Sermon Sources 2

Just before Simchat Torah, I gave a little drash on the importance of the Sefer Torah as a physical object. I drew on Nicholas Basbanes book, A Splendor of Letters: The Permanence of Books in an Impermanent World, in my discussion of the complex interplay between the content of the Torah text and its physical form. See chapter 7, “The Ingenious Cipher, on this question.

Basbanes’ book is bibliophile ice cream. There are a number of nuggets of Jewish interest, including the story of how the Sarajevo Haggadah was saved from destruction during the recent war in Bosnia.

When I finished the book I ran right out and bought two of Basbanes other books on books. I am sure these will be cropping up in drashot in the coming months.