Research trip to Israel in summer 2008
My research-trip to Israel from July to September 2008 was dedicated to intensive studies into the various manuscripts of the text of Seder Eliyahu Zuta (SEZ) which I already translated, based on the old MS Vatican 31 (edition Friedmann). I worked mainly in Jerusalem at the Hebrew University with its abundance of important material in different libraries and archives. I basically concentrated on an analysis of the existing manuscripts which can be found in the Institute for Hebrew manuscripts on microfilm of the HU in Jerusalem, as a reproduction of manuscripts originally held by libraries all over the world.
Including Ms Vatican 31 (dating from 1073) we find five manuscripts transmitting the core-text (SEZ chapters 1-15) of this work. Additionally two sources include additional texts which one can find in the first printed version as part of SEZ. They date from the 12th to the 14th century and are of different local origins (Spain/ Italy/ Byzantine). I also included the first printed version from Venice (1596).
After a first survey I started a systematical comparison with Friedmann`s edition of MS Vatican 31 as the referential text of my translation.
During this textual analysis some surprising findings could be made. On the formal level every manuscript shows a differing tendency concerning script, material or structure. However, some manuscripts can be grouped according to these characteristics, as former research has shown.
A similar variety occurred in the field of literary style. Some witnesses showed a clear preference for adaption of various topics or for a particular style of narration and structuring. Some manuscripts deviate in many places from the reference-text of Friedmann. There were some passages which only occur in one single document. Thus they are interesting for further research in the textual development and variety of SEZ.
Beside this intensive and time-consuming work on each manuscript I used the many facilities of the libraries which provide a student of Jewish Studies with an enormous pool of important sources and scholarly works. Therefore I tried to organize also a part of my bibliographical research so far.
Further more the inspiring and diligent atmosphere of the Hebrew University gave room for some good conversations I had with professors and colleagues from Israel, the USA and Germany.