Bologna, Italy – Officials at the University of Bologna say they now believe that a Torah scroll, previously mislabeled and thought to be only a few hundred years old, may in fact be the world’s oldest complete Torah scroll.
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BBC.co.uk (http://bbc.in/18xu3SX) reports that, after the completion of carbon tests, it is believed the scroll might possibly have been written some 850 years ago.
Officials say the document was originally examined by a university librarian in 1889 and dated as having been written during the 17th century.
But a recent re-evaluation of the scroll by university Professor of Hebrew, Mauro Perani, discovered that the scroll was written in oriental Babylonian tradition, which makes it very old.
Officials also say the scroll contains text “features” that were later “forbidden” by Maimonides in the 12th century.
Baloney.
All jokes aside, this is fascinating!
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a sefer torah similiar to the one rashi would have used
cant wait to here the results of a true professional analysis
priceless
The Vatican has much older artifacts. Time to get them back!
Can anybody explain what features Rambam forbade?
The Rambam saw Ezra HaSofer’s Sefer Torah. This almost dates back to the times of the Rambam. WOW !!!!!!!!
Same DNA as found on the Shroud of Turin?
There are more pictures of this Sefer on Facebook. I wonder if it is a Sefer that was read from with a brocho or a sefer that was used to learn from. There are many features that would pasul it today.
Would love to see if the text from this 850 year old torah matches the ones we use today
And exactly how did they get it? Another stolen Torah, courtesy of the Vatican…
Just HOW did these Italians end up with a Jewish treasure?
Ehat kind of features? Is this possibly a karaite torah?
this torah was stolen from the jews of Italy. they must return it.
All the Machlokesim regarding letters, tagim etc are explained in a special appendix of R MM Kasher, Torah Shleimah
Looks like a Sefer Torah to me that was used to teach kids in Cheder. It’s a typical handwriting without the official STAM (ksav ashires) as used in any Torah made to read.
The Italians of today inherited italy and everything from its roman past including christianity, thousands of jewish war prisoners and slaves and artifacts from Bais Sheini. The arch of titus is a good example.
It is a very long story but suffice it to say my father Z`l said he saw keillinn from the Bais Hamikdash in The vatican . Not the common cutsy artifacts on display. but the inner vatican where no one is allowed.
Jews have a long history in italy Why should anyone be surprised that the goyim raped ,murdered, pillaged, and stole whatever and whenever they felt like it.
They even created the first modern jewish getto.
Hope this helped
Bologna! (See article location)
The Torah was among around 30 Jewish manuscripts in the university library that Perani began to catalogue in February of this year. “The scroll is very rare because when manuscripts spoil they lose their holiness and can no longer be used. They are then buried,” he said.
“The state of conservation is excellent.” The oldest previously known scroll dates from the late 13th century, although a biblical codex — which has a book form instead of being rolled up — exists in St Petersburg that dates from 1008. Carbon dating in Italy and the United States confirmed his findings, placing the manuscript between the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The intact scroll is 36 metres (118 feet) long and 64 centimetres wide and the report said it had been mislabelled by an archivist in 1889. “He said the text looked awkward and contained uncommon annotations. He was completely wrong, it is a splendid manuscript,” Perani said. The professor said the scroll came to Bologna university from a Dominican monastery in the city, most likely after Napoleon disbanded religious orders in the country in the 19th century.
(Cont.)
It was “completely normal” that Dominican friars would have an ancient Torah as there was close collaboration between Christian and Jewish scholars in the early Middle Ages, Perani said.
The city of Bologna has long had a large Jewish community and the university first began teaching Hebrew Studies in the 15th century.
Fragments of the Torah have been found from the 7th century — much older than the presumed date of the Bologna scroll — but the Italian find is believed to be the oldest wholly preserved text.