The Royal Library's Hidden Gem: A Surprising Talmud Discovery

The Year: 1523 approx. The Place: Westminster, England.

Jack Lunchar couldn't believe his eyes. The diamond dealer, who owned one of the largest collections of Jewish books in the world, didn't expect to see a Talmud tractate of Ketubot displayed at Westminster Abbey, the official church of the British royal family. Intrigued, the exhibit's curator led him to a side room where Lunchar was astonished to find a complete Bomberg Talmud set that appeared freshly printed.

The Bomberg edition is the ultimate "Groom's Talmud." It was the first printed, expensive, and arguably the most exquisite edition of the Talmud. Collectors pay a fortune for individual tractates from this edition, which are often worn and torn. Here, however, was a complete new set, fresh from the packaging.

Lunchar spared no effort to acquire the Talmud from the library and simultaneously tried to uncover how it ended up with the British royal family. The surprising answer is this:

The ancestor of the English royal family was Henry Tudor, known as Henry VIII. He was an independent spirit who often clashed with the Pope on various religious questions. One day, a dispute arose on a particular question, and the king's advisors told him that only the Jews could provide an answer. However, in those days, not a single Jew lived in England, as they had been expelled by one of Henry's predecessors. Consequently, the king ordered a copy of the Talmud, just printed by Daniel Bomberg, hoping it would solve his queries.

Since the advent of the Schottenstein Talmud was far off in the future, the king was disappointed to find that neither he nor his advisors could understand anything in the Talmud. So, the Talmud was shelved in the Westminster Library, and since the daily daf yomi study is not part of the British royal schedule, it is no wonder the edition remained impeccably preserved.

It wasn't easy for Lunchar to extricate the Talmud from its spot, but eventually, he managed to convince the library officials that the Talmud belongs on a study table, not behind a display case in a prince's library, for whom the intricacies of Abaye and Rava are the last things on his mind.