The earliest, most complete copy of the Hebrew Bible is actually a book known as Codex Sassoon, named for its most prominent modern owner: David Solomon Sassoon (1880–1942), a passionate collector of Judaica and Hebraic manuscripts. Dating to the late 9th or early 10th century, Codex Sassoon contains all 24 books of the Hebrew Bible – missing only 12 leaves – and precedes the earliest entirely complete Hebrew Bible, the Leningrad Codex, by nearly a century. Significantly, Codex Sassoon contains faithful notes of the Masorah, commentary that ensures the biblical text’s proper inscription and recitation. One such note refers to “the great teacher, Aaron ben Moses ben Asher” and his work on al-taj, the traditional honorific of the Aleppo Codex, suggesting the Masorete scribe who copied the Masorah of Codex Sassoon may have consulted the revered volume when it resided in Tiberias or Jerusalem in the 10th or 11th century. On 16 May 2023, when it comes to the block at Sotheby’s with an estimate of $30 to 50 million, Codex Sassoon could become the most valuable historical document ever sold at auction. Join us on Sunday April 23rd for a peak into the Codex and into it’s history with Sotheby’s consultant Sharon Liberman Mintz.

Sharon Liberman Mintz is the Curator of Jewish Art at the Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary and specializes in the fields of Illuminated Hebrew manuscripts and rare printed books. Over the course of 30 years at the Library, she has curated more than 40 exhibitions, authored ten exhibition catalogs and has lectured extensively on a variety of topics in the fields of Jewish Art and rare Hebrew books. As a consultant with Sotheby’s since 1995, Sharon has cataloged and appraised Hebrew books for Judaica sales worldwide for over two decades. In February 2009, she collaborated on the cataloging and exhibition of the Valmadonna Trust Library, at Sotheby’s, the finest private library of Hebrew books and manuscripts in the world. Shaorn’s publication A Journey through Jewish Worlds: Highlights from the Braginsky Collection of Hebrew Manuscripts and Printed Books (2010) accompanied an international exhibition of magnificent Hebrew books that she co-curated. Her most recent publication, The Writing on the Wall: A Catalogue of Judaica Broadsides from the Valmadonna Trust Library (2015) is an in-depth historical examination of this heretofore unexplored genre of Jewish culture.

CSP Partners: Beth Israel (San Diego, CA), Brotherhood Synagogue (Gramercy Park, NYC), Congregation Adath Jeshurun (Elkins Park, PA), Congregation Beth Shalom (Seattle, WA), Congregation B’nai Tzedek (Fountain Valley, CA), Congregation B’nai Israel (Tustin, CA), Jewish Collaborative of Orange County, Shomrei Torah Synagogue (San Fernando Valley, CA), Temple Bat Yahm (Newport Beach, CA), Temple Beth David (Westminster, CA),Temple Beth El of South Orange County (Aliso Viejo, CA), Temple Beth Emet (Anaheim, CA), Temple Beth Ohr (La Mirada, CA), Temple Beth Tikvah (Fullerton, CA), Temple Beth Shalom (Needham, MA), Temple Beth Sholom (Santa Ana, CA), Temple Emanuel (Newton, MA), Temple Judea of Laguna Woods, CA, The Boston Synagogue (Boston, MA), Town & Village Synagogue (NYC, NY), University Synagogue (Irvine, CA), Valley Beth Shalom (Encino, CA) & Walnut Street Synagogue (Chelsea, MA)