Publisher's Synopsis
Keter Yerushalayim, the Jerusalem Crown, is the first edition of the Aleppo Codex as a printed Bible. This codex is the oldest known complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible and was written in the early 10th century in Tiberias. The famous grammarian and scribe Aaron ben Asher inserted the vocalization signs, accentuation marks and the Masorah - a system of comments cross-referencing the spelling and the occurrence of particular words. Because he also proofread the manuscript several times over, it became the authoritative text due to its accepted accuracy. After a long odyssey the codex found its way to Jerusalem in 1958, with unfortunately a major portion missing. In 1976 a facsimile of the manuscript was published and inspired the book edition closely resembling the original text. Thanks to the painstaking work of the renowned Scholar Rabbi Mordechai Breuer, the lost parts - almost the entire Pentateuch - could be reconstructed. To emulate the original, the Jerusalem Crown is laid out in three columns and employs a unique typeface re-creating the calligraphy of the Aleppo Codex. The census for the chapters and verses as well as the names of the weekly torah portions and their divisions for the synagogal reading were added. A short appendix explains the principles of the text recreation and lists the deviations from the standard Leningrad Codex. Dr. Mordechai Glatzer, a globally recognized expert in the history of printing, edited the companion volume. It contains contributions on various aspects of the manuscript's significance and an in-depth description of its history. Notably, Dr. Yosef Ofer's introduction to the Masorah clarifies from where the codex's authority stems and why its text can be regarded as nearly error free. The prestigious Special Edition of the Keter Yerushalayim is limited to 480 hand-numbered, gilt-edged copies. They are bound in richly embossed and partially gold-tooled crimson leather, accompanied by the companion volume. History Aaron ben Moses ben Asher wrote the Aleppo Codex in the year 930 in the city of Tiberias. This codex consisted of 480 pages and contained all parts of the Old Testament, the 5 books of Moses (Torah), the prophets and the scriptures. The codex was stolen in the 11th century and brought to Egypt. It is believed that Maimonides copied from it in Cairo when he wrote his own Torah scroll. From Cairo the codex was moved to Aleppo in the 14th century where it remained in the Jewish community for more than 500 years. The community held the "keter" in very high esteem - there was a strong belief that the manuscript symbolized its well-being. When in 1947 anti-Jewish riots took place in Syria as a reaction to the United Nations resolution to divide Palestine and the synagogues in Aleppo were burnt, the manuscript was in great danger: Presumably damaged, it was hidden until it could be brought to Israel in 1958. Unfortunately, a considerable portion - almost the entire pentateuch - was missing, only 294 pages could be found. It is due to nearly 20 years of dedicated work by the renowned Scholar Rabbi Mordechai Breuer that the lost parts could be reconstructed. Today the codex itself can be found in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem in the "Shrine of the Book".
