The book’s central "whodunit" revolves around a shocking discovery: when the Codex finally surfaced in Jerusalem, nearly 200 of its 500 pages were missing—including the most critical section, the Torah. While official government accounts claimed the pages were lost in the 1947 fire, Friedman's investigative journalism suggests a darker reality of greed, state cover-ups, and betrayal by those entrusted with its care. He points toward institutional negligence and potential theft within the [Ben-Zvi Institute](1.4.5, 1.4.9), where the manuscript was stored in an ordinary office cabinet. Why You Should Read It The Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession, Fa...

Written around 930 C.E. in Tiberias, the Aleppo Codex was considered the most accurate and sacred text of the Hebrew Bible, famously consulted by the philosopher [Maimonides](1.3.5, 1.3.7). For 600 years, it was guarded in a crypt beneath the Central Synagogue of [Aleppo, Syria](1.3.5, 1.4.6). However, following the 1947 United Nations vote to partition Palestine, anti-Jewish riots broke out, and the synagogue was set on fire. While the manuscript was initially thought to have been destroyed, it was actually smuggled into the newly founded state of [Israel](1.2.11, 1.3.3) in 1957 by an Aleppo cheese merchant named Murad Faham. The Core Mystery: The Missing Pages If you're ready to dive into this historical

: Budget-friendly options are listed at Walmart via ThriftBooks for $8.44. Why You Should Read It Written around 930 C

: Available at Target for $11.28 and Books A Million for $23.07.

: The book won the 2014 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature .