Random Luckiest Book In History Has Survived Three Genocides (10 items)

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  (#1) The Haggadah Is A Religious Text Used In The Jewish Faith During Passover

  The Haggadah is a sacred text that faithful Jewish believers use at their Passover Seder. It's read at the Seder table where celebrants review God's commandments. The Passover celebration is a recognition of the story of the Exodus in the Torah, when God sent Moses to free the Israelites from bondage; it was at this time that God provided Moses with the Ten Commandments. Strict adherents to the Jewish faith do not conduct any business, go to work, or go to school during the first two and last two days of Passover, which lasts for a total of seven days.

  It's no wonder that the Sarajevo Haggadah, with its incredibly detailed illuminations, is a deeply revered text.
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  (#2) A Haggadah Provides The Ritual Steps In The Seder Meal

  The contents of the Haggadah outline the custom of the Passover Seder meal. Traditionally, celebrants begin with a blessing and by filling each other's cups with wine. This act represents the Jewish liberation from Egyptian rule. The Haggadah then guides celebrants through the remainder of their Seder meal, which includes washing their hands, partaking in the consumption of an appetizer, and breaking and sharing of the matzot, unleavened bread.

  The inclusion of unleavened bread represents the hurried nature with which the Israleites fled the Egyptians who enslaved them. After, and before the participants partake in their actual meal, the celebrants read the story of Passover from the Haggadah and discuss the tradition. The Haggadah text guides the contents of their discussion and analysis of the Jewish Exodus.
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  (#3) The Sarajevo Haggadah, Handwritten On Bleached Calfskin And Stained With Wine, Has Seen Many Seder Tables

  The Sarajevo Haggadah is an illuminated version of the sacred Haggadah text. It was handwritten on bleached calfskin and decorated in copper and gold. The first 34 pages of the Sarajevo Haggadah have beautiful illustrations with stories from the Torah, beginning with the creation story and ending with Moses's liberation of the Jewish people from Egyptian enslavement.

  The pages of the Sarajevo Haggadah have stains of wine, proof that Jewish adherents utilized the ancient book at Passover Seder meals throughout history.
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  (#4) The Sarajevo Haggadah Is Special, Not Only In Its Age But Also In Its Uniqueness From Contemporary Haggadah Books

  The Sarajevo Haggadah is a 14th-century book that inspires curiosity among art historians. Historians believe that the Sarajevo Haggadah originally came to be in Spain, at a time when Jewish people, Muslims, and Christians lived in a sort of harmony. However, the book, which is revered by believers and analyzed by historians, survived many centuries when the religious persecution of its faithful was rampant.

  The Sarajevo Haggadah, filled with religious-historical images, speaks to the traditions of the Jewish faith and its belief in eventual redemption through God. The Haggadah demonstrates how interpretations of scripture can change over time. For example, an art historian, Dr. Marc Michael Epstein, pointed out that the Sarajevo Haggadah has some interesting iconographic images, which do not comport with contemporary Haggadah books.
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  (#5) A Latin Inscription Helped Save The Sarajevo Haggadah From Destruction During The Spanish Inquisition

  Before the Spanish Inquisition, Jewish people, Muslims, and Christians lived among each other without much turmoil. However, around 1478, Catholic monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile instigated an intense period of distrust among newly converted Christians and non-Christians in Spain.

  The goal of the Christian monarchy during the Spanish Inquisition was to weed out disingenuous Christians and remove heretics from Spain. As a result, a period of intense investigation ensued. Many books considered heretical to Christian sentiments got destroyed. Miraculously, the Sarajevo Haggadah survived the Spanish Inquisition when Jewish people escaped the tyranny and took it to Venice, Italy. There, Catholic authorities decided that it was not a heretical book, and it survived destruction. A Latin inscription on one of the last pages evidences the Catholic Church stamp of approval for the Sarajevo Haggadah, which aided in its survival.
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  (#6) It Made Its Way To Bosnia – Then Someone Came For It

  Its path is unclear, but over the three centuries following the Spanish Inquisition, the Sarajevo Haggadah found its way to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 1942, when Nazi Germany invaded Sarajevo, the Bosnian National Museum had the Sarajevo Haggadah.

  The museum's chief librarian, Dervis Korkut, an Islamic scholar, heard that a German commander named General Johann Fortner intended to visit the Bosnian National Museum to speak with its director, and he knew that couldn't be good.
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  (#7) Hitler Was Rumored To Want To Create An Attraction With Artifacts Like The Haggadah

  When Sarajevo was being invaded, rumors existed of an Adolf Hitler plan to ransack Jewish synagogues and collect Jewish memorabilia so that after he obliterated the existence of Jewish people, he could build a caricature museum that Germans could visit to learn about the extinct race.

  As a result, Mr. Korkut, an anti-Fascist, convinced the Bosnian National Museum director to help him hide the Sarajevo Haggadah from the visiting commander.
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  (#8) It Had To Be Rescued Again During The Bosnian Serbs' Siege Of Sarajevo

  In 1992, Bosnian Serbs overtook Sarajevo, and their goal was to create an "ethnically pure" Greater Serbia, which meant targeting Muslims and ethnic Croatians, who didn't fit the vision of purity. Bosnian National Museum director Enver Imamovic, a Muslim, naturally feared for his life amid the siege and ethnic cleansing.

  Nonetheless, in June 1992, when the Bosnian Serbs attacked the area of the museum, Imamovic snuck inside the building to save the Sarajevo Haggadah. Imamovic had convinced the police chief of Sarajevo to escort him to the museum despite the hostilities in the area. So, he risked his life, went back in, and saved the book – again.
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  (#9) Many People Are Critical That The Sarajevo Haggadah Is Not Accessible To The World Public After All It's Been Through

  Much controversy surrounds the accessibility of the Sarajevo Haggadah. Because the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina seems to be undergoing a lengthy renovation, the Sarajevo Haggadah is rarely on display. Furthermore, unlike other artifacts, the Sarajevo Haggadah isn't currently touring because it's difficult to transport the 14th-century book under ideal conditions.

  The hold up regarding the display of the ancient Jewish text is mainly a political stalemate. Museums in Bosnia-Herzegovina are not under local or federal control. As a result, museums barely get enough funding to stay open, let alone make the improvements necessary to safeguard the Sarajevo Haggadah.
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  (#10) There's A Geraldine Brooks Novel Dedicated To The Sarajevo Haggadah

  In 2008, author Geraldine Brooks wrote a historical nonfiction novel about the Sarajevo Haggadah, People of the Book. While Brooks did include an accurate history of the Sarajevo Haggadah in her novel, she also added imagined events regarding the ancient text.

  Brooks's novel follows her protagonist, Hanna Heath, a book conservator; it alternates between a story about Hanna Heath and the actual history of the Sarajevo Haggadah. 

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