Sarajevo Haggadah

The Sarajevo haggadah is unique for its beautiful illustrations and its history of survival. The Haggadah was probably a wedding gift - incredible given the time and effort of making books in the medieval Spain, around 1350. It was smuggled out of Spain during the tragic expulsion of all Jews in 1492.

It ended up in Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries. A note entered in 1609 says that the book does not contain anything directed against the Church, probably the result of a content check by the Roman Inquisition. 

"It leaves a reliable trace in history again in 1894, when the National Museum purchased it from the Sarajevan Sephardic family Koen for the sum of 150 crowns...

In keeping with its destiny, the Sarajevo Haggadah could not find peace even in the museum collection. In the first days following the occupation of Sarajevo by the German forces in 1941, German authorities demanded that Jozo Petrović, the director of the Museum at the time, hand over the famous leather-bound codex. Petrović, aided by the curator Derviš Korkut, took enormous risks, dodged the demand, and arranged for the Haggadah to be stowed somewhere safe.

According to reliable accounts, it was hidden in a mosque in one of the Muslim villages on Mt Bjelašnica, where it stayed until the end of World War II. Another attempt to steal it was made in the 1950s; this time, too, the employees of the Museum prevented the theft.

Most recently, and hopefully for the last time, this valuable tome was endangered at the beginning of the siege of Sarajevo in 1992, when the National Museum found itself on the first line of defence. The museum took heavy shelling then, from which it has still not recovered." (Source: https://zemaljskimuzej.ba/en/archaeology/middle…)

I read about this Haggadah in the beautiful novel "the People of the Book", written by Geraldine Brooks. Sadly, the book was not available to be seen up close that day, as the climate-controlled room is only open on some days. I learned more about it through the exhibit, and bought a replica to bring home.

This book is special to me partially because of its beauty and a history that connects to my own experience. It's also a physical manifestation of co-existance in a place and in a time with not enough of that to go around.Read more