The Sarajevo Haggadah

Illuminated manuscripts are almost unheard of in the Jewish faith. But somehow, the Sarajevo Haggadah survived the Spanish Inquisition, was saved from burnings, and was smuggled under a Nazi officer's nose. Fifty years later, the war in Bosnia nearly claimed the book again until a Muslim librarian rescued it.The oldest such Haggadah known, the Sarajevo Hagaddah has been appraised at hundreds of millions of dollars. This facsimile, created with the authority of the National Museum, Sarajevo, is the only reproduction of the complete work authorized for publication in America. The Sarajevo Haggadah's 288 pages of brilliant colors and exquisite lettering hold centuries of markings—wine that was spilled, notes that were made, hand after hand that touched and hoped. Perhaps what is most beautiful is the story of religious freedom, regardless of faith. No wonder it has endured.Now packaged in a beautiful gold-inscribed slipcase alongside a companion book with essays by author of The People of the Book Geraldine Brooks and editor of the Encyclopedia Judaica Cecil Roth, The Overlook Press presents The Sarajevo Haggadah, a beautiful facsimile of a treasured relic.