Yosef Goldman (1942 – August 4, 2015) was a

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

American Jewish history ''American Jewish History'' is an academic journal and the official publication of the American Jewish Historical Society. The journal was established in 1892 and focuses on all aspects of the history of Jews in the United States. The journal was ...

and the co-author of the two-volume reference work, '' Hebrew Printing in America 1735-1926: A History and Annotated Bibliography'' (2006). This work is usually cited by

auctioneers An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ...

and rare-book dealers. His collection of early American Judaica and

Hebraica Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...

is said to be one of the most comprehensive in the world.

Biography

Goldman was born in 1942 in

Újpest Újpest (; , ) is the 4th District in Budapest, Hungary. It is located on the left bank of the Danube River. The name Újpest means "New Pest" because the city was formed on the border of the city of Pest, Hungary in 1838. Újpest was a village ...

(also known as Newpest), a District of

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary, into a

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

family. His father, Rabbi Lipa Goldman, was a Chief Rabbi and '' Av Beis Din'' of an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

community in Újpest. In 1950, his family emigrated to the United States and lived on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Goldman studied at Beth Medrash Elyon of

Monsey, New York Monsey (, ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, north of Airmont, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of Spring Valley. The village of Kaser is surrounded by ...

, at the time an elite

Rabbinical seminary A Jewish seminary, better known as a rabbinical seminary or rabbinical school, is a Jewish educational institution for the purpose of training rabbis. (In some cases, a "Jewish seminary" may also refer to a cantorial school.) While rabbis have been ...

. By profession, Goldman was a dealer of rare Jewish/Hebrew books and

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

and was known as a leading figure in this field. On August 4, 2015, he died from complications of

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

. In 2018, a large part of his book collection and stock was acquired by Mizrahi Bookstore.

"Hebrew 52" lawsuit

In May 2000, Goldman bid on and purchased a 13th-century

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

for $358,000 from the

auction house An auction house is a business establishment that facilitates the buying and selling of assets, such as works of art and collectibles. Overview The auction house is the physical facility where the objects are catalogued, displayed, and presented ...

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

of New York. In May 2006,

Bibliothèque Nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

(National Library of France) filed

suit A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit, is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt su ...

against Goldman, claiming ownership of the manuscript and demanding its return. This lawsuit was filed after a former chief

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of the library's Hebrew collection, Michel Garel, was convicted in March 2006 of stealing ‘Hebrew 52’, a Biblical manuscript known among experts. After pleading innocent, Garel was ultimately convicted, fined $500,000, and given a two-year

suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...

. The lawsuit against Goldman alleged that the manuscript Goldman purchased was the one known as ‘Hebrew 52’. In July 2006, Goldman sued Christie's in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, saying the auction house knew before consignment that the manuscript was stolen, that it should never have accepted consignment of it for auction, and that he should be refunded $358,000 in return for the manuscript. In January 2007, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reported that a settlement had been reached. After complex negotiations between French officials, Christie’s and Goldman, the manuscript was returned to the library, and Goldman received a refund. Library officials said that Goldman purchased the manuscript in

good faith In human interactions, good faith () is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case with , which i ...

and had resold it before its theft was discovered. France reportedly agreed to cover some of Goldman’s legal expenses. In January 2007, Michel Garel, the former chief curator, was sentenced to 15 months in jail. He was convicted on appeal and immediately taken into custody. He was also handed an additional 15-month suspended sentence and fined 75,000

euros The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

(100,000 dollars) for "aggravated theft".

References and sources

*Levine, Yitzchak
"Hooked On American Jewish History"
''

The Jewish Press ''The Jewish Press'' is an American weekly newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York City. It serves the Modern Orthodox Jewish community. History The ''Jewish Press'' was co-founded in 1960 by Albert Klass and his brother Sholom Klass. The Klas ...

'', December 6, 2006. Accessed 2008-01-02.
A New York art dealer is locked in a legal battle with France and auction house Christie's over a 13th Century Jewish manuscript">"Court battle for stolen artefact; A New York art dealer is locked in a legal battle with France and auction house Christie's over a 13th Century Jewish manuscript
''

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

'', August 6, 2006. Accessed 2008-01-02. *Riding, Alan
"French National Library Recovers Stolen Manuscript"
''

'', January 10, 2007. Accessed 2008-01-02.
Catálogo biblioteca del Instituto Cervantes de Nueva York
Accessed 2008-01-02. * Sarna, Jonathan D
"Hebrew Printing in America 1735-1926: A History and Annotated Bibliography (review)"
''

American Jewish History ''American Jewish History'' is an academic journal and the official publication of the American Jewish Historical Society. The journal was established in 1892 and focuses on all aspects of the history of Jews in the United States. The journal was ...

'' - Volume 91, Number 4, December 2003, pp. 509–512. Accessed 2008-01-02.
National Library of Canada
accessed 2008-01-02. *"Wellsprings of Torah", ''

Mishpacha Magazine ''Mishpacha'' () - Jewish Family Weekly is a Haredi weekly magazine package produced by The Mishpacha Group in both English and Hebrew. History ''Mishpacha'' is one of the four major English-language newspapers and magazines serving the Hared ...

'', p. 54-58, November 28, 2007. ;Specific

External links

"House of Goldman Rare Books"
''The Seforim Blog'', March 5, 2007. Accessed 2008-01-02.
The German Judaica Collection of Yosef Goldman, 1519-1934
Archival Collection at the

Leo Baeck Institute, New York The Leo Baeck Institute New York (LBI) is a research institute in New York City dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history and culture, founded in 1955. It is one of three independent research centers founded by a group of German-speaking J ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldman, Yosef 1942 births American book and manuscript collectors American book publishers (people) American booksellers American Orthodox Jews American antiquarians American antiques experts Beth Medrash Elyon alumni Bibliographers of Hebrew literature Date of birth unknown Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from melanoma Historians of Jews and Judaism Hungarian Jews American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Hungarian emigrants to the United States Jewish American historians American male non-fiction writers People from Újpest American historians of religion 2015 deaths People from the Lower East Side Historians from New York (state) 21st-century American Jews