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Re: "Giving proper burial to holy books"



Just as a means of comparison, Jewish tradition also mandates burying
fragments of holy objects, on the belief that texts that contain the word
(and the name) of God as well as sacred objects past their useful life
should not be discarded with one's normal garbage.  Many synagogues (at
least the Orthodox ones I'm familiar with) have a box or a cabinet meant for
these remnants, and they are often buried with much the same dignity as
human remains are.  Anyone who might have heard of the Cairo Genizah, this
treasure trove from an old synagogue in Egypt was such a repository (more
info on the Genizah: http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/Taylor-Schechter/ )

Not to start another hullaballoo, but the article in the Times is one
example of one of the positive aspects of Islamic life likely to get lost in
the screaming about Islam following September 11.

DS
______________________________________
Daniel Sokolow, Archives Coordinator
David Taylor Archives
North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System
155 Community Drive
Great Neck, NY 11021
mailto:dsokolow@nshs.edu

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