Matadero Madrid center for contemporary creation
THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ISRAEL: A DEPOSIT OF MEMORY
Start date
End date
Venue
Casa del Lector
Espina Central
Institution
THE EXHIBITION WILL REMAIN CLOSED DURING THE MONTH OF AUGUST
This is the exhibition that marks the beginning of the project LIBRARY: GEOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF AN IDEA, within the Digital Library Casa del Lector, to provide a window into the great libraries of the world that are taking on the challenge of adapting to the technological revolution, aiming to make the library as an institution something less hierarchical and more open. Moving towards the library of the future. A digital and interactive exhibition that traces in eight parts the fascinating background to the NLI through documents, some of them in digital format for the first time, videos, audio clips and other multimedia content that shares with us the memory and recollections of the Jewish people. A digital experience that can be viewed through mobile devices and tablets using either the IOS or Android operating systems. On the backlit wall panels visitors will find QR codes to gain direct access, in Spanish or English to the multimedia content of each of the eight virtual sections that make up the exhibition. This project has digitalised and translated for the first time such important documents as a letter from Stefan Zweig from 1933 where he reveals the anti-Semitic climate that already pervaded Austria at this early date, and an important letter from the Francoist authorities to Max Horkheimer where they informed him of the circumstances surrounding the death of Walter Benjamin in Portbou.
The content of the exhibition is divided into the following sections: Maimonides’ Commentary on the Mishnah The National Library of Israel possesses parts of the original manuscript of Maimonides´ revolutionary commentary on the Mishnah, the canonical text of Jewish law. The Islamic Collection An Andalusian Koran from the 12th century, a Persian epic poem that tells the story of Alejandro Magno and a splendid safavid Koran confiscated by the ottoman sultan are some of the rare and magnificent manuscripts that the scholar A.S Yahuda donated to the Islamic collection of the NLI and that you can see in this section. The Torah Scroll from Spain You will learn the incredible tale of a scared Torah scroll that was written in Spain in the 14th century, travelled to the island of Rhodes with the exiled Jews and was hidden in a Muslim mosque during the Nazi occupation. Newton’s Theological Papers The great Isaac Newton was also a passionate theologian who thought that he could predict the future by interpreting the scriptures, as shown by the theological writings from the NLI which are displayed here. According to his calculations the end of the world would take place in the year 2060. Menahem de Lonzano’s Treatise on Kabbalah In 2010 a unique manuscript was discovered in an attic in Israel and was acquired by the NLI. Written en 1610 by Menahem de Lonzano, it is an important contribution towards understanding the Kabbalah. Maps of the Holy Land and Jerusalem Christians and Jews throughout the world have always dreamed of seeing the Holy Land. Those that travelled there shared their experiences through words and pictures, both real and imaginary, which we present in this section. Zweig, Benjamin and Kafka Stefan Zweig, Walter Benjamin and Franz Kafka were prominent figures in the German cultural scene during the interwar period. Their world fell apart when the Nazis rose to power but their work lived on. Parts of their archives are conserved in the NLI and can be seen in this exposition. Elimelech Basch’s Diary The Basch family, the parents and their eight children, were deported to Auschwitz in May 1944 during the Jewish festival of Shavuot (Pentecost). The story of their final days is relayed in the moving diary written by the father which is now in the custody of the NLI.
Casa del Lector and the National Library of Israel (NLI) have organised this exhibition with the collaboration of the Israeli embassy in Spain and the Sephardic-Israeli centre. It has been commissioned by Milka Levy-Rubin who is the curator of the Humanities section of the NLI.
This is the exhibition that marks the beginning of the project LIBRARY: GEOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF AN IDEA, within the Digital Library Casa del Lector, to provide a window into the great libraries of the world that are taking on the challenge of adapting to the technological revolution, aiming to make the library as an institution something less hierarchical and more open. Moving towards the library of the future. A digital and interactive exhibition that traces in eight parts the fascinating background to the NLI through documents, some of them in digital format for the first time, videos, audio clips and other multimedia content that shares with us the memory and recollections of the Jewish people. A digital experience that can be viewed through mobile devices and tablets using either the IOS or Android operating systems. On the backlit wall panels visitors will find QR codes to gain direct access, in Spanish or English to the multimedia content of each of the eight virtual sections that make up the exhibition. This project has digitalised and translated for the first time such important documents as a letter from Stefan Zweig from 1933 where he reveals the anti-Semitic climate that already pervaded Austria at this early date, and an important letter from the Francoist authorities to Max Horkheimer where they informed him of the circumstances surrounding the death of Walter Benjamin in Portbou.
The content of the exhibition is divided into the following sections: Maimonides’ Commentary on the Mishnah The National Library of Israel possesses parts of the original manuscript of Maimonides´ revolutionary commentary on the Mishnah, the canonical text of Jewish law. The Islamic Collection An Andalusian Koran from the 12th century, a Persian epic poem that tells the story of Alejandro Magno and a splendid safavid Koran confiscated by the ottoman sultan are some of the rare and magnificent manuscripts that the scholar A.S Yahuda donated to the Islamic collection of the NLI and that you can see in this section. The Torah Scroll from Spain You will learn the incredible tale of a scared Torah scroll that was written in Spain in the 14th century, travelled to the island of Rhodes with the exiled Jews and was hidden in a Muslim mosque during the Nazi occupation. Newton’s Theological Papers The great Isaac Newton was also a passionate theologian who thought that he could predict the future by interpreting the scriptures, as shown by the theological writings from the NLI which are displayed here. According to his calculations the end of the world would take place in the year 2060. Menahem de Lonzano’s Treatise on Kabbalah In 2010 a unique manuscript was discovered in an attic in Israel and was acquired by the NLI. Written en 1610 by Menahem de Lonzano, it is an important contribution towards understanding the Kabbalah. Maps of the Holy Land and Jerusalem Christians and Jews throughout the world have always dreamed of seeing the Holy Land. Those that travelled there shared their experiences through words and pictures, both real and imaginary, which we present in this section. Zweig, Benjamin and Kafka Stefan Zweig, Walter Benjamin and Franz Kafka were prominent figures in the German cultural scene during the interwar period. Their world fell apart when the Nazis rose to power but their work lived on. Parts of their archives are conserved in the NLI and can be seen in this exposition. Elimelech Basch’s Diary The Basch family, the parents and their eight children, were deported to Auschwitz in May 1944 during the Jewish festival of Shavuot (Pentecost). The story of their final days is relayed in the moving diary written by the father which is now in the custody of the NLI.
Casa del Lector and the National Library of Israel (NLI) have organised this exhibition with the collaboration of the Israeli embassy in Spain and the Sephardic-Israeli centre. It has been commissioned by Milka Levy-Rubin who is the curator of the Humanities section of the NLI.
