Unveiling the Treasures of Jewish Wisdom: The Story of the Cairo Genizah

In 1864, the world-renowned traveler Rabbi Yaakov Sapir visited Cairo. Being a knowledgeable scholar, he had heard intriguing rumors about a fascinating Genizah at the Ben Ezra Synagogue, used by the Jewish community in Cairo. Although the Jews of Cairo were not fond of outsiders prying into their synagogue, out of respect for the Jerusalemite emissary, they allowed him to visit the Genizah.

Rabbi Yaakov, not a young man, carefully placed a large wooden ladder against the synagogue wall, cautiously climbed it, opened a hatch high above the average person's height, and carefully leaned inside. Before him lay only piles of yellowing papers. He could not assess the room's height as it was entirely filled with papers. The first sensation was a stifling wave of dust and ancient paper fragments, making breathing difficult. He could not extract papers from the piles, uncertain where to focus first. Ultimately, he managed to take a bundle of papers with him, carefully descended the ladder, barely understanding what he held, tucked them into his bag, politely thanked the community members, and continued his journey.

In his book "Even Sapir," he recounted the event. Following his description, Rabbi Shlomo Wertheimer visited Cairo and took with him a collection of papers, which turned out to be ancient and previously unknown Midrashim. He published them in the book "Batei Midrashot." Still, the Jewish world did not grasp the significance of the Cairo Genizah, as many communities had Genizot and findings occasionally surfaced.

The breakthrough happened in 1896. Two Scottish tourists obtained a batch of pages from the Genizah, and upon reaching Cambridge, they showed the ancient Hebrew letters to Judaic scholar Solomon Schechter. Schechter was amazed; he recognized before him a copy of "The Book of Ben Sira," mentioned in rabbinic literature, an exceedingly rare Hebrew source absent for over a millennium.

Schechter resolved to conduct a thorough investigation of the Genizah. He secured academic funding and letters of recommendation from diplomats and rabbis to undertake this significant project. Despite extremely challenging conditions, he successfully retrieved thousands of documents, now held at Cambridge University under the Schechter-Taylor Collection. Subsequent researchers extracted thousands more documents now housed in renowned libraries worldwide.

The Genizah contained obscure Midrash fragments, the sacred handwriting of the Rambam, numerous texts from the Gaonic literature and their responsa, a treasure trove of Torah and wisdom, and also history – pages and documents preserved for over a thousand years in Egypt's dry, desert climate: contracts, ketubot, and gittin. To this day, scholars and researchers have not completed understanding, deciphering, and cataloging all the Genizah material. For over two decades, efforts have been ongoing to scan and upload the documents online, and this project is still unfinished...

Thus, with divine assistance, the Jews of Cairo preserved such a significant treasure, oblivious to its contents, which was fortunate because this ensured the Genizah was not stolen but patiently awaited those who would respect and handle it with care.