Humanities > Poetic law
IBN MUVHAR, SOLOMON BEN SAMUEL.
Ḥozek yad ṿe-hu ha-yad ha-ḥazakah asher ʻasʹah Mosheh ben Maimon ve-ḥibarti...be-mahut ha-shir.
Manuscript in Hebrew on paper.
1636.
MS X893.15 M88
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
There are many poetic texts in Judaism, but few of these deal with halakha, or Jewish law. This manuscript is the text of Maimonides' famous code of law, the Mishneh Torah, rewritten in poetic form. While law and poetry tend to be at opposite ends of the literary scale, this is one example of the two coming together. It is unclear why the author, Solomon ben Samuel Ibn Muvhar, decided on this particular text for his poetry, but it has been speculated that perhaps it was used as a study aid, for ease in remembering difficult legal rulings.
Purchased for Columbia by Salo Baron from David Fraenkel, 1933.