Genizot are temporary repositories designated for the storage of worn-out Hebrew language books and papers on religious topics prior to proper cemetery burial, it being forbidden to throw away writings containing the name of God.

The Cairo Geniza, alternatively spelled the Cairo Genizah, is a collection of some 400,000 [1] Jewish manuscript fragments and Fatimid administrative documents that were kept in the genizah or storeroom of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat or Old Cairo, Egypt. [2]

Genizah, in Judaism, a repository for timeworn sacred manuscripts and ritual objects, generally located in the attic or cellar of a synagogue. In the Middle Ages most synagogues had a genizah, because ceremonial burial was thought to be the only …

The best-known genizah, the Cairo Genizah, is located in the Ezra Synagogue in Fostat (Old Cairo, Egypt), built in 882. German poet, traveler and book dealer Simon von Geldern appears to be the first modern visitor to the Cairo Genizah in 1753.

As its name suggests (see next fact), the Cairo Geniza is a trove of 400,000 documents, most of them of sacred Jewish nature, which were found in historic Old Cairo (Fustat).

Genizah means “reserved” or “hidden” in Hebrew, and is traditionally a place where Jews store sacred documents when they fall out of use. (Shabbat 115a) stipulates that all sacred writings (scrolls of ), should be preserved in a place where they cannot be destroyed.

The term genizah is a word shortened from the rabbinical Hebrew phrase bet genizah. Its counterpart in late biblical Hebrew is genez (pl. genazim, ginzei) which in Esther evidently means a treasury, as well as the term ganzak (I Chron. 28:11, ve-ganzakkav).

The Taylor-Schechter Cairo Genizah Collection at Cambridge University Library is the world's largest and most important single collection of medieval Jewish manuscripts.

The Genizah is a window on nearly 1,000 years of Jewish and Middle Eastern history, scholarship and daily life. The FGP will open this window wider than ever before, launching an exciting new stage in Genizah scholarship.

Feb 9, 2025 · In Jewish tradition, Genizah refers to the practice of storing or preserving sacred texts, documents, and materials that are no longer in use but cannot simply be discarded due to their sanctity. The Genizah serves as a place of preservation for these items, ensuring they are handled with respect and eventually disposed of properly.