Library Exhibits

Current Exhibit

Sacred Words: Revealing the Earliest Hebrew Book

March 19–July 28

After 1,300 years of untold travels along the Silk Roads, the oldest Hebrew book reveals its remarkable story. In Sacred Words, guests will behold the oldest-known Hebrew book, containing Sabbath-morning prayers, liturgical poems, and the world’s oldest Haggadah, which was mysteriously written upside down. Learn about the book’s content, its origins on the Silk Roads, and the multicultural cooperation that brought it first to Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC.

The exhibit is open to the public during Library Hours, Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.

Additional Guided Tours Now Available Due to Popular Demand:

Tuesday, June 10th, 5:00–6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, June 24th, 5:00–6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, July 9th, 5:00–6:00 p.m.

Read about the Exhibit:

The world’s oldest Jewish book is on display in New York City (JTA)

An extraordinary rarity’: Exhibit of oldest Hebrew book opens at JTS library  (JNS)

Group tours are available. Please contact Dr. David Kraemer, Joseph J. and Dora Abbell Librarian and Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics, for more information.

Opening Event—March 18, 2025

Previous Exhibits

Illuminating Sacred Text: Contemporary Jewish Book Artists and Their Work

Illuminating Sacred Text: Contemporary Jewish Book Artists and Their Work

Illuminating Sacred Text: Contemporary Jewish Book Artists and Their Work

Learn More
Seeing the Unseeable

Seeing the Unseeable

Kabbalistic Imagery from The Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

Learn More
A Sacred Space

A Sacred Space

Synagogue Architecture and Identity

Learn More
Living Yiddish in New York

Living Yiddish in New York

NYC as a center of Yiddish culture

Learn More
The Work of Her Hands

The Work of Her Hands

The Art of Lynne Avadenka and the Craft of Jewish Women Printers

Learn More
The Jews of Corfu

The Jews of Corfu

Between the Adriatic and the Ionian

Learn More