Hebrew manuscript fragment found

An important Hebrew manuscript fragment from the 13th century containing a commentary on the Exodus of the Israelites by the Jewish scholar Menahem Ben Shlomo has been discovered in the Dresden City Archives. The text, originally written in Rome in 1139, was recycled in bookbinding in the 17th century and used as a cover for court records. The find points to the medieval beginnings of Jewish life in Dresden, where a Jewish community with a synagogue existed from 1265. The exact origin of the parchment is a matter of conjecture and a digital publication is being planned.