"As poisoned tipped spears flew over my shoulders, and venomous snakes slithered around my ankles, I lunged out of the way of gigantic boulders careening towards me. Then it came into my view!! The original Megillah, authored by Esther and Mordechai themselves, surrounded by a labyrinth of mirrors, creating the illusion of an infinite number of this sacred ancient text. Having previously discerned the Secret of the Mirrors, I swiftly snatched the precious treasure, sealed it in a protective wrap, and spotting a second opening in the cave, leapt out and plunged 90 meters to the pool below, the welcome outcome of a breathtaking waterfall roaring in this dense jungle…"- Yoel “Ace” Finkelman excerpt from his diary. Ahh, well, maybe not exactly. But the hunt to get the most important documentation of the Jewish past and present is a fascinating adventure, and the head curator of the National Library of Israel’s Judaica collection, Dr. Yoel Finkelman, has some fabulous behind the scenes tales of his worldwide search, alongside a team of bibliographers, scholars, antique dealers, and experts, for rare Jewish books, Torah commentaries, manuscripts, documents, and archives, to add to the largest and deepest collection of Jewish texts ever assembled.
We have invited him to speak at a Zoom event for the Jerusalem Foundation of Canada on Sunday, March 27th from 10:30-11:45 am EST. Key members of the library staff will also be sharing some of the extraordinary content from the collection with us. What a treat! If you would like to join us, please RSVP to [email protected]
PS - This will be of particular interest for anyone interested in collecting, books, Rabbinic writings, Jewish or Zionist history, or Jerusalem and you are welcome to share this invitation.
Sarah and Larry Krauss
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