skip to content

Cambridge University Library

 
Genizah manuscripts

The Taylor-Schechter Genizah Collection is a window on the medieval world and has been colourfully described as ‘a refuge for writings’ and ‘a battlefield of books’. Its 193,000 manuscript fragments, mainly in Hebrew, Judaeo-Arabic, Aramaic and Arabic, are an unparalleled resource for the academic study of Judaism, Jewish history and the wider economic and social history of the Mediterranean and Near East in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period. They shed light on the mundane as well as the religious and cultural activities of that world, since the Collection preserves a huge number of personal letters, legal deeds and other documents, alongside literary and sacred texts. The Genizah Research Unit was established in the 1970s to carry out a comprehensive program of conservation, cataloguing and research on the manuscripts. The Genizah Research Unit relies upon external support for its projects.


Genizah Fragments blog

Visit the Genizah Fragments blog to read about our research and new discoveries.


Thinking about visiting the Library to consult or view the Collection? Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page first.


High-resolution images and detailed descriptions of more than 21,000 Genizah fragments from our Collections are now available on the Genizah section of Cambridge University Digital Library. Hundreds of new fragments are uploaded each month. Click here to see them.


The final issue (Oct 2021) of Genizah Fragments, the Unit's twice-yearly newsletter, is now available to read and download here. Insead of further issues of the newsletter you can find all our news on our blog here.


In February 2024's Fragment of the Month, Professor Sacha Stern fills in more blanks on the rabbinic calendar.

Have you found our website or bibliography useful? Would you like to make a one-off or regular donation to further Genizah research and the production of online Genizah resources at Cambridge? Give a single gift securely online or join the Friends of the Genizah of give regular support.


We are able to arrange bookings for Genizah visits for up to 45 people. Bookings must be arranged in advance, by contacting genizah@lib.cam.ac.uk.


 

facebook logo    By Instagram - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48863359

Contact the Unit

Dr Ben Outhwaite
Genizah Research Unit
Cambridge University Library
West Road
Cambridge CB3 9DR

Tel: +44 (0)1223 333129

E-mail: genizah@lib.cam.ac.uk

 


Support the Genizah Unit

Make a one-off donation to the Genizah Research Unit or join the Friends of the Genizah to give regular support. 

 


We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator. Please read our fundraising promise.

For information about how the Library handles your personal information, please see www.lib.cam.ac.uk/privacy-policy