Dropsie College, which has just been raised to university status, will establish a rare book room with a gift from the Myer and Rosaline Feinstein Foundation, it was announced today. The new facility will contain over 5,000 of the rarest books in the field of Hebrew, Talmud, Biblical and Semitic studies, according to Dr. Abraham Katsh, president of the post-graduate institution. Included in the new room are books from the first century of printing to those published in the 17th Century. Also included are hand-written manuscripts that date back 1,200-1,300 years ago. Among the rarest book is the world’s oldest existing Haggadah and the only existing copy remaining of “II Fetha Nagast,” which traces the Ethiopian dynasty back to King Solomon.
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.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.