‘Modern masterpiece’ Haggadah gifted to National Library of Israel

An extraordinary illuminated Haggadah which recently sold for £370,000 at Sotheby’s has been donated to the National Library of Israel (NLI) in Jerusalem.

The original Hebrew manuscript by renowned Judaica artist David Moss was gifted to the collection by philanthropists Trudy Elbaum Gottesman and Robert Gottesman.

The exquisite work, which took three years to research, conceive and create, incorporates calligraphy, micrography, numerous painted miniatures, and designs using gouaches, acrylics, egg tempera, inlaid mirrors, parchment-cuts, and burnished pure gold leaf on parchment sheets.

Dr. Raquel Ukeles, Head of Collections at the National Library of Israel, (NLI) said: “We are beyond delighted to have received this important work. The Moss Haggadah represents a highpoint for contemporary Judaic artwork and the 20th century revival of Hebrew calligraphic arts, in which David Moss played – and continues to play – a pivotal role.”

Dr. Chaim Neria, Curator of the Haim and Hanna Solomon Judaica Collection, NLI, said The Moss Haggadah is important “exactly because it is a deeply researched, modern, visual interpretation of the traditional text. The Moss Haggadah has a dual significance: it is both a commentary on the traditional text and, at the same time, a commentary on our collective historical memory and its meaning.”

David Moss added: “I began my Haggadah manuscript in 1980 with months of research in Jerusalem’s rich libraries. On completion, it was delivered abroad and reproduced in several beautifully printed editions. I’m exceptionally grateful the original is finally ‘coming home’ to Jerusalem, and its rightful place at the National Library where it will be reunited with its sources, preserved, studied, and, I hope, enjoyed for generations.”

The Moss Haggadah has been exhibited at the New York Public Library, Yeshivah University Museum, Harvard University Libraries, and the Library of Congress, and facsimiles have been exhibited, or acquired, for the permanent collections of major museums, universities, and galleries in North America, the UK, and Israel.

A copy was presented by President Ronald Reagan to President Chaim Herzog in 1987 as the official gift on the occasion of the first state visit of an Israeli president to the US.

• The Moss Haggadah was presented to the Library by donors Trudy Elbaum Gottesman and Robert Gottesman at a ceremony on August 6, 2024 at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem.