From 10 September at the Bibliotheca Albertina: the Leipzig Machsor is on display for the first time in 17 years

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On Thursday 10 September, the University Library (UB) of Leipzig will open its new special exhibition at the Bibliotheca Albertina: ‘EinBlick #10: Beautiful, precious, gigantic. The Leipzig Machzor”. This famous Hebrew manuscript from the early 14th century is a Jewish cultural treasure of the highest order: the immense, two-volume manuscript contains the prayers and hymns for the Jewish festivals and is richly adorned with exquisite illumination.

As part of the ‘Tacheles’ theme year, the Leipzig Machzor is on public display for the first time in 17 years until 25 October – with a new page revealed each week.

The Leipzig Machzor ranks among the most internationally renowned Hebrew manuscripts of the European Middle Ages. It was commissioned in the early 14th century for the prominent Jewish community in the Rhineland episcopal city of Worms.

“The immense size of the two-volume manuscript, written on parchment, the exquisite calligraphy and the rich illumination with precious pigments and gold bear witness to the wealth of the patron and the book’s status as a prestige piece,” explains exhibition curator Dr Christoph Mackert.

An assessment in 2005 revealed that the layers of colour in the illuminated manuscript were at risk of flaking off. It was subsequently meticulously stabilised by a leading conservation specialist. As turning the large-format, heavy parchment leaves can cause the paint layers to loosen again, the manuscript is now only displayed in exceptional cases.

“As a university library, it is particularly important to us to make this extraordinary testament to Jewish cultural heritage accessible to the public during the Year of Jewish Culture in Saxony. To this end, the paint layers in the Machzor were specially stabilised once again by our restoration workshop,” said Dr Anne Lipp, Director of the University Library of Leipzig.

The exhibition will feature six double-page spreads, beginning with the liturgy for the New Year festival, Rosh Hashanah, which is celebrated this year from 11 to 13 September. The new pages will be on display from Thursdays onwards, so it is well worth visiting the exhibition more than once.

The Leipzig Machzor

The Machzor was still in use in Worms as late as 1553. Presumably as a result of the attempts to drive out the Jewish community, which began in the second half of the 16th century, the manuscript found its way to Galicia in what is now eastern Poland: Addenda are attributed to rabbis from Szczebrzeszyn/Shebreshin and Lesko/Lisk. In 1746, the Machzor was finally offered for sale in Leipzig. The University Library of Leipzig acquired it under its then director, Christian Friedrich Börner.

A Machzor, also known as a Mahzor, remains to this day a central book in Jewish religious life. It contains the prayers and readings to be recited on the special festivals throughout the liturgical year. The name originally means ‘repetition’ and was applied to the annual cycle of festive liturgy in the synagogue. A few Machzorim from the European Middle Ages have survived.

The website for the exhibition
‘EinBlick #10: Beautiful, Precious, Gigantic. The Leipzig Machzor’ can be found here
.

Exhibition dates:
10 September to 25 October, daily from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm in the exhibition space of the Bibliotheca Albertina (Beethovenstr. 6, 04107 Leipzig), free admission.

An audio guide in the exhibition provides visitors with further background information on the manuscript and its history.

Supporting programme

Opening reception on Thursday 10 September
at 7.00 pm
,
followed by an event at Café Alibi in the Bibliotheca Albertina.

Under the title ‘The Leipzig Machzor: Jewish Cultural Heritage as a Commitment’, Dr Christoph Mackert, Head of the Manuscript Centre at Leipzig University Library, and Prof. Dr Jörg Deventer from the Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture – Simon Dubnow – will speak about Jewish cultural heritage of the highest order. The focus will be, amongst other things, on questions of provenance and our ongoing responsibility towards Jewish cultural heritage.

Closing event on 25 October at 4.00 pm
in the Fürstenzimmer at the Bibliotheca Albertina. All about the Leipzig Machzor: An expert explains.

The Leipzig Machzor is one of the most famous manuscripts to have survived from medieval European Jewry: a magnificent work of calligraphy featuring exquisite illumination. Katrin Kogman-Appel, Humboldt Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Münster and one of the most internationally renowned experts on Hebrew manuscripts, will discuss her research on the Leipzig Machzor with Dr Christoph Mackert and explain what makes this manuscript so unique.

Public guided tours with exhibition curator Dr Christoph Mackert
on 24 September at 6.00 pm and on 5 October at 3.00 pm; the meeting point for both tours is the foyer of the Bibliotheca Albertina.