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The oldest Sephardic Haggadah in the world
The Sarajevo Haggadah is an illuminated manuscript that contains the traditional text of the Passover Haggadah which accompanies the Passover Seder. It is the oldest Sephardic Haggadah in the world, originating in Barcelona around 1350. The Haggadah is presently owned by the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, where it is on permanent display. We still do not know the exact date and place of the book’s creation or the name of the artist who illuminated it. Perhaps we will never learn. The Sarajevo Haggadah is handwritten on bleached calfskin and illuminated in copper and gold. It opens with 34 pages of illustrations of key scenes in the Bible from creation through the death of Moses. Its pages are stained with wine, evidence that it was used at many Passover Seders. It is considered to be the most beautiful illuminated Jewish manuscript in existence and one of the most valuable books in the world. We do, however, know that in the eighteenth year after the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, the Haggadah changed hands. A note mentions this fact but does not provide us with the names of either of the owners. There is another note, dated 1609, stating that the book does not speak against the Church, which saved it from being burned by the Spanish Inquisition. We know nothing further about it until it is mentioned in 1894. It is assumed that the manuscript came to Bosnia and Herzegovina either as part of a dowry or as a bribe, or simply as the property of those seeking sanctuary in Sarajevo, the “European Jerusalem”, where Jews have lived alongside other faiths since 1565. It was in this city that the Jewish cultural, educational and humanitarian society, “La Benevolencia”, was established in 1892, and when a certain Josef Cohen offered to sell it to the society, they found that it was too expensive. What is its market value today? No one is certain. The estimates have been as high as 700 million US$, but this was probably a misprint for 7 million. It was bought for 150 Crowns (the equivalent of around $10,000) by the National Museum in Sarajevo (Zemaljski muzej), which was established in 1888. The manuscript was then sent to Vienna for an expert assessment, and was returned to Sarajevo a few years later, because it was part of the same Monarchy.
The Haggadah was never publicly displayed. It was always kept in a special place and was available for viewing only to the select few. It was not seen, yet everyone knew about it. One of the first objects that the German forces demanded after entering Sarajevo in 1941 was the Sarajevo Haggadah. Thanks to the ingenuity of Mr Jozo Petrović, the director, and Mr Derviš Korkut, the curator of the National Museum, the Haggadah was not handed over. The Haggadah survived, but no one now knows where or how. After the liberation in 1945, the Haggadah was back in the National Museum. The first studies on it appeared and disputes over its ownership began. The Supreme Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ruled that the Haggadah was the property of Bosnia and Herzegovina and that its custodian was the National Museum, which ended the dispute.   The Madrid organisers of the Sefarad ’92 exhibition, marking the 500th anniversary of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, requested that the Haggadah be sent for display in this, the largest exhibition of Sephardic art ever. However, the Madrid Museum required it to be insured for 7 million US$ and, because of the wars in Slovenia and in Croatia, this idea had to be abandoned as the premium was too high. By the beginning 1995 the plight of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sarajevo was no longer high on the agenda for media around the world. This gave rise to the idea of refocusing international attention on Sarajevo by using the Haggadah. US Senator Lieberman declared that he would come to Sarajevo for Passover if the Sarajevo Haggadah were on the table. President Izetbegović and Prime Minister Silajdžić accepted the idea and the Haggadah was brought to the Jewish Community building for Passover in 1995 under extremely tight security. The event was reported by news agencies around the world and quite a few sent their reporters to Sarajevo especially for the occasion. It was breaking news on CNN, though Senator Lieberman did not make it to Sarajevo because of the siege and the closing of the airport. The following year 12 million American viewers saw a programme on ABC Night Line dedicated to this priceless manuscript. Through the joint efforts of the UN Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Jewish Community, the National Museum and several donors, in 2002 a room with special security was opened so that the Haggadah could finally be on permanent public display.
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