Bibliological and Religious Studies on the Hebrew Book

The presented essays are divided into three groups. The first article concerns the book produced by Jews in Central and Eastern Europe against the background of the world production of Hebrew books. The second, the printing of the New Testament in Yiddish (Hebrew fonts) in the first half of the 16th century in Krakow. This also includes two articles on the Talmud. The first article illustrates the intellectual effort of Polish Jews who faced the challenge of printing Talmudic tractates with valuable documentary annexes. The second presents the difficulties that the Jewish printers had to face when persecuted by the Polish censorship authorities. The last group opens with an article describing one of the most valuable European collections of Judaica - old prints from the Jagiellonian Library in Krakow, from the former Prussian State Library in Berlin. The second presents a part of the Saraval's collection - priceless Hebrew incunabula that were transferred from Prague to Wroc?aw. The third concerns the 14th-century Wolff Haggadah with a 'Polish' episode in the background. Together, all the articles form a selective introduction to the little-known world of the Hebrew book.

Krzysztof Pilarczyk, Prof. Dr. Hab., is Professor of Judaic and Biblical Sciences and Religious History and Head of the Laboratory of the History of Christian-Jewish Relations at the Institute of Religious Studies of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow.