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Cambridge Forum for Jewish Studies

 
January Update of Digital Collections

Two Hebrew items are included in this update. The first was something of a bestseller among fourteenth and fifteenth-century Jewish doctors. Nathan ben Joel Falaquera's compendium of medical knowledge, Balm for the Body, aimed to condense the medical knowledge of the ancient and Islamic worlds and present it in an easily accessible manner to a European Jewish audience. Our copy was a prestigious edition, adorned with illuminated headings and fine pen and ink drawings.

 

The second Hebrew item, from Italy, also belonged to a popular genre, this time of the eighteenth century: a map of the holy places of Jerusalem, along with other significant burial sites in the Land of Israel, all drawn schematically. It shows real artistic skill and is one of the finest examples of this type of folk art.