Resplendent in deep blues, brilliant yellows and alluring reds, the 14th century Sarajevo Haggadah was created during the halcyon days of la convivencia, or “coexistence,” when Jews, Muslims and Christians lived together in Spain in relative peace.
The Korkut Family
An incomparable work of art appraised at $700 million, its wine-stained pages indicate that it was more than a precious family heirloom, it was actually used at Seder tables. It probably left the Iberian Peninsula along with the Jews exiled by the Alhambra Decree of 1492, and a Church censor’s notation dated 1609 indicates that it somehow passed the scrutiny of the Inquisition in Italy. In the late 19th century a mysterious figure named Joseph Cohen sold the precious document to a museum in Sarajevo, where it currently resides as a treasured item of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A dog serving a hare (Barcelona Haggada, c.1350)
Art historian Dr. Marc Michael Epstein has decoded many of the mysterious iconographic elements in the haggadah. A dog chasing a hare over the biblical verse “and they tortured us” was an expression of a medieval Jewish convention, based on a Talmudic reading of Kohelet 3:15 that God will “seek out the pursued” (the contemporary Barcelona Haggadah, by contrast, has a representation of a dog serving a hare in the Messianic future).
Mysterious girl at the Seder table (Sarajevo Haggadah)
Some mysteries remain opaque, such as the identity of the dark-skinned woman at the all-female Seder table. Her exotic headgear and position opposite the woman of the house and lower in the frame indicate that she might be a Moorish servant, but she is seated and clearly participating in the meal. Is she a convert? Perhaps a guest? The problem is compounded by the fact that portraits in medieval manuscripts of this nature often reflect the faces of the family that commissioned the artist. In other words, this particular illumination is most likely a representation of the first owners of the Sarajevo Haggadah who felt the mysterious woman (girl?) was sufficiently important that she be included as part of the household.
Elements like these have baffled art historians, including Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Geraldine Brooks, whose novel People of the Book is a fictionalized account of the Sarajevo Haggadah’s history.
Among the amazing stories associated with the document is that of Dervis Korkut, a Muslim intellectual who served as the Chief Librarian of the Museum during the Nazi occupation. A fervent advocate of the multi-ethnic culture of Sarajevo, he predicted that the Nazis would seize the Haggadah for the bizarre “Museum of Jewish Civilization” in Prague that Hitler had planned in future commemoration of the destruction of the Jewish people. At great personal risk, Korkut smuggled the slim book out of the Museum and deposited it with an Imam, who hid the books in the library of a mosque outside of Sarajevo, returning it after the war.
Dog chasing hare (Sarajevo Haggadah)
Korkut’s love for the Jewish citizens of the city extended beyond their precious Haggadah. In the spring of 1942 he hid an orphaned Jewish girl in his home, telling his wife Servet to pretend she was, perhaps like the mysterious woman in the Haggadah, a Muslim servant. In this manner young Mira Papo survived the war and emigrated to Israel, where she successfully petitioned the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center to recognize the Korkuts as Righteous Gentiles. A tree was planted in their honor and they received a handsome Hebrew certificate testifying to their wartime heroism.
Almost 60 years later, Sarajevo was once again engulfed in violence. During the Bosnian war, Serbs massacred thousands of Muslims in so-called “ethnic cleansing.” The Korkuts’ daughter Lamija Jaha and her husband Vllaznim fled the bloodbaths and managed to cross the border into Macedonia with nothing other than her handbag and whatever family mementos she could carry. Lost amidst hundreds of refugees in a strange land, with no one to turn to for assistance, Lamija realized one of the family heirlooms she saved was a creased photocopy of the certificate her parents had received from Yad Vashem.
Moses at Mount Sinai (Sarajevo Haggadah)
Desperate, the Jahas made their way to Skopje, which had a population of some 200 Jews. They presented the document to Victor Mizrahi, the President of the Jewish community Skopje, who immediately contacted Jerusalem for assistance. Within days Lamija and her family were flown to safety and greeted at Ben-Gurion Airport by Prime Minister Netanyahu, who extended asylum to the family in recognition of the wartime work of her father, whose heroism saved the life of a young Jewish girl – and the Sarajevo Haggadah.
(14) Haiko, March 5, 2021 10:41 PM
Haggadah of Sarajevo
I‘m proud to have a facsimile of it. It’s amazing!
(13) Miriam Meghnagi, August 16, 2020 2:33 PM
Phenominal story about the Haggadah and family that saved it and subsequently the certificate that saved their lives. May we all live in peace and harmony!!
(12) Carol cohen, March 10, 2019 1:03 PM
Wonderful article with an amazing story. I am rereading People of the Book and running a book group. This will be a perfect item to share at the meeting
(11) Michael J. "Orange Mike" Lowrey, September 12, 2018 4:46 PM
A marvel of love
Truly G_d is glorious, and His miracles without end. This is such a wonderful historical annal of human nobility across false boundaries, that it brought this Quaker nearly to tears.
(10) Anonymous, March 15, 2018 9:36 AM
“People of the Book” by Geraldine Brooks
Wonderful story about the Sarajevo Haggadah
(9) Anonymous, July 9, 2017 7:32 PM
"People of the Book"
Geraldine Brooks' book is titled "People of the Book", c 2008. She is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and author of March. I have not read March, but may have to after reading the People of the Book. I find the latter hard to put down. I am not Jewish. I am a Unitarian Universalist. This novel speaks to me. I have had to look further into the real aspects on which the book, a novel, is written
(8) Henrik Wahlberg, April 28, 2016 5:10 AM
Geraldine Brooks
Pls note that the Australian author Geraldine Brooks wrote an excellent fiction book about this: The people in the book! worth reading!
(7) Paul Zepeda, April 27, 2016 5:47 PM
Amazing! I read the novel!
I remember reading the novel by Geraldine Brooks, I believe titled "The Haggadah" It was so interesting it had me enthralled. In the story, the dark servant girl had a brother who was a painter and was commissioned by the head of the library to do the illustration. It also had some mysterious stains and a feather. I believe, I still have the book somewhere around the house.
(6) Baruch, April 27, 2016 8:18 AM
Dark-skinned woman?
Maybe the dark-skinned woman at a time and place where that implied slavery or a lower social status was a statement that Pesach was the mark of spiritual freedom, no matter one's social standing? That might also explain the meaning of an entire table of women... on Pesach night, all participants attained spiritual freedom?
(5) Rachel, April 26, 2016 10:39 PM
Wonderful
A beautiful reminder that the Haggadah says "Let all who are hungry come and eat." And a reminder of our common humanity
(4) JOSHUA, April 26, 2016 2:50 PM
Awesome!
I love this thanks for writing & publishing!
Henry Abramson, April 27, 2016 12:41 PM
Thanks for reading!
Glad you enjoyed the article.
(3) Patrick Dempsey, April 26, 2016 1:56 PM
Jewish Muslim relations
It is inspiring once you get away from those who are fundamentally opposed to living in peace. While not all Muslim's hate all Jews, there is a place for dialogue and understanding. This piece reflects what it all comes down to. When in need, Human Beings will respond to their fellow Human Beings regardless of age, race, creed or ethnicity!
Anonymous, April 27, 2016 12:42 PM
Agreed!
The story meant a lot to me as well.
(2) Anonymous, April 25, 2016 12:42 PM
Fascinating and inspiring! Thanks for posting!
Anonymous, April 27, 2016 12:41 PM
My pleasure!
Glad you found it useful.
(1) Anonymous, April 19, 2016 3:34 PM
Fascinating! Timely!
Wonderful article. Have a sweet and happy Pesach, Lucille aka Veaudor
Henry Abramson, April 19, 2016 6:51 PM
Glad you enjoyed it!
Have an excellent Pesach.