A genizah is a depository for discarded religious texts. The texts contain God’s name and thus, according to Jewish law, they cannot be thrown out. Genizahs are most commonly found in attics or basements of synagogues. One of the most famous genizahs was found in the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat (Old Cairo), untouched for centuries, its contents hidden until their later rediscovery. The Cairo Genizah consists of approximately 400,000 texts including Biblical, Talmudic and Rabbinic writings, as well as other documents that shed light on a thousand years of Jewish Middle-Eastern and North African history.
Watch this video to get a glimpse of the fascinating stories that unfold when we open the long lost letters found in the Genizah:
Want to learn more about the Cairo Genizah and it's long lost treasures?
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