(JTA) — A 13th-century Sephardic haggadah from Catalonia, Spain. A 15th-century haggadah from Prague. A 20th-century haggadah from Fez, Morocco.
For the first time, a selection of some of the most historic haggadahs from the National Library of Israel’s Haim and Salomon Judaica Collection — the world’s largest collection of the book that guides the Passover seder, at about 15,000 in total — are available for download, for free.
A page from the 1738 “Amsterdam Haggadah.” (Courtesy of the National Library of Israel)
A page from the 14th-century “Golden Haggadah” in the Sephardic tradition. (Courtesy of the National Library of Israel)
One of the works is a 15th-century haggadah, originally from northern Italy, that later came into possession of Baron Edmond de Rothschild — a member of the famed French Jewish banking family, an avid art collector and an early supporter of Zionism. During the Holocaust, the haggadah was stolen from the family by the Nazis. The book disappeared for many years but was eventually returned to the Rothschild family, who later donated it to the National Library of Israel.
This 1450 haggadah from northern Italy once belonged to Baron Edmond de Rothschild. (Courtesy of the National Library of Israel)
A view of the 19th-century Moroccan haggadah. (Courtesy of the National Library of Israel)
“The National Library of Israel works tirelessly to make sure that our vast collection gets out of the ivory tower and out into the public,” the collection’s curator Yoel Finkelman said in a press release.
Read about the history of the rest of the offerings here.
RELATED: 7 new haggadahs to brighten your 2022 Passover seder
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
