The Library of Congress scroll

in Washington (United States)

The Library of Congress scroll, Washington, USA

A recent announcement from the Library of Congress in Washington concerns the acquisition of a very old document: a scroll leaf from a sefer Torah.

Document description

The leaf of this Torah scroll is dated to around 1000 A.D. It presents five columns of text comprising passages from the book of Exodus 10:10 to 16:15. Part of this text extends from the episode of the «plague of locusts» falling on Egypt (Exodus 10:14) to the appearance of manna in the desert during the Israelites« stay at Sinai (Exodus 16:13-15). The text also includes the »Song of the Sea":

Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord. They said: I will sing to the Lord, for he has made his glory shine; he has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my praise; he saved me. He is my God: I will praise him; he is my father's God: I will exalt him. The Lord is a mighty warrior; ... (Exodus 15:1-27, Louis Segond Version).

Image opposite: Torah parchment leaf dated 1000 A.D. It contains several passages from Exodus © Courtesy of the Hebrew Section, Africa and Middle East Division, Library of Congress.

Based on analyses of the text, its writing, the section divisions and the layout of the «Song of the Sea», scientists now believe that this parchment originally came from the Near East.
On the reverse is a note in Hebrew and Russian, stating that this document was presented by Shelomo Beim (1817-1867), a Kazan karaite from Chufut-Kale («Jewish Fortress», in Tatar and Turkish) in the Crimea, to Grand Duke Constantine, brother of Tsar Alexander II, in 1863.
In 2001, this sheet appeared in England, where it was offered for sale by Christie's Auction House. Just before the sale, Jordan Penkower of Bar-Ilan University was able to study this exceptional document up close and described it in a detailed article in the magazine Textus.
In 2017, the document reappeared, once again offered for sale, but this time by the previous buyer, renowned rare book dealer Stephan Loewenthiel. The Library of Congress finally acquired the scroll. The Hebraic Section of the Africa and Middle East Division is now its depositary.