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The National Library of Israel
How to get rid of scorpions from a book of spells included in the mysterious magic-filled black suitcase given to Dr. Max Brodny in Moscow in 1959. (Amanda Borschel-Dan/Times of Israel)
November 9, 2018, 2:36 pm
The mysterious journey of a suitcase of magical amulets from Moscow to Jerusalem
A small tattered black valise filled with Hebrew scrolls was thrust at an American doctor in 1959. Six decades later, they are enchanting scholars at the National Library of Israel
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Franz Kafka in 1906. (public domain)
November 4, 2018, 1:37 am
How an Israel that never liked Franz Kafka came to own his literary legacy
In a new book, author Benjamin Balint traces the long, tortuous journey of the famed surrealist writer’s original manuscripts – and through them the fading away of a murdered world
By Haviv Rettig Gur
Exploring the public and private interiors of Jerusalem's better and lesser known buildings during the 2016 Houses from Within tour (Courtesy Houses from Within)
October 13, 2018, 10:11 am
Doors set to open on Jerusalem’s annual Houses from Within tours
A weekend of inside looks at private homes, famed institutions and public sites takes place October 18-20
By Jessica Steinberg
Portrait of a man thought to be Christopher Columbus by Sebastiano del Piombo, 1519.(public domain)
October 8, 2018, 9:56 pm
Christopher Columbus — the hidden Jew?
With a murky past, theories abound for the origin story of the intrepid explorer — from pirate to crypto-Jew
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
A 10th century Quran is seen on display at Israel's National Library Monday, June 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Caron Craighton)
June 11, 2018, 8:23 pm
Tiny ancient Quran on display in Israel for Ramadan
National Library seeks to give space to minority cultures in Israel, with exhibit of rare manuscripts during Muslim holy month
By CARON CREIGHTON
From the "Survivors' Haggadah" written for the 1947 Survivors' Seder in Munich, Germany (Courtesy National Library of Israel)
March 27, 2018, 9:21 pm
Post-Holocaust Haggadahs reflect altered versions of slavery and freedom
An exhibit at Israel’s National Library highlights themes of nontraditional Passover Seders in post-war Europe and pre-state Palestine
By Jessica Steinberg
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai at the mobile library. (photo credit: Malovani Israel)
March 13, 2018, 6:36 pm
UK’s Independent ranks Tel Aviv as top literary town
Known for its collection of poets, streets named for literary lights, and beaches with lending libraries, the city by the sea ranks high for readers
By Jessica Steinberg
Milgroym was a Yiddish arts and culture journal published in Berlin between 1922 and 1924. (Courtesy of The Milgroym Project via JTA)
March 8, 2018, 7:55 am
Yiddish journals given a new life online
Milgroym project to post full-color scans of Jewish interwar periodicals and translations of selected writings
By JTA
Yoel Finkelman
February 26, 2018, 2:01 pm
Yoel Finkelman
The illuminated gore of the Book of Esther
A 400-year-old scroll plays up the scroll’s violence, illustrating Vashti’s decapitation and Haman’s hanging
A miniature bible dedicated to George Washington, acquired by the National Library of Israel and published online on February 18, 2018. (From the National Library of Israel Collections)
February 19, 2018, 8:55 am
Now in Jerusalem, rare George Washington thumb Bible goes online
National Library acquires 200-year-old miniature sacred writ dedicated to first US president, makes it accessible to the public for first time
By Michael Bachner
'De materia medica' by Dioscorides. Physician preparing an elixir. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund)
February 14, 2018, 11:31 pm
National Library of Israel shares interfaith love with Islamic art exhibit in NY
In ‘Romance and Reason,’ 24 Islamic pieces join those from other leading institutions to highlight the intellectual cooperation between Muslims and Greeks
By Cathryn J. Prince
In this Wednesday, September 20, 2017 file photo, Blackstone Group chairman and CEO Stephen Schwarzman speaks at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
February 8, 2018, 7:44 pm
Billionaire Trump adviser gives $10m to Israel’s National Library
New education center to foster inclusiveness and ‘cross-cultural relationships’ between Jews, Christians, and Muslims, says donor Stephen Schwarzman
By Agencies and TOI staff
Illustrative: A 12-volume set of Babylonian Talmud with commentaries, printed in Amsterdam by Immanuel Benveniste, 1644-47 (Kestenbaum & Company)
November 10, 2017, 3:38 pm
Valmadonna Trust Library auction in NY brings record sales. But who benefits?
Private sale of Jewish books sees lots reaching far beyond their estimated values, including the trust’s complete reference and bibliographic library for $190,000
By TOI staff
Seder Tephiloth mikol HaShanah [prayers for the whole year], according to the Ashkenazic rite with instructions in Yiddish. Printed entirely on vellum in Mantua by Venturino Roffi nello for Meir b. Ephraim and Yaakov b. Naphtali, 1558. (Kestenbaum & Company)
November 7, 2017, 10:12 pm
Who’s selling treasures from the Valmadonna Trust Library? Depends who you ask
Months after the finest and largest private collection of Jewish books was acquired for the National Library of Israel, some of its most valuable selections are up for auction
By Renee Ghert-Zand
Julie Rosenzweig
August 23, 2017, 2:49 pm
Julie Rosenzweig
Jerusalem: A library-poor city
Why does the capital city of the People of the Book have few options for kids to take summer refuge in the stacks?
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