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JEWISH HERITAGE EUROPE
An Online Resource Centre
BOSNIA NEWS PAGE
(May 2006)
A new deluxe facsimile edition of the famous Sarajevo Haggadah is being offered by a Bosnian publisher. This small illuminated manuscript survived the siege of Sarajevo, and is celebrated both as a lasting sign of the tenacious survival of the Sephardi Jewish tradition in Bosnia, and also as an emblem of the revival of Sarajevo itself. The Haggadah has the distinction of having been the first Hebrew manuscript ever produced in facsimile - back in 1898. It was also reproduced in a 1963 edition. These publications have helped make the Sarajevo Haggadah one of the best-known Hebrew books in the world, and have also helped ensure that the richly illustrated book plays a role in debates about the nature of Jewish art.
Goran Mikulic, head of the Rabic publishing house, told Agence France Presse that 613 copies - symbolizing the number of mitzvot (commandments) contained in the Torah - have been created on handmade paper, replicating 95 per cent of the book's original appearance. The Haggadah was originally created in Spain (probably in Catalonia, perhaps in Barcelona) in the mid-14th century, and was brought to Sarajevo two centuries later. During the Second World War, it was hidden under floorboards in the house of a Muslim family in the city, from where it was later returned to the National Museum. During the war of 1992-5, the manuscript survived in an underground bank vault. While this edition allows many people to own their own copy of the Haggadah, it will cost them 1,150 Euros a copy to do so.
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