A centuries-old Jewish text that mysteriously ended up in an online marketplace has now returned home.
The Southern District of New York (SDNY) announced in a press release last week that a district judge has authorized the forfeiture of Di Galla documents dating back to the 16th century by a private owner.
The book will be presented to the Jewish Theological Seminary at the University of Jewish Studies in Budapest, according to a press release from the SDNY. The book was originally published in Venice in the late 1500s by Giovanni di Gala, a printer specializing in Hebrew books.
“The Di Gala texts consist of two works based on the Jewish faith: (1) Chamisa Humshe Torah (Pentate Books of Moses)or the Jewish Torah in book form, and (2) haft tarota series of excerpts from the Hebrew Bible,” the release explained.
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A centuries-old book discovered at AbeBooks has now been returned to its rightful owner. (iStock/U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York)
The book changed hands over the years, remaining in the possession of a 19th century rabbi named Lelio della Torre until his death.
Della Torre's collection was then donated to the Rabbinic Seminary in Budapest, where Di Gala's text was stolen by Nazi soldiers in 1944.
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“In 1944, during World War II and the Jewish Holocaust, Nazi forces invaded Budapest, captured and occupied the city's rabbinical seminary, and looted its collection,” the SDNY statement said. . “The Di Gala documents are thought to have disappeared during this period.”
The book has changed hands over the centuries and will be returned to a seminary in Hungary. (U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York)
The book mysteriously made its way to the United States, despite being missing for 80 years. In March 2023, Hungarian authorities became aware that the book was being sold on AbeBooks.com, an online marketplace for rare and collectible books.
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The book was put up for sale by a New York seller specializing in Jews who acquired the book in the 1980s. Homeland Security officials met with the seller and eventually handed over the book after a warrant was issued. U.S. District Judge Annalisa Torres granted the voluntary forfeiture on Oct. 4.
SDNY U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a press statement: “This confiscation means that a small but meaningful piece of Judaism's history will be returned to its rightful owner, the Rabbinic Seminary in Budapest. “It will be.” “We may never know how it got to the Southern District of New York, but it's now heading back home.”
According to the photo, the book once belonged to an Italian rabbi, who stamped it. (U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York)
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“My office remains steadfast in its commitment to protecting valuable cultural property and returning it to its rightful citizens when it has been illegally removed,” the official added.
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