The National Library of Israel announced on Thursday that it received the world's largest collection of Yemenite Jewish manuscripts. The collection, some 60,000 texts, both complete and fragmented, includes rare items such as copies of works by Maimonides and Rabbi Yihya Saleh in Judeo-Yemenite.
Incidentally, the Hebrew date of the donation, the 9th of Shevat, coincides with the anniversary of the death of the renowned 17th-century rabbi and poet – Rabbi Shalom Shabazi, the press release said.
A passion for Yemenite heritage
The collection was bequeathed to the library by the family of the late Yehuda Levi Nahum, a Jew from Sanaa who immigrated to Israel in 1929. Having discovered a passion for his Yemenite heritage, Nahum initiated his collection with works his parents sent to him from Yemen.
Following his parents’ aliyah in 1949, he focused his activity on gathering works from Yemenite immigrants in the temporary ma’abarot and other towns where they had settled. In addition, in order to discover fragmented works, he engaged in disassembling book bindings.
His collection was widely known among researchers who would visit it in order to expand their knowledge. Worthy of note are former Israeli presidents Itzhak Ben-Zvi and Zalman Shazar.
Throughout the years, a majority of the works have been categorized and scanned by various institutes.
Enriching future scholarship
Dr. Chaim Neria, Curator of the Haim and Hanna Solomon Judaica Collection at the National Library, said: "This important collection is a transformative addition to the Library's documentation of Yemenite-Jewish heritage that will enrich scholarship in this field for years to come.
"The Library is dedicated to expanding its collections and making these materials as widely available as possible," he added.
The collection will join the library’s already numerous items concerning Yemenite Jews, their heritage, and their lives in Israel.