These really are tiny fragments, just a few centimetres! What is their significance?The tiny Geniza fragments in question appear to be from the lost Avodah Zarah tractate of the Yerushalmi.The Jerusalem Talmud wasn’t transmitted well, and there’s only one surviving complete copy of it – written in Italy at the end of the 13th century. It’s not a very good manuscript. The Genizah fragments are therefore very important for the textual history of the Yerushalmi. A couple of years ago, Yaacov Sussmann’s Ginze Yerushalmi was published, which brings together all the Genizah fragments of the Jerusalem Talmud. It’s an incredibly useful publication.
Cross-file under Jerusalem Talmud and Palestinian Talmud. For many PaleoJudaica posts on the Yerushalmi, start here and follow the links. And for many posts on Lost Books, start here and follow the links.
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