Published: 1/11/2013 8:26 PM | Last update: 1/11/2013 8:26 PM
Israeli library unveils ancient Afghan manuscriptsJERUSALEM - A
trove of ancient manuscripts in Hebrew characters rescued from
caves in a Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan is
providing the first physical evidence of a Jewish community that
thrived there a thousand years ago. Israel's National Library
unveiled the cache of recently purchased documents that run the
gamut of life experiences, including biblical commentaries,
personal letters and financial records. Genizah, a Hebrew term
that loosely translates as "storage," refers to a storeroom
adjacent to a synagogue or Jewish cemetery where Hebrew-language
books and papers are kept. Under Jewish law, it is forbidden to
throw away writings containing the formal names of God, so they
are either buried or stashed away. The Afghan collection gives
an unprecedented look into the lives of Jews in ancient Persia
in the 11th century. The paper manuscripts, preserved over the
centuries by the dry,