A Personal Hebrew – Judeo-Persian Dictionary, Ordered According To The Mishnaic Orders Of Zeraim And Moed.

This manuscript was prepared by Reuven ben Mullah Shmuel Aharon over the course of his studies at the feet of Mullah (Rabbi) Asher Gargi of Herat, Afghanistan. From Mishnah Tractate Ma’aser Sheini until Tractate Chagigah, Reuven copiously recorded every Mishnaic word he did not recognize, along with its Judeo-Persian definition.

Rabbi Mullah Asher Gargi (1882-1962) was the Chief Rabbi of Herat for over 40 years, succeeding his father Mullah Matithyahu Garji following the later’s departure for Jerusalem in 1906. Eventually joining his father, Gargi emigrated to Israel in 1950, settling in Jerusalem in the Bet Yisrael neighborhood. The Afghan community that coalesced around him formed the Yeshua VeRachamim synagogue.

The honorific ‘Mullah,’ adopted from Islam, was commonly used amidst the Jewish communities of Persia, Buchara and elsewhere in Central Asia.