A reprint of the famous of Sarajevo Haggadah made its debut at the Bosnian capital’s national theater.
The publisher, Rabic book house, reprinted the Sarajevo Haggadah in Bosnian and English and presented it Saturday.
The original Sarajevo Haggadah was written by an unknown author in Barcelona, Spain, between 1350 and 1370. The Haggadah was known for its illustrations made in gold and copper as well as the the high quality of its artistic images. It was allegedly taken out of Spain during the time of the Inquisition. Fleeing Jews likely took the Haggadah to their new home in Bosnia.
A Bosnian Jewish family sold the Haggadah to the Bosnian National Museum in 1894.
The Nazis tried to obtain the Haggadah but it was protected by Bosnian non-Jews. The original Haggadah is in a special safre room in the National Museum and was last put on public exhbit in 1995.
The Sarajevo Haggadah and its history are the focus of ”People of the Book, ”a recent, well-reviewed novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks.
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