Since the time of the Babylonian Exile in the early sixth century BCE, the vast majority of the world’s Jews have lived in diasporas—scattered across many lands, cultures, and languages. In these communities, Jewish wisdom and creativity often found their fullest expression in the creation of books. Manuscripts became vessels of memory, imagination, and identity, preserving the richness of Jewish life from Antiquity into modern times. 

The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) houses one of the world’s largest and most important collections of Hebrew manuscripts and printed books. Dating as far back as the ninth century and originating from lands as varied as Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Morocco, and Yemen, the collection represents centuries of Jewish scholarship, spanning the spectrum of Bible, liturgy, rabbinics, kabbalah, science, literature, and philosophy. 

Jewish Worlds Illuminated is the most extensive display ever of The JTS Library’s Hebrew manuscript treasures and is the first exhibition at the Grolier Club devoted exclusively to Jewish books. Each display  presents scribal and artistic masterpieces from a particular region or period, inviting you to enter a historical Jewish setting and consider it alongside others. The works stand as enduring testimony to Jewish intellectual, cultural, and artistic life across centuries and continents.

The group will gather in the lobby at 3:45 pm for check-in.