Jewish Travelers from Europe to the East, 12th-15th centuries
Viajeros judíos desde Europa hasta Oriente, siglos xii-xv
Abraham David
abraham.david@mail.huji.ac.il
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Recibido: 07/05/2013 | Aceptado: 17/07/2013
Resumen
Estudio bibliográfico de ocho obras escritas por viajeros judíos de la segunda mitad del siglo xii hasta finales del siglo xv. La revisión bibliográfica comprende cuatro categorías: una lista de los manuscritos de las obras; diversas ediciones hebreas impresas, junto con las traducciones a otros idiomas y un listado de los estudios sobre el tema y los autores.
Palabras claves: Bibliografía; Literatura de viajes; Benjamín de Tudela; Petahiah de Regensburg; Jacob hijo de Nathanel ha-Cohen; Judah Alharizi; Meshulam de Volterra; Joseph de Montagna; Obadia de Bertinoro; Viajero judío anónimo.
Abstract
Bibliographic study of eight works written by Jewish travelers of the second half of the twelfth century to the late fifteenth century. The bibliographical revision includes four categories, a list of the manuscripts of the works, and various printed Hebrew editions, along with translations into other languages and a list of studies on the topic and authors.
Keywords: Bibliography; Travel literature; Benjamin of Tudela; Petahiah of Regensburg; Nathanel son of Jacob ha-Cohen; Alharizi Judah; Meshulam of Volterra; Joseph Montagna; Obadia of Bertinoro; Anonymous Jewish traveler.
Acknowledgements
The work described in this article is part of the Project I+D 2010-16633 «La alteridad religiosa y étnica en los escritos de viajes: judíos, cristianos y musulmanes de Siria-Palestina (siglos XII-XVII)» funded by the Spanish Government.
1. Preface
• Benjamin of Tudela (1173)
• Petahiah of Regensburg (c. 1175)
• Jacob son of Nathanel ha-Cohen (second half of the 12th century)
• Judah Alharizi (1220?)
• Meshulam of Volterra (1481)
• Joseph of Montagna (1481)
• Obadia of Bertinoro (1488)
• Anonymous Jewish traveler (1495)
Pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Jews in the Middle Ages was a routine matter. The inducements for pilgrimage were essentially religious; the desire to venerate in prayer at the graves of the forefathers, namely the ancient saints the longing to be at the holy places in different localities in the Land of Israel; to have a deep religious experience and spiritual uplifting while fulfilling the commandments that are unique to the Land of Israel or to fulfill a vow after personal salvation and deliverance with the help of God. These feelings of spiritual elevation that existed throughout the course of the generations during the Middle Ages and even earlier, led to the implementation of the desire of the individual to undertake a journey under conditions that were not easy in any way at all, whether by sailing the sea or by way of the land.
Between the twelfth and the fifteenth centuries, there remained a small amount of Jewish Pilgrims from Europe, Spain, Germany and Italy, who documented their journeys eastward, whether in written memoirs and letters or in oral accounts of their experiences along the way. For the most part, these travelers went directly to the Land of Israel, but we know of two who made their way in an eastward circuitous route, to distant regions in Central Asia, and along the way, whether going out or coming back, they passed through the Land of Israel since their main goal was to visit the ancient holy sites of Jerusalem. These two were Benjamin of Tudela and Petachia of Regensburg.
A study of the contents of the descriptions of the Jews who traveled to the East crosses all boundaries. They are not only the heritage of Jewish intellectuals but they also capture the interest of intellectuals who are not Jewish, from many different nations. This led not only to their translation into many different languages, especially in the West, but also in the East, but even more so, to a good amount of research on the part of people of all nations, dedicated to understanding their historical significance. It is no wonder that the knowledge that comes from these travelogues is important beyond measure for understanding the general reality of those times, both in Europe and in the East, in many different areas; geography, economics, nature, climate, folklore and political changes, among others.
Presented in this framework is a bibliographical survey of eight written works of Jewish travelers from the second half of the 12th century through the end of the 15th century. There is no doubt that the number of Jewish travelers was far greater than this. Certainly, some of them saw no need to transmit their experiences in written form. It is also highly probable that the travelogues of others were not preserved.
This bibliographical survey is made up of four categories: a list of manuscripts of the works; also various printed editions together with a list of languages of translation, and a list of studies on the topic and the authors.
2. Benjamin of Tudela (1173)
A famous Jewish traveler (12th century) in Tudela (Navarra), northern Spain. No biographical data, and no dates of birth and death are known. It seems that his journey to the Near East took place between 1165 and 1173, but it may have begun as early as 1159. It included: Northern Spain, Provence, Italy, Greece, the Balkans, Turkey, Syria, the Holy Land, Babylonia and Persia. From there he sailed through the Persian Gulf and around the Arabian Peninsula to Egypt. From there he sailed to Italy via Sicily, and returned to Spain through central Europe. Benjamin’s travelogue Sefer ha-Masaʻot (Book of travels) which was written in Hebrew contains important historical information and folkloristic traditions, both Jewish and non-Jewish. The descriptions include much imaginary material, especially concerning life in Yemen, India, Ceylon and China, which he never actually visited.
The purpose of his journey is not clear. Some suggested that Benjamin wanted to investigate the status of the Jewish communities in the Mediterranean countries and the Near East. Some others claim his voyage was a commercial venture. He reports on the social, economic and spiritual life of the Jews in all localities he visited and also gives demographic data. In addition he frequently mentions prominent spiritual and communal Jewish leaders, especially in Babylonia, where he wandered for a relatively longer time.
More than twenty-four Hebrew manuscripts of Benjaminʼs itinerary are extant, and some dozen Hebrew editions have been published since the first (Constantinople, 1543). In addition, the book has been translated into most of the major Western languages. No contemporary report on the Mediterranean world or the Near East is of comparable importance.
2.1. Manuscripts
ספר מסעות שחבר ר׳ בנימן בר יונה מארץ נבארה נ״ע London – British Library Add. 27089 (Margoliouth 1076), fol. 149r-161v. 13th-14th century. Ashkenazic script.
ספר בנימן Roma – Casanatense 3097, fol. 1r-27r. 1428. Italian script.
Oxford – Bodleian Library Heb. 80 36 (Neubauer 2425), fol. 58r-63v. 15th century. Spanish script (incomplete).
מסעות של ר׳ בנימן Jerusalem – The National Library Heb. 80 2647 (formerly: Wien-Bibliothek der israelitische Kultusgemeinde and, before that, in the possession of Solomon Zalman Hayyim Halberstamm and Abraham Epstein), fol. 1r-39r. 16th century. Italian script.
מסעו׳ ר׳ בנימין Oxford – Bodleian Library Reggio 23 (Neubauer 2234). 16th century, fol. 40r-40v (only a few paragraphs were copied). Italian script.
מסעות של ר׳ בנימין New York – JTS Ms. 3847. 17th century, fol. 1r-23v. Yemenite script (only one third from the beginning).
Jerusalem – R. Kook Institute 1240. 17th century, 14 folios. Italian script (the beginning is missing).
ספר מסעות בנימן London – Sasson 134. 17th century. Page 1-61. Oriental script.
מסעות של רבי בנימין הרופא Cincinnati – Hebrew Union College 854, Kronach 1769, fol. 77r-123r. Spanish script: copied from Amsterdam 1698.
מסעות של רבי בנימין הרופא Frankfurt a M – Stadt und Universitätsbibliothek Oct. 244. Fiorenzoula 1796, fol. 65r-117v. Italian script. Was copied from Amsterdam 1698.
מסעות של רבי בנימין Cincinnati – Hebrew Union College 855. 18th century, 23 folios.
מסעות של ר׳ בנימין Jerusalem – The National Library. Heb. 80 134. 18th century. 36 folios. Italian script (the beginning is missing).
Jerusalem – The National Library. Heb. 80 4335. 18th century. 28 folios. Ashkenazic script. In Yiddish.
London – British Library Or. 12364 (Gaster 33). 18th century, page. 65-98, 102-107. Oriental script (selected parts).
מסעות של רבי בנימין Ramat-Gan – Bar-Ilan University 1218 (Moussaief 129). 18th-19th centuries, 7 folios. Oriental script (only part).
Oxford – Bodleian Library Ms. Opp. Add. 80 58 (Neubauer 2580). 18th century, 57r-57v (a fragment). Karaite script.
ספר מסעות בנימן London – Valmadonna Trust 17 (Richler 288). 18th-19th centuries, fol. 1-61. Oriental script.
[מסעות של רבי בנימן ז״ל] Jerusalem – M. Benayahu A8. Jerusalem 1852, fol. 24r-41r. Oriental script. Copied from Ferrara 1555.
מסעות של רבי בנימין Jerusalem – R. Kook Institute 1093. 19th century, 27 folios.
Yemenite script.
מסעות שחבר ר׳ בנימן ב״ר יונה מארץ נבארה New York – JTS Ms. 3616 (Adler 4154). 19th century, 52 pages. Ashkenazic script (was copied from London – British Library Add. 27089)
מסעות של רבי בנימין Jerusalem – R. Kook Institute 486. 19th century. [27] folios. Oriental script.
מסעות של ר׳ בנימין New York – Ms. 3850. 19th century, 21 folios. Yemenite script. Copied from Ferrara 1555 (one page from the beginning is missing).
ספר המסעות של רבי בנימין New York – Public Library, Jewish items 44. Baghdad 19th century, 95 folios. Oriental script. Copied from Ferrara 1555.
ספר מסעות של רבי בנימין New York – JTS Ms. 3838. Baghdad 19th century, 32 folios. Oriental script. Copied from Ferrara 1555.
2.2. Hebrew Printed editions (selection)
There are some dozen Hebrew printed editions. Only a selection of them will be listed here (only complete text) and also will be listed below bilingual editions in the translation category.
מסעות של רבי בנימן (Constantinople 1543)
מסעות של רבי בנימן ז״ל (Ferrara 1555)
מסעות של רבי בנימן (Freiburg 1583)
מסעות של רבי בנימן (Leiden 1633) (See below in the list of Latin translation)
מסעות של רבי בנימין הרופא (Amsterdam 1762)
מסעות של רבי בנימין (Altdorf 1762)
מסעות של רבי בנימין (Sulzbach 1783)
מסעות רבי בנימין (Zolkiew 1806)
מסעות של רבי בנימן (London and Berlin 1840) (See below in the list of English translations)
שלשה בעלי המסעות, ר׳ בנימין מטודילא (St. Petersburg 1881)
ספר מסעות ר׳ בנימין (Jerusalem 1904) (See below in the list of German translations)
ספר מסעות של ר׳ בנימן (London 1907) (See below in the list of English translations)
מסעות ר׳ בנימין מטודילא (New York 1926, In Ozar Massaoth, edited by Judah David Eisenstein, pp. 15- 44 Tel-Aviv 1969)
2.3. Translated editions
2.3.1. Latin
Arias Montano, Itinerariun Beniamin Tudelensis, Antverpiae, Christophori Plantini 1575 (there are some other editions of the same translation).
Itinerarium D. Benjamínis, cum versione & notis Constantini L’ empereur ab Oppyck, (S.T. D.& S. L. P. Lugd[unum]). Batavorum: Officinae Elzeviriana 1633. Latin and Hebrew (Helmstadt 1636; Leipzig 1764).
2.3.2. Dutch
Jan Bara, De Reysen van R. Benjamin Jonas Tudelens, Amsterdam 1666.
S. Keyzer, Leiden 1846.
2.3.3. Yiddish
Chaim ben Jacob Arbich, in Mikweh Israel (Menashe ben Israel, ed.) Amsterdam 1691.
Frankfurt 1711. Translated from Dutch (See above).
2.3.4. French
J. P. Baratier, Voyages de Rabbi Benjamin fils de Jonade Tudele. Amsterdam: Aux depens de la Compagnie 1734 (Paris 1830).
Haim Harboun, Les Voyageurs juifs du Moyen Age XIIe siecle, Benjamín de Tudela, Peʾtahia de Ratisbonne Natanael Hacohen. Aix en Provence: Editions Massoreth 1986, pp. 7-140; 209-222.
2.3.5. English
B. Gerrans, Travels of Rabbi Benjamin, son of Jonah of Tudela. London 1783. Another edition, London 1784.
Abraham Asher, The Itinerary of Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela. London-Berlin 1840-1841. English and Hebrew. 2 vols.
Thomas Wright, Early Travels in Palestine, London 1848, pp. 63-126. Based on Asher’s translation (London, H. G. Bohn, 1848), pp. 63-126 (this is Asher’s translation).
Marcus Nathan Adler, «The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, Critical Text, Translation and Commentary» JQR 16-18 (1904-1906). Hebrew and English. The same edition came out separately twice in London 1907 (New York, Feldheim, 1983).
Elkan Nathan Adler, Jewish Travellers in the Middle Ages… Edited and with Introduction. London, G. Routledge, 1930, pp. 38-63 (incomplete). Based on London 1907 edition (New York, Dover Publications, Inc. 1987).
2.3.6. German
Adam Martinet, Reisetagbuch des Rabbi Benjamin von Tudela. Ein Beitrag zur kenntniss der Juden in der Diaspora wärend des XII. Jahrhunderts. Bamberg 1858 (Berlin 1918).
Lasar Grünhut und Marcus Nathan Adler, Reisebeschreibungen des Benjamín von Tudela nach drei Handschriften...edirt und übersetz, mit Anmerkungen und Einleitung versehen von L. Grünhut und M. N. Adler, II vol. Jerusalem-Frankfurt am Main 1903-1904. German and Hebrew.
Rolf P. Schmitz, Benjamin von Tudela, Buch der Reisen (Sefär´ha-Massaäot). Frankfurt am Main: Verlag Peter Lang, 1988 (without introduction and commentary).
Stefan Schreiner, Jüdische Reisen im Mittelalter, Benjamin von Tudela, Petachja von Regensburg. Köln: Parkland Verlag, 1988, ss. 7-119, 201-231.
2.3.7. Russian
Pavel Margolin translated (three travelogues), St. Petersburg 1881. Based on Carmoly edition. Russian and Hebrew.
2.3.8. Spanish
Ignacio González Liubera, Viajes de Benjamín de Tudela, 1160-1173. Madrid, V. H. Sanz Calleja 1918 (1921-1922).
José Ramón Magdalena Nom de Déu, Libro de Viajes de Benjamín de Tudela, Barcelona: Riopiedras ediciones 1982 (1989, Zaragoza 2009).
José Ramón Magdalena Nom de Déu, Libro de Viajes Benjamín de Tudela. Spanish and Hebrew (Photo copy of London 1907), Pamplona: Gobierno de Navarra, 1994, pp. 153-201.
José Ramón Magdalena Nom de Déu, El Viaje de Benjamín de Tudela, Prosegour 2006.
2.3.9. Vasco (Eusquera)
Benjamín Tuterakoa, Bidaien Liburua, Pamplona: Gobierno de Navarra, 1994,
pp. 9-110.
2.3.10. Italian
Giulio Busi, Binyamin da Tudela, Itinerario (Sefer massaʾot), Rimini: Luise Editore, 1988.
Laura Minervini, Benjamin da Tudela, Libro di viaggi, Palermo: Sellerio editore, 1989.
2.3.11. Turkish
Nuh Arslantas, Ortacagʾda (12 yy.), Iki Yahudi seyyahin Avrupa, Asya ve Afrika Gözlemleri Tudela’li Benjamin ile Ratisbon’lu Petachia, Istanbul: Kaknüs 2001.
2.3.12. Czech
Jirina Sedinova, Benjamín z Tudely Petachja z Rezna, Dva stredoveke Hebrejske cestopisy, Prague 2002, pp. 7-54.
2.3.13. Arabic
Ezra Haddad (in Arabic characters), Baghdad 1945 (Beiruth 1996).
2.4. Studies
מ׳ ארליך, ״והם ד׳ יהודים דרים תחת מגדל דוד בפאת המדינה״: יהודים בירושלים במאה הי״ב, על אתר, יא (תשס״ג), עמ׳ 75-84.
א׳ ארסה, ׳קבר דוד בתיאוריו של בנימין מטודילה׳ (1169), פרקים בתולדות ירושלים בימי הביניים, בעריכת ב״ז קדר וצ׳ ברס, ירושלים תשל״ט, עמ׳ 112-121.
מ׳ בוסק, אגדת קבר דוד בירושלים, ירושלים, טו, 2 (תשמ״א), עמ׳ 8-18.
מ׳ גיל, במלכות ישמעאל בתקופת הגאונים, כרך, א, תל-אביב ירושלים 1997, עמ׳ 473-475.
מ׳ גיל, ׳משיחיות ושברה בבבל במאה השתים עשרה׳, בין היסטוריה לספרות, ספר יובל ליצחק ברזילי, בעריכת ש׳ נש, תל-אביב 1997, עמ׳ נט-סב.
מ׳ וולף, האמנם הביא ר׳ בנימין מטודלה מילים מ׳לשון כנען״? תרביץ, מו (תשל״ז), עמ׳ 150-151.
א׳ יערי, מסעות ארץ ישראל, רמת-גן 21976, עמ׳ 31-34.
י׳ פראוור, תולדות היהודים בממלכת הצלבנים, ירושלים, יד יצחק בן-צבי תשס״א, עמ׳ 192-205.
י׳ פראוור, ׳תיאורי מסע עבריים בארץ-ישראל בתקופה הצלבנית׳, קתדרה, 40 (תשמ״ו), עמ׳ 45-56.
ש׳ קראוס, ׳אור חדש על אילו ידיעות גיאוגרפיות אצל אלדד הדני ובנימין מטודילא׳, תרביץ, ח (תרצ״ז), עמ׳ 208-232.
A. M. Andreas, «Sur Benjamin de Tude'le», Byzantinische Zeitschrift 30 (1929-1930). pp. 457-462.
Z. Ankori, «Viajando con Benjamín de Tudela: nueva solución a algunos problemas antiguos», C. Carrete (coord.), Congreso Internacional Encuentro de las Tres Culturas, 3, Atti Conv. Toledo 1984, Toledo 1988, pp. 11-28.
Z. Ankori, Karaites in Byzantium, New York-Jerusalem 1959, index.
A, Arce, «El sepulcro de David en un texto de Benjamín de Tudela (1169)», Sefarad, XXIII (1963), pp. 105-115.
S. G. Armistead and J. H. Silverma, «Una tradición épico-Carolingia en el itinerario de Benjamín de Tudela», Sefarad 47 (1987), pp. 3-7.
A. Asher, Introduction to The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, second edition of N. M. Adler, Malibu 1983.
S. Benjamin, The World of Benjamin of Tudela. A Medieval Mediterranean Travelogue. Madison-Teaneck-Fairleigh and London 1995.
S. Berger, Translation between Language and Culture. Benjamin of Tudelaʼs Travels in Yiddish (Amsterdam 1691), Inaugural Lecture, Amsterdam 2005, 22 pages.
P. Borchardt, «Benjamin aus Tudela», Encyclopaedia Judaica vol. 4 (Berlin 1929), pp. 130-136.
P. Borchardt, «Der Reiseweg des Rabbi Benjamin von Tudela und des Rabbi Petachia aus Regensburg in Mesopotamien und Persien», Jahrbuch der jüdisch-Literarischen Gesellschaft, XVI (1924). ss. 137-162.
P. Borchardt, «Karawanenstrassen in Arabien nach R. Benjamin», Anthropos, 16-17 (1921-1922), ss. 1056-1057.
P. Borchardt, «L‘Iitine‘raire de R. Benjamin en Chine», T’oung Pao (1924), 31-35.
P. Borchardt, «The Sculpture in front of the Lateran as Described by Benjamin of Tudela and Magister Gregorius», Journal of Roman Studies 26 (1936), pp. 68-70.
G. Busi, «Binyamin da Tudela, nuove avventure bibliografiche», Materia Giudaica 3 (1997), pp. 39-42.
E. Carmoli, Notice historique sur Benjamín de Tudéle, Nouvelle édition, Bruxelles 1852.
C. Colafemmina, «L’itinerario pugliese di Beniamino da Tudela», Archivio storico pugliese 28 (1975), pp. 81-100.
A. David, «Benjamin ben Jonah of Tudela», EJIW, I (2010), pp. 417-419.
A. David, «Benjamin of Tudela», Dictionary of the Middle Ages vol. 2, New York: Charles Scribner’s sons, 1983, p. 181.
R. Di Tucci, «Beniamino da Tudela e il suo viaggio», Bollettino della R. Societa geografica italiana 78 (1941), pp. 496-517.
R. Dussaud, «Le sanctuaire phe’nicien de Byblos d’apre’s Benjamin de Tude’le», Syria, 7 (1926), pp. 247-256.
P. E. Fornaciari, «Beniamino da Tudela in Italia», Archivio Storico Italiano, Firenze 1989, pp. 415-434.
P. E. Fornaciari, «La percezione del mondo Dalmata e Slavo in Beniamino da Tudela», Itineraria 3-4 (2004-2005), pp. 57-72.
N. Golb, «Aspects of Geographical Knowledge among the Jews of the Earlier Middle Ages», Popoli e paesi nella cultura altomedievale, Spoleto 1983, I, pp. 175-211.
L. Z. Herscovici, «References to the Carpatho-Danubian Region in Hebrew Sources of the 10th-12th centuries», Romanian Jewish Studies I (1987), pp. 9-14, 16-17.
D. Jacoby, «Benjamin of Tudela in Byzantium», Palaeoslavica 10 (2002), pp. 180-185.
D. Jacoby, Benjamin of Tudela and his «Book of Travels», Venezia incrocio di culture, a cura di K. Herbers e F. Schmieder, Roma 2008, pp. 135-164.
M. José Cano Pérez (ed.), «Las relaciones judeo-árabes en Oriente próximo según el viajero hispano-judío Benjamín de Tudela», Claves para la paz en el Mediterráneo, Granada 2006, pp. 28-38.
M. José Cano Pérez, «Los notables Judíos de Cataluña y el sur de Francia según el Sefer Masa’ot de Benjamín de Tudela», Miscelánea de Estudios Árabes y Hebraicos. Sección Hebreo 53 (2004), pp. 73-95.
M. José Cano Pérez, «El mundo griego en los relatos de viajeros judíos», Constantinopla. 550 años de su caída, Granada 2006, pp. 435-472.
A. Kuyt, «Die Welt aus sefaradischer und ashkenazischer Sicht: Die mittelalterischen hebräischen Reiseberichte des Benjamín von Tudela und des Petachja von Regensburg», Chloe, Beihefte zum Daphnis. Erkundung und Beschreibung der Welt. Zur Poetik der Reise-und Länderberichte, Herausgegeben von X. Von Ertzdorff und G. Giesemann, Amsterdam-New York 2003, pp. 211-231.
G. Lacerenza, «Echi biblici in una leggenda. Tiro in Beniamin da Tudela», Annali Inst. Un. Or 56 (1996), pp. 462-470.
G. Lacerenza, «Struttura letterariae dinamiche compositive nel Sefer Massao‘t da Binyamin da Tudela», Materia Giudaica, XII/1-2 (2007), pp. 89-98.
J. O. Leibowitz, «Benjamin de Tudéle sur la contreé de Salerne», Atti del XIV Congresso internazionale di storia della medicina, vol. 2, Roma – Salerno, 1954, pp.
J. Lelewel, Examen géographique des voyages de Benjamín de Tudéle, Bruxelles 1852 (See: E. Carmoli).
Y. Levanon, The Jewish Travellers in the Twelfth Century, Boston 1980.
R. Luria, «Sull ‘Itinerario di Benjamíno di Tudela», Vessillo israelitico 36 (1888), pp. 56-58.
J. R. Magdalena Nom de Déu, «Testimonios arqueológicos del Oriente Próximo reflejados en el Sefer-Masa’ot de Benjamín de Tudela (Siria-Palestina, Mesopotamia y Egipto)», Arbor CLXXX, 711-712 (2005), pp. 465-488.
J. R. Magdalena Nom de Déu, «Benjamín de Tudela y su relación de viajes por Mediterráneo y Oriente», El viaje de Benjamín de Tudela, Prosegur 2006, pp. 21-107.
J. A. Ochoa, «El imperio Bizantino en el viaje de Benjamín de Tudela», Viaggiatori ebrei, Atti del Congresso europeo dell’ AISG, San Miniato, 4-5 novembre 1991, a cura di G. Busi, Bologna 1992, pp. 81-98.
N. Ohler, Reisen im Mittelalter, München-Zürich 1986.
J. Prawer, The History of the Jews in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, Oxford: Clarendon Press 1988, pp. 191-206.
H. G. Reissner, «Benjamin of Tudela on Ceylon», Zeitschrift für Religions und Geistgeschichte 6 (1954), pp. 151-155.
L. River, «Itinerario de Benjamín de Tudela», Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia XXXVI (1956), pp. 391-461.
C. Roth, «Benjamin of Tudela. The last stage», Annuario di studi ebraica, (1968-1969), pp. 47-50.
C. Roth, «Benjamin of Tudela», Encyclopedia Judaica, Jerusalem 1971, pp. 535-538.
H. P. Rüger, Syrien und Palästina nach dem Reisebericht des Benjamin von Tudela, Übersetzt und erklärt von H. P. Rüger. Wiesbaden 1990.
R. Schmitz, «Benjamin von Tudela, “Das Buch der Reise”, Realität oder Fiktion», Henoch, XVI (1994), ss. 295-314.
S. Schreiner, «Benjamín de Tudela, un judío sefardí de viaje por el oriente islámico», El Olivo 33-34 (1991), pp. 107-122, 115.
J. Shatzmiller, «Jews Pilgrimage and the Christian Cult of Saints: Benjamin of Tudela and his contemporaries», A. C. Murray, ed. After Rome‘s Fall. Narrators and Sources of Early Medieval History, Essays presented to Walter Goffart. Toronto-Buffalo-London 1998, pp.
M. Signer, Introduction to The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, second edition of N. M. Adler. Malibu 1983.
S. Tedeschi, «L‘Etiopie dans l‘Itinéraire de Benjamin de Tudela», Proceedings of the 9th International Congress of Ethiopean Studies, Moscow 1988, pp. 207-221.
R. Di Tucci, «Beniamino da Tudela e il suo viaggio», Bollettino della R. Societa‘ geografica italiana 7 (1941), pp. 486-517.
J. P. A. Van der Vin, Travellers to Greece and Constantinople, Ancient Monuments and Old Traditions in Medieval Traveller‘s Tales, Leiden 1980.
A. Varvaro, «Carlomagno in Spagna in Beniamino di Tudela», Medioevo romanzo 9 (1984), pp. 341-342.
D. J. Wasserstein, «Does Benjamin mention Portugal?», Journal of Semitic Studies 24 (1979), pp. 193-200.
3. Petahiah of Regensburg (c.1175)
The twelfth-century itinerary or «circuit» of R. Petahiah of Regensburg, known as Sibbuv Rabbi Petahiah or Sevivot R. Petahiah, differs from other medieval Jewish travel books. Unlike other Jewish travelers, who personally recorded their experiences and impressions, R. Petahiah himself did not write down his experiences. Evidently, R. Petahiah related what he saw, heard, or felt in the course of his journey, either to an individual or to a group. In turn, some individual eclectically recorded R. Petahiah’s anecdotes.
Almost no biographical details emerge from the Sibbuv, regarding either R. Petahiah’s life, or the date, length, or purpose of his journey. The only specific detail found in the text is R. Petahiah’s departure point, which is represented by two traditions. According to some printed editions, he started his journey from Prague. However, other versions, including the one published by Carmoly, state that he left “his birthplace Regensburg for Prague,” and proceeded east from there. Based on this and other references in the Sibbuv we can conclude that R. Petahiah resided in both these cities at various points in time.
It seems that the redactor of the Sibbuv was R. Judah ha-Hasid (the Pious), who limited himself to selected excerpts from R. Petahiah’s experiences and impressions alongside local traditions noted by the traveler. He condensed the account, concentrating mainly on R. Petahiah’s travels in Iraq, or Babylonia as it is called in Jewish sources, and Eretz-Israel, less so on Syria. Nor did he adhere strictly to R. Petahiah’s actual timetable. R. Petahiah’s journey ended in Prague. At a later date he moved to Regensburg where he evidently recounted tales of his journey to his close circle.
R. Petahiah began his journey in the early 1170s, proceeding east via Poland and Russia, and south through the Caucuses to the Black Sea and Turkey, to the lands under Muslim dominion: Iraq, Persia, Syria, and Eretz-Israel.
The account takes note of local customs in the places through which R. Petahiah passed on his journey, intermittently providing interesting details on the life and mores, even the dress, of the Jews in Iraq, which he visited in 1175. He stopped in the following places: Nisibis, Nineveh (Mosul), and Baghdad. Of particular interest is the information about the Jewish communal leadership, both secular and religious, which was located in Baghdad. The head of the Babylonian academy, R. Samuel ben Eli ha-Levi, who was active at the time of his visit, made a strong impression on R. Petahiah.
R. Petahiah’s account also reflects his interest in geographical aspects, and includes topographical conditions, descriptions of the landscape, details of his travel route, estimated distances (usually measured in days on foot), contemporary means of transportation, climatic conditions, political situations, and the like.
Petahiah placed an emphasis on local Jewish traditions concerning holy tombs, and the purported burial sites of the following biblical figures: Ezekiel, Daniel, Ezra, and Baruch ben Neriah. It seems that R. Petahiah’s interest in Eretz-Israel, then under Crusader rule, as reflected in the text, centered on local traditions concerning the veneration of the Patriarchs’ tombs.
3.1. Manuscripts:
אלה הדברים אשר סיפר הרב ר’ פתחיה מביהם Warsaw (Warszawa) University 258, fol. 127,v-131v. 15th century. Published by Abraham David, in: Kobez al Yad, 13 (1996), pp. 235-169.
סביבות ר׳ פתחיה מרעגינשבורגLondon – Beth Din and Beth Hamidrash Library 146, fol. 1-10. Copied in Kleve (Germany) 1678.
אלה הסבובי׳ אשר סבב ר׳ פתחי׳ שסבב כל הארצות Leipzig – Universitätsbibliothek B. H. 4.38, fol. 1-5. 17th century. Published by Johann Christoph Wagenseil, Altdorf 1687, 1697.
ספר סבוב העולם לרבי פתחיה מרעגנשבורג. Strassbourg 3982. 97 pages. Colmar 1650. It seems that the colophon of that manuscript was forged by E. Carmoly who copied it in the first half of the 19th century. Published by E. Carmoly Paris 1831.
רבי פתחיה New York – The Jewish Theological Seminary of America Ms. 5601 (incomplete, approximately half the text). Copied in 18th century.
סבוב ר׳ פתחיה St. Petersburg – Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences A 147. Copied in 1930 by a Karaite scribe from printed edition, Dubno 1795.
3.2. Hebrew Printed editions (selection)
There are some dozen Hebrew printed editions. Only a selection of them will be listed here. Bilingual editions will be listed below in the translation category.
דיא אויסררינגלונג רבנו פתחיה החסיד מרעגנשפורג (Prague 1600)
סבוב הרב רבי פתחיה מרעגנשפורק (Prague 1695)
סבוב הרב ר׳ פתחיה מרעגנשפורג (Altdorf 1687; Altdorf 1697. See below in the list of Latin translation)
סבוב העולם (Wilhermsdorf 1736) (see below in the list of Yiddish translations)
סבוב הרב ר׳ פתחיה מרעגנשפורג (Padova 1750) (see below in the list of Latin translations)
לאנד קארט אונט וועלט בישרייבונג (Frankfurt de Oder 1770) (see below in the list of Yiddish translations)
סבוב חידושים ונסים ונפלאות שראה בארצות רבות...הרב פתחיה מרעגנשבורג (Altona 1770) (1778. the second edition I have not seen).
סבוב חידושים ונסים ונפלאות שראה בארצות רבות...הרב פתחיה מרעגנשבורג (Zolkiew 1772) (1792. the second edition I have not seen).
סבוב חידושים ונסים ונפלאות שראה בארצות רבות...הרב פתחיה מרעגנשבורג (Dubno 1795)
סבוב חידושים ונסים ונפלאות שראה בארצות רבות...הרב פתחיה מרעגנשבורג (Sklow 1817)
סבוב העולם של רבי פתחיה מריגנשבורג (Paris 1831) (see below in the list of French translations).
סבוב הרב רבי פתחיה מרעגנשפורג (Fürth 1844) (see below in the list of German translations).
סבוב הרב רבי פתחיה מרעגנשפורג (London 1856) ( London 1861. See below in the list of English translations)
שלשה בעלי מסעות, ר׳ פתחי׳ מרעגענסבורג (St. Petersburg 1881) (see below on the Russian translation)
סבוב רבי פתחיה מרעגנשפורג (Jerusalem 1905) (see below in the list of German translations)
סבוב ר׳ פתחיה מריגנשפורק (New York 1926, Tel-Aviv 1969. In Ozar Massaoth, edited by Judah David Eisenstein, pp. 46-56)
3.3. Translated editions
3.3.1. Latin
Johann Christoph Wagenseil, Peregrinatio R. Petachiae Ratisbonensis. Altdorf (Germany) 1687. Based on the abovementioned Leipzig manuscript. Latin and Hebrew (Altdorf 1697).
Johann Christoph Wagenseil, Nürnberg, Andere Ausgaben, 1719. Latin and Hebrew
(I have not seen it).
Johann Christoph Wagenseil, Peregrinatio Rabbini Petachiae. Padova 1750 by Antonio Zanolini. Peregrinatio Rabbini Petachae. Latin and Hebrew.
3.3.2. Yiddish
דיא אויסררינגלונג רבנו פתחיה החסיד מרעגנשפורג, Prague 1600.
Phillip Ernst Christfels, Wilhermsdorf, Hirsch ben Hayim of Fürth, 1736. Based on the Wagenseil Hebrew edition.
Frankfurt de Oder 1770. A different translation. Based on the Wagenseil Hebrew edition.
3.3.3. French
Eliakim Carmoli, Tour du Monde ou voyages du Rabbin Pethachia de Ratisbonne, … Par M. E. Carmoly…Paris impremerie royale M. DCCC. XXXI. Based on the manuscript number 4. Hebrew and French.
Haim Harboun, Les voyageurs juifs XIIe siécle, Aix- En-Provence: Editions Massoreth, 1986, pp. 141-185.
3.3.4. German
David Ottensoser, Reise des Rabbinen Rabbi Pethachjah aus Regensburg...von David Ottensoser. Fürth, Zürndorffer und J. Sommer, 1844. Based on the Wagenseil edition. Hebrew and German.
Lasar Grünhut, Die Rundreise des R. Petachjah aus Regensburg...von L. Grünhut, Jerusalem Frankfurt a/M 1904-1905. A critical edition with German translation, based on the Prague edition with variants from Leipzig manuscript and some other printed editions.
Stefan Schreiner, Jüdische Reisen im Mittelalter, Leipzig und Köln: Parkland Verlag, 1998, pp. 121-164, 231-237.
3.3.5. English
Abraham Benish, Travels of Rabbi Petachia of Ratisbon…by Dr. Abraham Benish with explanatory notes, by the translator and William F. Ainsworth...London, Messrs Trubner & Co. Paternoster Row, 1856. Based on the Wagenseil edition. Hebrew and English. (London, Longman and Co., Paternoster Row, 1861).
Elkan Nathan Adler, Jewish Travellers in the Middle Ages…Edited and with Introduction by Elkan Nathan Adler, London: G. Routledge, 1930, pp. 64-91. Based on the Prague edition. (New York, Dover Publications, Inc. 1987).
3.3.6. Russian
Pavel. Margolin translator, (Three travelogues), St. Petersburg 1881. Based on the Carmoly edition. Russian and Hebrew.
3.3.7. Spanish
José Ramón Magdalena Nom de Déu, Palestina y Eurasia a finales del siglo xii (Viajes de Rabi Yaaʻqob bar Netane’el ha-Kohen y Rabi Petahyah de Regensburg)…por José Ramón Magdalena Nom de Déu, Barcelona: Universidad de Barcelona, 1989, pp. 19-59.
3.3.8. Italian
Isabella Ventrice, Il viaggio di Rabbi Petachiah di Ratisbona, A cura di I. Ventrice, Firenze: Giuntina, 2009. The Hebrew text is a photocopy of the Benish edition.
3.3.9. Czech
Jirina Sedinova, Benjamín z Tudely Petachja z Rezna, Dva stredoveke Hebrejske Cestopisy Prelozila Jirina Sedinova, Prague: Argo, 2002, pp. 55-73.
3.3.10. Dutch
Rondreis van rabbi Petachia uit Regensburg, Amsterdam: P. Broers, 2005. Dutch and Hebrew.
3.4. Studies
א’ דוד, ‘סבוב ר’ פתחיה מרגנשבורג בנוסח חדש’, קבץ על יד, יג (תשנ״ו), עמ’ 235-269.
א’ יערי, מסעות ארץ-ישראל, תל-אביב תש״ו, מהדורות נוספות: רמת-גן 1976, תל-אביב 1996.
י’ פראוור, ‘תיאורי מסע עבריים בארץ-ישראל בתקופה הצלבנית’, קתדרה, 40 (תשמ״ו), עמ’ 56-62.
י’ פראוור, תולדות היהודים בממלכת הצלבנים, ירושלים תשס״א, עמ׳ 206-213.
מ״א שולוואס, ׳הידיעה בגיאוגרפיה אצל היהודים בתחום התרבות של היהדות האשכנזית בימי הביניים׳, ספר יובל לכבוד...אברהם ווייס, ניו יורק תשכ״ד, עמ׳ תקכט-תקלו, תקמב-תקמד, תקמט-תקנא.
C. R. Beazley, The Dawn of Modern Geography, vol. II, London, pp. 267-273.
P. Borchardt, «Der Reiseweg des Rabbi Benjamín von Tudela und des Rabbi Petachia aus Regensburg in Mesopotamien und Persien», Jahrbuch der Jüdisch-Literarischen Gesellschaft, XVI (1924), s. 137-162.
A. David, «El itinerario de Rabi Petahia de Ratisbona, una reconsideración», Oriente desde Occidente, Los escritos de viajes judios, cristianos y musulmanes sobre Siria-Palestina (ss. XII-XVII). En M. José Cano Pérez, T. M. García Arévalo (eds.), Granada: Editorial Universidad de Granada, 2012, pp. 64-101.
A. David, «R. Petahiah of Regensburg‘s Itinerary – A Reconsideration», L‘ecriture de L‘ histoire Juive. M‘elanges en l‘honeur de G‘errard Nahon, Paris-Louvain 2012, pp. 321-334.
G. Hassan-Rokem, «Homo viator et narrans Judaicus», Medieval Jewish Voices in the European Narrative of the Wandering Jew, Europäische Ethnologie und Folklore im internationalen Kontext,Festschrift für Leander Petzold zum 65 Geburtstag, Frankfurt am Main 1999, pp. 93-102.
A. Kuyt, «Die Welt aus sefardischer und ashkenazischer sicht: Die mittelalterlichen hebräischen Reiseberichte des Benjamín von Tudela und des Petachja von Regensburg», Chloe, Beihefte zum Daphnis, Erkundung und Beschreibung der Welt zur Poetic der Reise- und Länderberichte, Herausgegeben von X. von Ertzdorff und G. Giesenmann, Amsterdam – New York 2003, pp. 214-215, 223-231.
J. Prawer, The History of the Jews in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, Oxford 1988, pp. 206-215.
R. Röhricht, Biblioteca Geographica Palestinae, Jerusalem 1963, pp. 40-41.
4. Jacob son of Nathanel ha-Cohen (second half of the 12th century)
This traveller came probably from Germany to the Land of Israel in the first half of the Crusade period, namely before the conquest of the country by Saladin in 1187. He started his short account by describing his journey in the country and mentions several localities, such as: Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Acre and some other places in the north and the south, which he passed. He also mentions the holy graves of Biblical and Tanaitic figures in most of them. It seems that his description is a draft, since there is disorder in surveying the places from a geographical point of view. Maybe this has been done by a copyist of this text. It seems that the direction of his homeward journey was south via Sinai peninsula to Alexandria, but he did not leave details of that trip, just a short description of the town of Alexandria and its harbour.
4.1. Manuscript
ספור מסעות ומקומות א״י וקברות הצדיקים אשר הם שם שחבר כהר״ר יעקב בר נתנאל כהן כשנכנס לארץ ישראל. Cambridge – University library Add. 539, fol. 139v-140r. 16th century. Italian script.
4.2. Hebrew Printed editions
לזר גרינהוט, סבוב הרב רבי פתחיה מרעגנשפורג Lasar Grünhut, An appendix edition in Petahya of Regensburg Sibbuv edition of L. Grünhut, Jerusalem 1905, pp. 1-14.
יהודה דוד אייזנשטיין, אוצר מסעות Judah David Eisenstein, Ozar Massaoth, New York 1926, pp. 58-62. Second edition Tel-Aviv 1969.
אברהם יערי, מסעות ארץ ישראל Abraham Yaari, Maso’t Eretz-Israel, Jerusalem 1946, pp. 55-62. Second edition, Ramat Gan 1976.
4.3. Translated editions
4.3.1. English
Elkan Nathan Adler, Jewish Travellers in the Middle Ages, London 1930, pp. 92-99. Second edition, New York 1987.
4.3.2. French
Haim Harboun, Les Voyageurs juifs du Moyen Age XIIe siécle, translated by H. Harboun. Aix-en-Provence 1986, pp. 187-204.
4.3.3. Spanish
José Ramón Magdalena Nom de Déu, Palestina y Eurasia a finales del siglo xii, Barcelona 1989, pp. 8-18.
4.4. Studies
י׳ פראוור, ׳תיאורי מסע עבריים בארץ-ישראל בתקופה הצלבנית׳, קתדרה, 40 (תשמ״ו), עמ׳ 41-45.
י׳ פראוור, תולדות היהודים בממלכת הצלבנים, ירושלים תשס״א, עמ׳ 187-192.
J. Prawer, The History of the Jews in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, Oxford 1988, pp. 184-191.
José Ramón Magdalena Nom de Deu, Palestina y Eurasia a finales del siglo xii, Barcelona 1989, pp. 5-7.
5. Judah Alharizi (1220?)
Distinguished poet, philosopher, translator and physician from Toledo (1165-1225). He is known for his Judeo-Arabic works and as a great translator from Arabic into Hebrew, inter alia: Guide for the Perplexed of Maimonides and part of Maimonides’ commentary to the Mishnah as well as Al-Hariri’s Makama. He is also well known as a great poet whose comprehensive collection of poetry was well known both in the west and the east, and many of his poetical works were preserved in the Cairo Genizah. His most famous treatise is Makama Tahkemoni, which is divided to fifty chapters. Chapter 46 is called Moznei ha-Dor (The Appraisal of the People) and includes his travels to the East and in the East. He started his journey from Toledo in 1215 and traveled through Catalonia, southern France, and Provence. From Marseille he sailed to Alexandria and went to Cairo. From there he found his way to Jerusalem and other localities in the Land of Israel. He continued his travels in Syria and Iraq. The last stop in his journey was Aleppo where he resided and where passed away in 1225.
Tahkemoni is a well-known text, which is preserved in several Hebrew manuscripts containing the complete text. Hundreds of fragments were also preserved in the Cairo Genizah. An excellent critical-philological edition of this text was recently prepared by Joseph Yahalom and his pupil Naoya Katsumata, Jerusalem 2010.
Alharizi’s travel description to the East is included in Tahkemoni, chapter 46 as mentioned above. It was published separately a few years earlier in a scholarly edition by Joseph Yahalom and Joshua Blau, entitled: Masei Yehudah, The Wanderings of Judah Alharizi. The editors published this text in two different versions (pp. 49-76). Actually, Alharizi’s travelogue to the East is known in five different versions, which are included in the edition of Masei Yehudah.
One version - part of his journey to the East is preserved in a short Makamah which was published for the first time by Samuel Miklos Stern. It is found in the Oxford - Bodleian Library, Pocock 50 (Neubauer 1976). This is a brief description of his journey from Spain to the East. This Makamah republished in Masei Yehudah as Mahberet ha-Nedivim (Patrons), (pp. 77-89).
Those Hebrew versions were composed in different time by Alharizi in the second half of the second decade of the thirteenth century. Alharizi also left after 1220 his journey description in Arabic which called: Al-rawadah al-aniqah is included in Masei Yehudah, pp. 91-167 as a synoptic edition: Arabic and the Hebrew translation.
5.1. Hebrew editions
תחכמוני Tahkemoni, Constantinople 1578
תחכמוני Tahkemoni, Amsterdam 1729 .
תחכמוני Tachkemoni Makamen oder Divan von Jehuda ben Salomo al-Charisi...herausgegeben von M. G. Stern. Vienna 1854.
Judae Harizii, Macamae. Pauli de Lagarde studio et sumptibus editae, Goettingen 1883. Introduction in Latin (Photo copy: Hannover 1924).
תחכמוני Tahkemoni, edited by Aharon Loeb Bisco. Warsaw 1894.
תחכמוני Tahkemoni, edited by Aharon Kaminka. Warsaw 1899. Including: introduction and annotations.
תחכמוני Tahkemoni, edited by Judah Toporovsky, with introduction by I. Zemora. Tel-Aviv 1952.
תחכמוני Tahkemoni or The Tales of Heman the Ezrahite, a critical edition, edited by Joseph Yahalom and Naoya Katsumata. Jerusalem 2010.
5.2. Translation
5.2.1. English
Victor Emanuel Reichert, The Tahkemoni of Judah Al-Harizi, Vol. I-II, Jerusalem 1965-1973. A facsimile of the first printed edition, Constantinople 1578, was printed in the second volume
David Simha Segal, The Book of Tahkemoni. Jewish Tales from Medieval Spain Judah Alharizi, London, Portland, Oregon 2001.
5.2.2. Spanish
Carlos Del Valle, Las Asambleas de los Sabios (Tahkemoni), Murcia 1988.
5.2.3. German
S. I. Kampf, Die ersten Makamen aus dem Tachkemoni oder Divan des Charisi, nebst dessen Vorrede, Berlin: A. Duncker, 1845. Hebrew and German. Only the first chapters.
5.3. Studies
ח‘ שירמן, תולדות השירה העברית בספרד הנוצרית ובדרום צרפת, ערך והשלים וליווה בהערות ע‘ פליישר, ירושלים תשנ“ז, עמ‘ 145-221.
י‘ יהלום וי‘ בלאו, מסעי יהודה. חמישה פרקי מסע מחורזים לאלחריזי, ירושלים תשס“ג.
י‘ יהלום ונ‘ קצומטה, יהודה אלחריזי, תחכמוני, ירושלים תש“ע
(in the end there is a comprehensive list of studies on him and his workings).
M. Steinschneider, Die Hebräischen Übersetzungen des Mittelalters und die Juden als Dolmetscher, Graz 19562, 251, 273-274, 354, 428-433, 851.852, 857, 899, 923.
J. Schirmann, Die Maqamen des Hariri, Frankfurt a M. 1930.
S. M. Stern, «An Unpublished Maqama by Al-Harizi» Papers of the Institute of Jewish Studies London, vol. I, Jerusalem 1964, pp. 186-210.
J. Sadan, «Un intellectual juif au confluent de deux cultures: Yehuda al-Harizi et sa biographie arabe», M. Fierro (ed.), Judios y musulmanes en al-Andalus y el Magreb, Madrid 2002, pp. 105-151.
6. Joseph de Montagna‘s Letter from Jerusalem (1481)
This letter was sent from Jerusalem to his children in the Lombardy region (North Italy) in the end of 1480. In this letter he briefly describes his overland journey from Beirut (in Syria) to Jerusalem in that year. From Beirut he went to Damascus. From there he traveled after a short while to the Land of Israel via the Golan heights and crossed the Jordan River on his way to Safed. From Safed he journeyed southward on the main road on the Samarian and Judean mountains to Jerusalem. In his letter he mentions some interesting geographical details in some localities that he passed on his way to Jerusalem. He also mentions some traditions of holy graves, mainly of Biblical figures which were located on his route to Jerusalem and in the town. He immediately became the main figure in the Jerusalem Jewish community leadership.
6.1. Manuscripts
Oxford – Bodleian Library Opp. Add. 40 178 (Neubauer 2585), pp. 92r-92v.
Warsaw – Zydowski Instytut Historyczny (Jewish Historical Institute) 253, pp. 120r-120v.
6.2. Editions
אברהם משה לונץ, מכתב מסע משנת רמ”א Jerusalem, edited by Abraham Moses Luntz, 6 (1904), pp. 336-338.
אברהם משה לונץ, טופס הכתב ששלח כמ׳ יוסף מנטבייא האשכנזי מירושלים ללונברדיאה משנת רמ״א ha-Meamer, edited by Abraham Moses Luntz, 3 (1920), pp. 89-92.
אברהם יערי, אגרות ארץ ישראל Abraham Yaari, Iggerot Eretz-Israel, Jerusalem 1943 (Ramat Gan 1971), pp. 89-93.
אברהם דוד, שאלו שלום ירושלים Abraham David, Shaalu Shelom Yerushalayim, Tel-Aviv 2003, pp. 111-119 (a critical edition).
6.3. Translations
6.3.1. Spanish
José Ramón Magdalena Nom de Déu, Epístola de R. Yosef da Montagna, Relatos de viajes y epístolas de peregrinos judíos a Jerusalén (1481-1523), Barcelona 1987, pp. 95-100.
6.3.2. Czech
Daniel Bousek, Dopis Rabi Josefa da Montagna z Jeruzalema (1481), Dopis Rabi Ovadji otci a dalsi Hebrejke renesanci cestopisi, Praha 2004, pp. 19-23.
6.4. Studies
ש. ח. קוק, ר’ יוסף דמונטנייא אשכנזי פרנס בירושלים, ציון, א (תרצ”ו), עמ’ 255-256.
ש. ח. קוק, עיונים ומחקרים, ב, ירושלים תשכ”ג, עמ’ 303-305.
א’ דוד, שאלו שלום ירושלים, תל-אביב 2003, עמ’ 111-113.
7. Meshullam of Volterra (1481)
Meshullam (Buonaventura) ben Menahem (Emanuele) came from a wealthy Tuscan Jewish family. He resided in Volterra and appears to have conducted a money lending business there and in Florence for some twenty years. He was also a very successful merchant who dealt with a variety of commodities.
Meshullam's fame is mainly due to his journeys which he recorded in Hebrew describing his journeys around the Mediterranean, Egypt, the land of Israel, and Syria in 1481. In one of his journeys, he writes that he took a vow, which he intended to keep. However, it is clear that besides his spiritual and religious motives, trade was on his mind. The original unique manuscript is preserved at the Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana in Florence. Large parts from the outset of his journey up to the Aegean Sea voyage close to Rhodes are missing. His description is clear; he gives a detailed account on the daily life of each location he arrives at. However, his descriptions from a geographic and economic perspective are much more significant. Volterra also gives an exhaustive description on the Jewish life in Egypt and the land of Israel, and Jerusalem in particular. His voyage ends with a short description of his journey back to Italy, which ended in Venice.
Meshullam traveled again to the Near East, seven years later, as mentioned by ‹Obadiah of Bertinoro in a letter from Jerusalem to his father in Italy in 1488. Obadiah notes that he met Meshullam on the ship, and that they sailed together from Palermo (Sicily) to the East (Alexandria) but that between the islands Chios and Rhodes in the Aegean sea, Meshullam changed his mind because of an incident that occurred to him (he had words with one of the sailors, and harshly punished for it) and, instead of continuing to Alexandria, he traveled to Constantinople on a different ship.
7.1. Manuscript
Firenze – Medicea-Laurenziana plut II, 44.
7.2. Editions
דוד קשטלי, ׳מכתב מסע לר׳ משולם בכמ״ר מנחם מוואלטרה משנת הרמ״א לב״ע׳ David Castelli, in Jerusalem, edited by Abraham Moses Luntz, Jerusalem 1882, pp. 166-219
יהודה דוד אייזנשטיין, אוצר מסעות, Judah David Eisenstein In Ozar Massaoth, New York 1926, pp. 86-104.
אברהם יערי, מסעות ארץ ישראל, Abraham Yaari, Maso›ot Eretz-Israel, Jerusalem 1946, pp. 114-125 (some parts)
אברהם יערי, מסע משולם מוולטרה בארץ-ישראל Abraham Yaari, Masa’ Meshullam of Volterra, Jerusalem 1948 (critical edition).
7.3. Translations
7.3.1. English
Elkan Nathan Adler, Jewish Travellers in the Middle Ages, London 1930, pp. 156-208. Second edition, New York 1987.
7.3.2. Italian
Alessandra Veronese, Meshullam da Volterra, Viaggio in Terra d’Israel, Rimini 1989.
7.3.3. Spanish
José Ramón Magdalena Nom de Déu, Libro de viajes de Meshulam da Volterra, Relatos de viajes y epístolas de peregrinos judíos a Jerusalén (1481-1523), Barcelona 1987, pp. 11-17, 41-94.
7.3.4. Czech
Daniel Bousek, Cesta Rabi Mesulama Ben Menachema z Volterry (1481), Dopis Rabi Ovadji otci a dalsi Hebrejke renesanci cestopisi, Praha 2004, pp. 25-80.
7.4. Studies
א’ יערי, מבוא מסע משולם מוולטרה בארץ-ישראל בשנת רמ״א, ירושלים תש״ט, עמ’ 35-9.
U. Cassuto, «Un viaggiatore ebreo volterrano del secolo XV», Miscellanea storica della Valdelsa XXVII (1919), fascicolo 2, pp. 66-70.
M. Battistini, «Gli ebrei in Volterra», Memorie storiche volterrane, Volterra 1922, pp. 18-27.
L. Sestieri, «Un viaggiatore ebreo del secolo XV. Meshullam ben Menachem da Volterra», La Rassegna Mensile d’Israel, X (1935-1936), pp. 478-492.
A. Veronese, «Il viaggio di Meshullam ben Menahem da Volterra», Viaggiatori ebrei. Berichte jüdischer Reisender vom Mittelalter bis in die Gegenwart, a cura di G. Busi, Bologna 1992, pp. 45-66.
M. Luzzati & A. Veronese, Banche e banchieri a Volterra nel Medioevo e nel Rinascimento, Pisa 1993.
A.Veronese, Meshullam da Volterra, Viaggio in Terra d‘Israel, Rimini 1989, pp. 11-22.
A. Veronese, Una famiglia di banchieri ebrei tra XIV e XVI secolo: i da Volterra. Reti di credito nell’Italia del Rinascimento, Pisa 1998.
8. Obadiah son of Abraham of Bertinoro (1488)
Italian Rabbinical scholar who is well known as the most famous Mishnah commentator whose family or he himself came from Bertinoro in Forli region in Italy. In the autumn 1486 he started his journey to Jerusalem from his hometown Citta di Castello where he had a financial business. From there he passed through Rome, Salerno and Naples. There he embarked on his voyage to the Land of Israel along the Mediterranean basin, via Palermo and Messina in Sicily, and Rhodes to Alexandria in Egypt. From there he sailed on the Nile river to Cairo, and from there he went in land route via the Sinai peninsula to the Land of Israel. The first place he passed in that country was Gaza, on the southern border. From there he went northward to Hebron on his way to Jerusalem where he arrived two days before Passover (March the 25th) 1488. He settled there and became a prominent leader of the small Jewish community.
His journey as well as his first steps in his new residence are described in a comprehensive letter that he sent to his father in Italy, which was written six months after his arrival in Jerusalem. In that description he gives wonderful geographical and climatic details, the maritime and land route he traveled in his journey as well as on the daily life in the ship or the caravan. He also draws attention to the nice panoramic view of the port towns he stayed in for a short time while in his journey. He also emphasizes his own impressions on everywhere he found a Jewish community. He also left his impressions about Jewish life, such: size of the community, the leadership, economic and spiritual life. His journey lasted approximately a year and a half. As we have seen, his journey began with a voyage from Naples in 1486 to Alexandria in Egypt, traveling via a circuitous route which obliged him to spend extended periods in various ports. Rabbi Obadiah mentions that if he would have known that the shorter maritime route from Venice to the Near East would be opened, he would not sailed from Naples. For a long time it was closed to Jewish people as there was an edict forbidding ship‘s captains to transport Jewish travelers from Venice. The background of this edict, which was issued by Pope Martin V, was a reaction to a deep struggle between the Franciscans and the Jews in Jerusalem at the end of the third decade of the 15th century.
8.1. Manuscripts
«כתבים» מאת «עבדיה מבירטנורה» London – British Library Add. 27078 (Magoliouth 1074). Fol. 141v-155v. Copied by Abraham of St. Angello in Ferrara 1572. Italian script.
Moscow – Russian State Library – Günzburg 333. Fol. 163r-173r. Copied in the 16th century. Ashkenazic script.
London – Montifiore Library 479. Fol. 248r-263v. Copied by Abraham Joseph Solomon Graiziano in the 17th century. Italian script.
New York – Jewish Theological Seminary of America Library – Ms. 3617 (ENA 4155). pp. 1-31. Copied in the 19th century from London – British Library Add. 27078. Italian script.
8.2. Hebrew editions
Senior Sachs, «Zwei Briefe Obadja‘s aus Bartenuro aus dem Jahre 5248 und 5249», Jahbuch für die Geschichte der Juden und des Judenthums, 3 (1863), pp. 193-224. This edition is based on Moscow – Russian State Library – Günzburg 333 (see above) and came out also in a different booklet (Leipzig 1863, pp. 3-29).
שני מכתבים מהגאון המפורסם רבינו עובדיה מברטנורא זי“ע אשר כתב לאביו מעה“ק ירושלם בשנת רמ“ח והשני בשנת רמ“ט, Yehudah vi-Yerushalem, ed. By Joel Moses Salomon, I (1877-1878), pp. 99-101, 109-111, 125-127, 133-135, 149, 151 (incomplete).
דרכי ציון. Darkei Zion, Kolomea 1886, fol. 5r-17v. (Photo copy from thi edition came out in New York 1955; New York 1970? and Tel-Aviv 1982).
דרכי ציון Darkei Zion, Munkacs 1895 .
דרכי ציון Darkei Zion, Warsaw 1895, fol. 2r-20v.
מכתבים מרבינו עובדיה מברטנורה Obadia of Bertinoro, Letters, edited by Abraham Moses Luntz, Ha-Meamer, 3 (1920), pp. 93-145.
המסע לארץ ישראל בשנת רמ״ז-רמ״ח The Voyage to the Land of Israel, Berlin, Klal, 1922, pp. 7-53.
דרכי ציון Darkei Zion, Piotrkow 1928, pp. 1-9 .
דרכי ציון Darkei Zion, Jerusalem 1931, pp. 1-23.
דרכי ציון Darkei Zion, Bardejov 1934, pp. Fol. 2r-14v.
י״ד אייזנשטיין, אוצר מסעות Judah David Eisenstein, Ozar Massaoth, New York 1926, pp. 106-121. Second edition, Tel-Aviv 1969.
א׳ יערי, אגרות ארץ ישראל Abraham Yaari, Iggrot Eretz-Israel, Jerusalem 1943 (Ramat Gan 1971), pp. 103-138.
מ״ע הרטום וא׳ דוד, ׳ר׳ עובדיה מברטנורא ואיגרותיו מארץ-שראל׳, יהודים באיטליה, מחקרים יוצאים במלאת מאה שנה להולדתו של מ״ד קאסוטו, Jews in Italy. Studies Dedicated to the Memory of U. Cassuto, edited by H. Beinart, Jerusalem 1988, pp. 24-100.
מ״ע הרטום וא׳ דוד, מאיטליה לירושלים, Menahem Emanuel Artom and Abraham David, From Italy to Jerusalem, Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University, 1997 (Second edition of the last one)
8.3. Translations
8.3.1. German
Adolf Neubauer, «Zwei Briefe Obadja‘s aus Bartenuro aus dem Jahre 5248 und 5249», Jahbuch für die Geschichte der Juden und des Judenthums, 3 (1863), pp. 225-270. This edition came out also in a separate booklet, Leipzig 1863.
8.3.2. French
Moise Schwab, Voyages Lettres d’Obadia de Bertinoro (1487-1489), Paris 1866.
Haim Harboun, Relation de Rabbi Obadia mi-Bartenora, Les Voyageurs juifs du XIIIe, XIVe et XVe siécles, Aix en Provence 1988, pp. 163-214.
8.3.3. Italian
Abram Vita Morpurgo, «Viaggi di Rabb. Obadia di Bartenora», Corriere Israelitico, 5 (1866-1867), pp. 57-60, 87-90, 121-125, 151-154, 181-183, 219-221, 277-280, 312-313.
Giulio Busi, Obadyah Yare da Bertinoro, Lettere dalla Terra Santa, Rimini 1991, pp. 7-64.
8.3.4. English
Adolf Neubauer, «Selection from two letters written by Obadia da Bertinoro in the years 1488 and 1489», Miscellany of Hebrew Literature, London 1872, vol. I, pp. 113-150.
Elkan Nathan Adler, Jewish Travellers in the Middle Ages, London 1930 (New York 1987), pp. 209-244.
Yaakov Dovid Shulman, Pathway to Jerusalem. The Travel Letters of Rabbi Ovadiah of Bartenura, New York-London-Jerusalem 1992, pp. 7-64.
8.3.5. Spanish
José Ramón Magdalena Nom de Déu, Tres epistolas de R. Obadyah da Bertinoro (1488-1489), Relatos de viajes y epístolas de peregrinos judios a Jerusalén (1481-1523), Barcelona 1987, pp. 21-28, 101-147.
8.3.6. Czech
Daniel Bousek, Tridopisy Rabi Ovadji z Bertinory (1488-1491), Dopis Rabi Ovadji otci a dalsi Hebrejke renesanci cestopisi, Praha 2004, pp. 81-114, 121-127.
8.4. Studies
ש׳ גוטסמן, ׳ביאורים לסמ״ג, הלכות ר״ה יו״כ, סוכה ולולב לרבנו מתתיהו טרייויש ורבנו עובדיה מברטנורא׳, ישורון, ו (תשנ״ט), עמ׳ עא-קי.
פ׳ גראייבסקי, חזון עובדיה: רבנו עובדיה ירא מברטנורא ז״ל. ירושלים תרצ״ח.
א׳ דוד, ׳המשמעות ההיסטורית של ה׳זקנים׳ בירושלים בדברי רבינו עובדיה מברטנורא׳, פרקים בתולדות ירושלים בימי הביניים, בעריכת ב״ז קדר וצ׳ ברס, ירושלים תשל״ט, עמ׳ 221-243.
הנ״ל, ׳פרשת ה׳זקנים׳ בירושלים בשלהי ימי-הביניים׳, קהל ישראל. השלטון העצמי היהודי לדורותיו, כר כרך ב, ימי הביניים והעת החדשה המוקדמת׳, בעריכת א׳ גרוסמן וי׳ קפלן, ירושלים תשס״ד, עמ׳ 175-195.
א׳ הורוביץ, ׳על הליכות הדת של היהודים בסוף המאה הט״ו מתוך אגרות ר׳ עובדיה מברטנורא׳, פעמים, 37 (תשמ״ט), עמ׳ 31-40.
מ״ע הרטום וא׳ דוד, ׳ר׳ עובדיה מברטנורא ואיגרותיו מארץ-שראל׳, יהודים באיטליה, מחקרים יוצאים במלאת מאה שנה להולדתו של מ״ד קאסוטו, בעריכת ח׳ ביינארט, ירושלים תשמ״ח, עמ׳ 24-108.
א׳ טואף, ׳ידיעות חדשות על חיי ר׳ עובדיה מברטנורא׳, פעמים, 37 (תשמ״ט), עמ׳ 24-30.
ד׳ יעקבי, ׳הפרנציסקאנים בהר ציון ויהודי ירושלים במאה הט״ו, עיון מחודש׳, קתדרה, 39 (תשמ״ו), עמ׳ 51-70.
י״ד לרנר, ׳פירוש הרע״ב והגניזה הקהירית׳, ספר זכרון לשמואל בלקין, ניו יורק תשמ״א, עמ׳ 128-131.
י״ד לרנר, רבינו עובדיה מברטנורא, ירושלים תשמ״ח.
י׳ פראוור, ׳מנזר הפרנציסקאנים בהר ציון ויהודי ירושלים במאה הט״ו׳, ידיעות החברה לחקירת ארץ ישראל ועתיקותיה, יד (תש״ח), עמ׳ 15-20.
מ״ד קאסוטו, ׳מכתבי ר׳ עבדיה מברטינורו׳, הצופה לחכמת ישראל, י (תרפ״ו), עמ׳ 296-302.
א׳ ריינר, ׳הנהגת הקהילה בירושלים בשלהי התקופה הממלוכית: תעודות ובירורים בשולי פרשת הזקנים״׳, שלם, ו (תשנ״ב), עמ׳ 23-81.
א׳ שוחטמן, ׳ר׳ עובדיה מברטנורא –פרשן או פוסק׳, פעמים, 37 (תשמ״ט), עמ׳ 3-23.
M. Arkin, «Travellers tales three visitors to Jerusalem», Jewish Affairs, 51, 2 (1996), pp. 70-75.
G. Busi, «Ovadyah da Bertinoro come viaggiatore», Ovadyia Yare da Bertinoro e la presenza ebraica in Romagna nel Quattrocento, a cura di G. Busi, Torino 1989, pp. 21-33.
L. M. Caro, «Rabbi Ovadya' da Bertinoro e il suo supercommentario a Rashi», Hebraica; miscellanea di studi in onore di Sergio J. Sierra per il suo 75. compleanno. A cura di F. Israel, A.M. Rabello, A.M. Somekh, Torino, Istituto di Studi Ebraici Scuola Rabbinica «S.H. Margulies - D. Disegni», 1998, pp. 165-168.
B. Chiesa, Il supercommentario di 'Ovadyah da Bertinoro a Rasi, Ovadyia Yare da Bertinoro e la presenza ebraica in Romagna nel Quattrocento, a cura di G. Busi, Torino 1989, pp. 35-46.
E. S. Horowitz, «Towards a social history of Jewish popular religion: Obadiah of Bertinoro on the Jews of Palermo», Journal of Religious History 17, 2 (1992), pp. 138-151.
A. Kern-Ulmer, «Jüdische Reisende des 15. Jahrhunderts in Ägypten», Kairos XXIX (1987), pp. 233-251.
M. Mortara, «Note al viaggio di R. Obadja di Bertinoro», Corriere Israelitico 5 (1866-1867), pp. 369-372, 6 (1867-1868), pp. 54-56.
S. Simonsohn, «Divieto di trasportare ebrei in Palestina», Italia Judaica II (1986), pp. 39-53.
G. Tamani, «La diffusione del comment alla Misnah di ‚Ovadyah Yare da Bertinoro», Ovadyia Yare da Bertinoro e la presenza ebraica in Romagna nel Quattrocento, a cura di G. Busi, Torino 1989, pp. 47-56.
A. Toaff, «Ovadiah da Bertinoro nella realta italiana del suo tempo», L’interculturalità dell’ebraismo, a cura di M. Perani. Ravenna 2004, pp. 257-268.
9. The anonymous traveler (1495)
An Italian anonymous traveler who embarked from Venice on August the 5th 1495 together with his brother Yekutiel and proceeded across the Mediterranean to Beirut after 34 days, on September the 8th. In his letter from Jerusalem to one of his friends or relatives in Italy two three months later he describes his journey both in sea and land. In the maritime route he sailed from Venice via Pola, Corfu, Modone, Rhodes, Famagusta and Beirut. He preferred instead of the via Marris route southward to take the longer, but more secure, route from Beirut to Safed via Damascus and Golan Heights. He arrived in Safed on October 7th and after a short stay there he arrived in Jerusalem on November 6th 1495 and settled there. The writer gives some typical topographical and economic details of what he found in the above mentioned port cities where he disembarked. He left more details about the other localities he passed in his land route (Beirut, Damascus, Safed and Jerusalem), which also includes a few details on the Jewish communities in each one. During his short stay in Safed he specifically sought out the venerated gravesites of ancient Jewish saints, which are located around Safed. In Jerusalem he also describes in more detail Jewish communal life and also surveys several ancient sites in that town and its vicinity. At the end of the letter the writer appended a short guide, useful shipboard advice for travelers embarking in Venice in the direction to the Land of Israel.
9.1. Manuscripts
Moscow – Russian State Library – Günzburg 333, fol. 155r-158v.
Oxford – Bodleian Library Ms. Michael 85 (Neubauer 1561), fol. 24v (only the beginning).
9.2. Printed editions
S. Sachs, «Zwei Briefe Obadja’s aus Bartenuro aus dem Jahre 5248 und 5249», Jahbuch für die Geschichte der Juden und des Judenthums, 3 (1863), pp. 271-284. This edition came out also in a different booklet, Leipzig 1863.
‚שני מכתבים מהגאון המפורסם רבינו עובדיה מברטנורא זי“ע אשר כתב לאביו מעה“ק ירושלם בשנת רמ“ח והשני בשנת רמ“ט‘, Yehudah vi-Yerushalem, ed. By Joel Moses Salomon, II (1878), pp. 6-7, 14-15, 22-23, 30-31.
איגרת נוסע אלמוני תלמיד הרע“ב Abraham Moses Luntz, Ha-Meaämer III (1920), pp. 151-170
המסע לארץ ישראל בשנת רמ“ז-רמ“ח The Voyage to the Land of Israel 1487-1488, Berlin, Klal, 1922, pp. 54-71.
י״ד, אייזנשטיין, אוצר מסעות Judah David Eisenstein, Ozar Massaoth, New York 1926 (Tel-Aviv 1969), pp. 124-130.
איגרת הארכי, דרכי ציון Iggeret ha-Archi, Darkei Zion, Piotrkow 1928, pp. 29-40
איגרת הארכי , דרכי ציון Iggeret ha-Archi, Darkei Zion,Bardejov 1934, fol. 16r-22v
א’ יערי, אגרות ארץ ישראל Abraham Yaari, Iggrot Eretz-Israel, Jerusalem 1943 (Ramat Gan 1971), pp. 144-160.
א׳ דוד, שאלו שלום ירושלים Abraham David, Shaalu Shelom Yerushalayim, Tel-Aviv 2003, pp. 142-170 (A critical edition).
9.3. Translations
9.3.1. German
Adolf Neubauer, «Ein anonymer Reisebrief von Jahre 1495», Jahbuch für die Geschichte der Juden und des Judenthums, 3 (1863), pp. 285-302. This edition came out also in a different booklet, Leipzig 1863.
9.3.2. Spanish
José Ramón Magdalena Nom de Déu, Epístola de un anónimo discípulo de R. Obadyah da Bertinoro desde Jerusalén (1495), Relatos de viajes y epístolas de peregrinos judíos a Jerusalén (1481-1523), Barcelona 1987, pp. 29-31, 151-168.
9.3.3. English
Yaakov Dovid Shulman, Pathway to Jerusalem. The Travel Letters of Rabbi Ovadiah of Bartenura, New York-London-Jerusalem 1992, pp. 75-93.
9.3.4. Czech
Daniel Bousek, Dopis zaka Rabi Ovadji z Bertinory z Jeruzalema (1495), Dopis Rabi Ovadji otci a dalsi Hebrejke renesanci cestopisi, Praha 2004, pp. 129-144.
9.4. Studies
א’ יערי, אגרות ארץ ישראל, 1943, עמ’ 144-146.
א’ דוד, שאלו שלום ירושלים, תל-אביב 2003, עמ’ 142-147.