Jewish friends: What is the significance of the Aleppo Codex?

Question

I have been reading about the history of this Codex, being stolen by Crusaders of the First Crusade, being taken back and hidden by Jewish refugees in Egypt, stolen by the Muslims in the 14th century, until finally being restored to Israel in 1958. What makes this particular manuscript so important?

Answer 1

It was the best Ben Ashur text and an important early version before the discovery of the Dead Sea... OMG! OGM! Jodie Foster is on Rachel Ray........hum.............static

Answer 2

It's one of the oldest versions of the Tanach - though major parts of it are now missing, damaged during anti-Jewish riots in Syria in 1947.  Most importantly, almost the entire Torah is no longer included in it.

It's important because of its age.  The Torah itself says that it must not be changed or modified in any way, and because of that, having an ancient text on which to base all new copies is extremely important.  In fact, it is believed that Rambam (Maimonides), the great post-Talmudic Jewish rabbi and scholar, used the Aleppo Codex to write his book detailing the laws of how Torahs should be written.  It's not more special because it's the oldest (though that's a big deal, obviously), but because of its importance in keeping the Torah as Jews believe that G-d intended, as an unchanging tradition.  In a religion that reveres research and ongoing study, having something as close to an original copy as possible is extremely valuable to compare.  

It is on display at the Shrine of the Book museum in Israel, along with the Dead Sea Scrolls (another ancient example of the origins of the Tanach, among other works).