Joseph (Juspa), shammes of Worms (1604-1678), recorded the everyday
life, the rites and the customs of the Jewish community in Worms,
one of the oldest and most important in all of Europe. This
autograph manuscript contains commentaries on the prayer book, on
the Birkat Hamason ("Grace after Meals"), on the Haggadah and on
the Pirkei Avot ("Sayings of the Fathers") as well as
prayer-related customs and autobiographical remarks. The comments
on Minhagim ("customs") were incorporated into the printed edition
of the Wormser Minhagbuch, but large parts of this manuscript
remain unpublished and serve as an important source for the
religious history of one of the most significant Jewish communities
in Europe. This manuscript belonged to, among others, Rabbi Michael
Scheyer; later it was part of the private library of Salman
Schocken in Jerusalem.
