Looking for a fun, cheap, and educational summer outing? The Yeshiva University Museum is currently hosting A Journey Through Jewish Worlds- Highlights from the Braginsky Collection of Hebrew Manuscripts and Printed Books, but only until August 1st! Here’s a little about the collection, from The New York Times:
“And as you examine these rare findings, which the curators bill as the most remarkable private collection of illuminated Hebrew manuscripts in the world, you are amazed first at the sensuous variety of the illumination, the examples extending over a millennium and across multiple continents. There are “micrographic” illustrations in which miniature lines of Hebrew text wind around images of Jerusalem or bend into a portrait of the biblical Samson. There are 18th-century documents from small Italian towns in which Renaissance putti find themselves the heralds of Jewish weddings. An illustrated scroll from early-20th-century India shows the Jewish story of Purim played out in Indian and Ottoman costume with macabre explicitness. Astrological signs and charts are found in a 14th-century scientific manuscript; they are also elements in marriage contracts or appear in centuries of Purim scrolls.”
Finding Moses, Charlotte van Rothschild Haggadah, 1842 Courtesy The Braginsky Collection
It’s extremely rare that such an extensive collection be made available to the public, especially in the US! The pieces provide fascinating insight into Jewish culture around the world, and throughout different time periods, by showing how art and religion were brought together.
The Yeshiva University Museum, located in the flatiron district of New York, has the manuscripts on view through August 1st. Admission for adults is only $8, and you can also take advantage of their free admission hours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5-8 pm.
While you’re there, be sure to stop by another exhibit- Drawing on Tradition: The Book of Esther features illustrations from JPS author JT Waldman’s graphic novel Megillat Esther. Drawing on Tradition will be on display until August 15th.
