The National Library of Israel recently announced the addition of a rare 14th-century manuscript of Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah to its permanent exhibition, "A Treasury of Words," the library announced in a press release on Monday.
According to the National Library, this manuscript was first copied in Provence, France, between 1300 and 1350.
It eventually made its way to Spain, where the Italian artist Matteo di Ser Cambio enhanced it with vivid illustrations, gold ornamentation, and decorative motifs that include figures, animals, and plants, the statement explained.
The volume also contains proofreading notes, corrections, and omissions, reflecting centuries of study and transmission. Additionally, it shows evidence of 16th-century Christian censorship, including erasures on the final page and a censor's seal dated 1574.
Additional rare, historically significant items are also being added to the National Library's permanent display lineup for the first time.
Other new additions
Among the list of new additions is a 15th-century Lisbon prayer book from the final generation of Spanish and Portuguese Jewry before expulsion by the Spanish Inquisition, a newly discovered liturgical poem found in the 13th-century Worms Machzor, the world’s earliest printed Passover Haggadah from 1482, and the Benghazi Haggadah, produced by Jewish Brigade soldiers in 1943.
The exhibition also features medieval-era Persian poetic works, including Layla and Majnun, known as the ‘Romeo and Juliet of the East’, composed by the 12th-century poet Nizami Ganjawim.
Another 15th-century poetic manuscript on display recounts the story of Yusuf and Zulaikha, the biblical Joseph and Potiphar’s wife.
All of these volumes are now on display at the National Library of Israel’s permanent exhibition A Treasury of Words, in the William Davidson Permanent Exhibition Gallery.
Tickets for the permanent and rotating exhibitions are available at the National Library of Israel website. https://www.nli.org.il/en