Sacred Trash

<p><b>NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD FINALIST <p/>WINNER OF THE 2012 AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION'S SOPHIE BRODY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN JEWISH LITERATURE</b> <p/> <i>Sacred Trash</i> tells the remarkable story of the Cairo Geniza--a synagogue repository for worn-out texts that turned out to contain the most vital cache of Jewish manuscripts ever discovered. <p/>This tale of buried communal treasure weaves together unforgettable portraits of Solomon Schechter and the other modern heroes responsible for the collection's rescue with explorations of the medieval documents themselves--letters and poems wills and marriage contracts Bibles money orders fiery dissenting religious tracts fashion-conscious trousseaux lists prescriptions petitions and mysterious magical charms. Presenting a pan­oramic view of almost a thousand years of vibrant Mediterranean Judaism Adina Hoffman and Peter Cole bring contemporary readers into the heart of this little-known trove whose contents have rightly been dubbed the Living Sea Scrolls. Part biography part meditation on the supreme value the Jewish people has long placed in the written word <i>Sacred Trash</i> is above all a gripping tale of adventure and redemption. <p/>(With black-and-white illustrations throughout.) <b><br></b></p>