Yosef Goldman

Yosef Goldman, a scholar of American Jewish history, is the 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 and rare-book dealers. His collection of early American Judaica and Hebraica is said to be one of the most comprehensive in the world. Goldman was born in 1942 in Neupest (now Újpest), a suburb of Budapest, Hungary, into a Hasidic family. In 1950, his family immigrated to the United States and lived on the Lower East Side of New York City. Goldman studied at Beth Medrash Elyon of Monsey, New York, at the time an elite Rabbinical seminary.

By profession, Goldman is a dealer of rare Jewish/Hebrew books and manuscripts and is known as a leading figure in this field. An article about him appeared in the Mishpacha Magazine on November 28, 2007.

‘Hebrew 52’ lawsuit

On May 19, 2000, Goldman bid on and purchased a 13th century Biblical manuscript for $358,000 from the well-known auction house, Christie's of New York. On May 28, 2006, Bibliothèque Nationale de France (National Library of France) filed suit against Goldman, claiming ownership of the manuscript and demanding its return. This lawsuit was filed after a former chief curator 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, he was ultimately convicted, fined $500,000, and given a two-year suspended sentence. 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 Supreme Court, 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.

On January 10, 2007, The New York Times 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 Mr. Goldman purchased the manuscript in good faith and had resold it before its theft was discovered. France reportedly agreed to cover some of Mr. Goldman’s legal expenses.

On January 26, 2007, Michael 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 (100,000 dollars) for "aggravated theft".

References and Sources

• Levine, Dr. Yitzchok, "Hooked On American Jewish History" in The Jewish Press, December 6, 2006,
• British Broadcasting Corporation August 6, 2006
• New York Times January 10, 2007
• [1]
• Seforim Blog
• American Jewish History - Volume 91, Number 4, December 2003, pp. 509-512
• [2]
• Mishpacha, November 28, 2007, Wellsprings of Torah, p. 54-58.
• "Wellsprings of Torah", Mishpacha Magazine, p. 54-58 , November 28, 2007.