On books and their places
Von Büchern und ihren Orten
His pupils asked Rabbi Tarfon: Is anyone always just?
[The rabbi answered]: Those who write books and lend them to others.
Midrash Tehillim 106,3
On books and their places –
Jewish libraries worldwide
A blog by Germania Judaica in cooperation with the Steinheim Institute
Jewish libraries are storehouses of knowledge – places of teaching, meeting, thinking – mirrors of Jewish life unique spaces of insight into Jewish history, past and present
Jews are known as the “people of the book”. Books, collections, and libraries have always been highly valued in Jewish circles. Important manuscript collections by Jewish scholars, teachers, and communities are evidenced from the Middle Ages onward. Every Jewish school is at the same time a library, and many community libraries are known well beyond their borders. Even when their very existence was threatened, for example at the time of the Shoah, Jews still built up and cherished their book collections.
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Almost everywhere Jews have settled they have also established libraries. Today these libraries encircle the globe and invite you to visit them – both physically and virtually.
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This blog features Jewish libraries or book collections around the world - from Germany, the Jewish Diaspora, and Israel, the old and new homeland of the Jewish people. Since its inception in the Jubilee year 2021 it continues to grow in loose succession.
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