More than 150 people gathered for the Annual Joint Meeting of the Raritan Valley Chapter of Hadassah and the Sisterhood of HPCT-CAE on the evening of March 5 to hear Adina Kanefield speak about “The National Library of Israel’s (NLI) Collections and Wartime Effort.” Kanefield took the audience assembled in Highland Park on a journey through the library’s major collections and treasures that highlight the rich history of Israel and the Jewish people. She also reported on the library’s efforts to document October 7 and its aftermath and initiatives to support Israelis and Jewish communities around the world.

The National Library of Israel opened its new building on October 29 amidst the war, and quickly set as its purpose to revive the soul and spirit of the country.

Lisa Kleinmann of Highland Park felt getting a preview of the collection and the building’s incredible architecture would have to be sufficient until she can visit in-person. Hadassah Board Member Ruth Fineberg, also of Highland Park, added that “everyone is talking about the new NLI building. It is nice to talk about something positive and honor the library in the midst of the war.”

The library’s five major collections, Judaica; the Land of Israel; Humanities; Music; and Islamic/Arab, were represented with posters containing images, descriptions and provenance of unbelievable treasures. An Orit, the sacred scripture of Ethiopian Jews from the 18th century was handed down through the generations in Ethiopia and embarked on a long and arduous journey to Israel, via Sudan, in the 1980s with Kes Isaac Yaso and his family.

The draft lyrics of Naomi Shemer’s iconic “Jerusalem of Gold” were also on display in images of the notebook that Shemer jotted them down in. In 1967, while riding in a jeep en route to entertain the troops in the Sinai, she heard on the radio that the army had regained control of the Old City and the Kotel and was inspired to add a fourth verse to her just-released song.

The NLI is also fortunate to have a commentary on the Mishna written in Maimonides’ own hand that was drafted in Morocco, completed in Egypt, sold in Syria and brought to England, then auctioned in Switzerland, and bought by Israel as one of the library’s treasures.

Kanefield began the presentation with the history of the NLI. Originally founded in 1892 by Dr. Yosef Chazanovitz, a Zionist who loved books and felt that a budding nation badly needed them. He would collect books in Russia and ship them to Jerusalem. He was so committed that he would accept payment for his services in books in lieu of currency. By 1903 there were 22,000 volumes in the collection, with books donated by the likes of Theodore Herzl. When the War of Independence broke out and access to the library was restricted, the book collection was moved by armored vehicles to a more accessible location and university students did the moving.

The library is also in the process of digitizing all Jewish newspapers from around the world, and Kanefield selected a few historic news items and pictures from the Highland Park/Edison area to feature on a slide. One couple in the audience was surprised and delighted to see their own wedding announcement from 1982 posted. Kanefield noted that some of her favorite documents were the unprecedented historic printing of newspapers on the day the State of Israel was established.

The NLI has been active in the war effort in many ways. In addition to documenting and recording the events of the last few months in recordings of survivors, posters, interviews with soldiers and evacuees, etc, they have played an active role in assisting evacuees. They began with sending a Bookmobile to sites where evacuees were relocated. The old library building was repurposed as a middle school for evacuees when the regular school system was overwhelmed by the sudden influx of students. An installation was prepared in the new building to keep the hostages in the forefront by preparing a chair and a book associated with each hostage. Hostage families were consulted about book choices and represented the books they were reading before they were taken, books in their preferred genre, or ones that the family felt represented their loved one.

Kanefield concluded by saying, “We are not only ‘People of the Book,’ but People of the Books. The NLI is your library, for all the Jewish people, and we look forward to welcoming you.”

Rabbi Eliot Malomet of HPCT-CAE noted, “It is important to host an event like this, celebrating the newest gem of Jewish civilization. If you can’t visit the NLI in person, coming here to see images of the treasures is the next best thing.”

For more information about NLI, visit https://www.nli.org.il/en