Today, we explore enigmatic Megilahs, where the absence of the text eclipses the written word. We’ll learn that this peculiar phenomenon is just a fragment of a larger tendency reflected in the Geniza to produce incomplete texts. We shall unravel the motivations behind this practice, reminding us of the formidable challenges in reproducing sacred texts by scribal hand.

Links:

First Megilah image:

https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-TS-AS-00044-00005/1

Second Megilah image:

https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-TS-NS-00286-00043/1

Third Megilah image:

https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-TS-NS-00286-00043/1

First Chumash image

https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-TS-A-00043-00004/2

Second Chumash image:

https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-TS-A-00043-00013/2

First Tehilim image:

https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-TS-NS-00281-00131/2

Second Tehilim image:

https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-TS-AS-00039-00186/2

Final Megilah Image

https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-TS-AS-00041-00207/1

Scrolls, Scribes, and Shortcuts: An Incomplete Megilah in the Cairo Geniza