Module: Abraham Firkovitch
IntroductionStudent ProjectsExerciseWorks Cited
Paul B. Fenton, “Firkovitch, Abraham,” in Glenda Abrahamson, ed., The Blackwell Companion to Jewish Culture (Oxford: Blackwell, 1990), 231-232 and Harviainen, Tapani (2003), “Abraham Firkovich” in Meira Polliack, ed., Karaite Judaism. A Guide to Its History and Literary Sources, Leiden, 875–892. Note pg. 885 in the latter where Firkovich mentions exchanging new books for old mss.
Exercise
Read Dan Shapira, On Firkowicz, Forgeries and Forging Jewish Identities.
Questions: In order to understand Firkovitch as a collector, and his ardent drive to procure ancient sources, it is important to understand also his Weltanschauung.
- What was his interest in Karaite and Samaritan manuscripts (which make up the largest part of his collections)?
- What did he want to prove be these sources?
- How can his endeavour be understood in the light on the political and cultural beliefs of his day?
Works Cited and Further Reading
Fenton, Paul B. 1990. “Firkovitch, Abraham.” In The Blackwell Companion to Jewish Culture, edited by Glenda Abrahamson, 231–32. Oxford: Blackwell. https://www.academia.edu/36979023/Paul_B._Fenton_Firkovitch_Abraham_in_Glenda_Abrahamson_ed._The_Blackwell_Companion_to_Jewish_Culture_Oxford_Blackwell_1990_231-232. Cite
Harviainen, Tapani. 2003. “Abraham Firkovich.” In Karaite Judaism: A Guide to Its History and Literary Sources, edited by Meira Polliack, 875–92. Leiden: Brill. Cite
Shapira, Dan D.Y. 2015. “On Firkowicz, Forgeries and Forging Jewish Identities.” In Manufacturing a Past for the Present: Forgery and Authenticity in Medievalist Texts and Objects in Nineteenth-Century Europe, edited by János M. Bak, Patrick J. Geary, and Gábor Klaniczay, 156–69. Leiden; Boston: Brill. https://www.academia.edu/24176664/On_Firkowicz_Forgeries_and_Forging_Jewish_Identities. Cite
