Sacred Trash: The Treasure Trove of the Cairo Geniza

Hour 2

In the late 1800s, in a Cairo synagogue, a remarkable discovery was made – hundreds of thousands of Jewish manuscripts from the Middle Ages filled a small windowless room.  Letters, poems, trousseau lists, prayers, marriage contracts, and money orders were piled high, almost touching the ceiling.  Essayist ADINA HOFFMAN and MacArthur-winning poet PETER COLE have written a new book about the find: Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza. They tell Marty about the scholars who brought the long forgotten manuscripts to light and what the documents reveal about the people of the past.

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[audio: 051611_110630.mp3]