The Girl who Wrote

On the 10th of Adar 1, 5527 (February 9, 1767), Luna, daughter of Leone Ambron of Rome, completed scribing an Esther Scroll and a richly decorated parchment sheet containing the ceremonial blessings and liturgical poems read on Purim. The scroll is one of the very few canonical Hebrew manuscripts worldwide identified as having been written by a female scribe, and is the centrepiece of this exhibition.

For the first time, the exhibition brings together the only three known Esther Scrolls and Purim blessing sheets signed by women, all produced in Italy. Displayed alongside them is a selection of rare, decorated Hebrew manuscripts penned by female scribes, highlighting women’s often-overlooked contributions to Jewish manuscript culture.

The exhibition also offers a glimpse into the world of Luna’s family, the Ambrons of Rome. Through outstanding objects and documents, it explores a family whose members were prominent both within the Jewish community and in the wider Christian and cosmopolitan milieu of the city.

Esther Scroll and blessings sheet for Purim scribed by Luna, daughter of Leone Ambron

Rome, 1767

Handwritten on parchment; ink and tempera

The Israel Museum Collection: Purchased through the gift of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation to American Friends of the Israel Museum, in honor of Daisy Raccah-Djivre

Photo © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, by Zohar Shemesh

Esther Scroll and blessings sheet for Purim scribed by Luna, daughter of Leone Ambron

Rome, 1767

Handwritten on parchment; ink and tempera

The Israel Museum Collection: Purchased through the gift of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation to American Friends of the Israel Museum, in honor of Daisy Raccah-Djivre

Photo © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, by Zohar Shemesh