From North Africa and Europe in the west, through the Middle East to China in the east, our collection of Hebrew manuscripts manifests Jewish cultural and social lives spanning a thousand years. Explore some of these newly digitised collection items, examine key themes in our collection, and read expert articles to learn more about Jewish wisdom, culture, history and religion.
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The Illustrations in Maraviglia’s Prayer Book (Add MS 26957)
The exceptional collection of decorated Hebrew prayer books in the British Library contains an intriguing work produced in Italy in 1469 CE. Dr Evelyn M Cohen explores its unique representations of women participating in Jewish rituals.
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Do not believe everything you read: a Kabbalistic case study
Jonnie Schnytzer reads between the lines of a commentary to The Book of Creation, and explores how copyists have the power to alter the meaning of secret symbols.
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The Maḥzor Vitry of the British Library (Add MS 27200-Add MS 27201)
The British Library Maḥzor Vitry is one of 11 preserved manuscript copies of the lost 11th-century original attributed to Simḥah ben Samuel of Vitry. Dr Justine Isserles revisits this highly significant manuscript.
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The Conservation of Torah Mantle: Or 13027/2
The British Library collection of Hebrew manuscripts includes several mantles which were used to cover Torah scrolls. Elizabeth Rose describes the process of conserving these precious textiles.
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The Ashkenazi Glossed Bible
Most readers of the Bible feel that they sometimes need an explanation – a gloss – to understand a text written and edited many centuries before it reached their hands. Dr Javier del Barco looks particularly into the practice of producing glossed Hebrew Bibles in medieval Ashkenaz.
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Cleaning up Hebrew catalogue records with OpenRefine
The catalogue records for the British Library’s collection of Hebrew manuscripts are remarkably diverse and informative. Dr Adi Keinan-Schoonbaert explores how this data can be further improved and standardised in preparation for scholarly analysis.
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Micrography - a Jewish art
Hebrew Bible manuscripts are often decorated with micrography – a Jewish scribal art that forms the outline of images in tiny script. Dr Dalia-Ruth Halperin considers the use of micrography and Carmina Figurata in Hebrew manuscripts.
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Palaeography: scribes and the transmission of Hebrew scientific works
Before the age of printing, the texts and layouts of Hebrew works were not standardised. This is because the transmission of works was out of the hands of their authors and in the hands of scribes. Dr Israel Sandman considers the intervention of scribes when copying Hebrew scientific works.
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Kabbalistic diagrams in the British Library's Margoliouth Catalogue
Using the work of the Library’s Hebrew Manuscripts Digitisation Project, Dr Yossi Chajes examines ‘visual Kabbalah’, its interpretations and its importance
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Shedding new light on marginalia mysteries
Dr Christina Duffy explores the use of multispectral imaging at the British Library, and how it recovered erased illustrations from the margins of Add MS 26957, a 15th-century CE Hebrew prayer book.
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The power of language in Jewish Kabbalah and magic: how to do (and undo) things with words
By looking into Jewish mystical texts and the use of names in Jewish magic, Dr Agata Paluch considers the use of divine and angelic names to gain special powers, cast magic, or even attain unification with God.
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To read or not to read - is not the question
Dr Dalia-Ruth Halperin examines figured micrography and the relationship between text and design in this unique Jewish art.
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Featured themes
Jewish Liturgy
From Siddur to Seder – the order of prayers and their exact readings were transmitted throughout the years across all Jewish communities.
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Jewish Law
Explore the Talmud, Halakhah and legal codes, and how they affect every aspect of Jewish life.
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New technologies and digital research
How can we digitally experience Hebrew manuscripts? How can we unravel their secrets using computational and scientific techniques?
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Illuminations and the art of writing
From full border illuminations to marginal micrography, which stories are revealed by these creative forms of art?
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Science and medicine
From the alignment of the stars to the zodiac, what were the scientific works of Jews and how were they transmitted?
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The Hebrew Bible
In which different forms have biblical texts been transmitted, and how was the accuracy of the holy text maintained?
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Jewish communities
What was it like to be a European, Middle Eastern, North African, or even Chinese Jew hundreds of years ago?
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Kabbalah and mysticism
Explore the magical essence of words and the infinite creation of the physical and metaphysical universe.
Read MoreFeatured Collection Items
View some of our unique collection items
The Brother Haggadah
Date: 1350-1374 CE
Sefer Torah Or 1462
Date: 15th century CE
Megilat Ester, Or 1047
Date: 17th century CE
Astronomical and philosophical miscellanies
Date: 14th century CE
The Sana'a Pentateuch
Date: 1469 CE
Blog posts
Take a feather and a candle: why thorough spring cleaning is so important
Friday, April 7, 2017Looking through our collection of digitised Hebrew illuminated manuscripts, you may have noticed that amongst all of the biblical scenes and decorative letters, there are scenes of families cleaning their houses. Given the same spatial importance of scenes of lofty...
The Book of Esther and the Jewish Festival Purim
Thursday, March 9, 2017Purim is undoubtedly one of the most boisterous, cheerful and joyous festivals in the Jewish calendar. It takes place in early spring on 14th of Adar which this year starts at sundown on March 11th. Purim celebrates the salvation of...
Digitised Hebrew Manuscripts: conference at the British Library, 21 November 2016
Monday, October 24, 2016You are welcome to join us in a conference celebrating the end of Phase 1 of the Hebrew Manuscripts Digitisation Project (HMDP) and the beginning of Phase 2! This conference will take place on Monday, 21 November 2016, at the...
What do you think about our digitised Hebrew manuscripts?
Monday, October 3, 2016We’ve been digitising Hebrew manuscripts and making them available on the Digitised Manuscripts website since 2013, with generous funding from The Polonsky Foundation. With the recent start of Phase 2 of our digitisation project (funded by the National Library of...
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