s)
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ara
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heb
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yid
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Physical condition
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Good
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Scope and content
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This collection of manuscripts was built and developed by Rabbi Shlomo Moussaieff. The materials cover different disciplines and subjects, including, for instance, works on Alchemy, Astronomy, Astrology, Demonology, Gematria, Hebrew language, History, Traditional Medicine, Jewish ethics, Jewish law, Jewish magic, Jewish philosophy, and many more. The collection contains a large number of Kabbalistic treatises, including works of Spanish Kabbalists, such as Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla, Jacob ben Jacob Ha-Kohen, Moses ben Solomon of Burgos, Hayim de la Rosa, and Abraham ben Isaac of Granada. The collection includes a copy of Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla's Sha'arei Orah, copied by Yosef ben Meir Gerson in Frómista, Spain, in 1491.
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Archival history
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This collection was donated to the Bar-Ilan University Library by Rabbi Shlomo Moussaieff's grandson, Shlomo Moussaieff (1923-2015). The first group of approximately 200 manuscripts was digitized and made available online. The digitization project was made possible due to the support of Shlomo Moussaieff and the Shlomo Moussaieff Center for the Study of Kabalah, headed by Avi Elkayim.
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(source: Bar-Ilan University website)
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Administrative / Biographical history
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Shlomo ben Yakov Moussaieff was born in 1852 in the emirate of Bukhara, present-day Uzbekistan. He grew up to become a rabbi and businessman in real estate, tea, silk, and gemstones. He also came to be one of the founders of Jerusalem's Bukharian Quarter. In addition to his other occupations, Moussaieff was an avid collector of rare manuscripts and religious texts, having gathered an impressive private library with over 220 ancient writings. He died in Jerusalem in 1922, aged 70.
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(source: Jews of the Week: Rabbi Shlomo & Shlomo Moussaieff)
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Finding aids
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Y. Avivi, Ehel Shem (2012). List of manuscripts in the Moussaieff Collection. Jerusalem.
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Author of the description
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Joana Rodrigues, 2023
