56 | MAY 25 • 2023
ERETZ
I
was certainly aware of
the National Library of
Israel (NLI) prior to my
trip to Jerusalem with the
Jewish Federation of Detroit’s
“Motor City Mission” this
past March. I
had read about
it in the JN, as
well as other
articles about
it, so I knew
the NLI held
a spectacular
collection of
Jewish books
and archives, or just about
anything Jewish printed,
recorded and/or digital from
around the world. However,
seeing is believing and the
experience of visiting the NLI
on the Jerusalem campus of
Hebrew University was out-
standing.
The NLI has a massive col-
lection of books, photographs
and recorded materials.
Think of the NLI as Israel’s
equivalent of our Library
of Congress. Founded in
Jerusalem in 1892, it serves
as Israel’s “institution of
national memory for the
Jewish people worldwide and
Israelis of all backgrounds
and faiths.”
The NLI has also exten-
sive archival collections.
The Library’s Archives
Department holds more
than 1,000 personal archives
that document “outstanding
Jewish personalities from
a wide variety of spheres:
writers and poets, humanists,
rabbis, Zionist leaders, scien-
tists, journalists, critics and
others.”
For example, the archival
department preserves doc-
uments from Maimonides
and Sir Isaac Newton; exqui-
site Hebrew and Islamic
manuscripts dating back to
the ninth century; and the
personal archives of lead-
ing cultural and intellec-
tual figures Martin Buber,
Natan Sharansky and Naomi
Shemer.
In addition, the NLI holds
institutional or organizational
archives, along with spe-
cial collections that include
photographs, portraits,
music, posters and many
other mixed media archival
records in a variety of lan-
guages, including Hebrew,
Yiddish, German, English,
Russian and French. As the
archivist for the historical
records of the Detroit Jewish
Chronicle and the Detroit
Jewish News, one collection at
the NLI really intrigued me
— the Historical Jewish Press
Collection or Jpress.
I had written to the NLI
before traveling with the
Motor City Mission and
planned an extra day in
Jerusalem just to meet with
the NLI’s archivists (by the
way, many thanks to the
Federation people who were
extremely kind and helped
with my extended stay). I
hoped to get a brief tour of
the NLI. Instead, I spent an
entire morning meeting with
various archivists and spe-
cialists.
A DAY TO REMEMBER
Rachel Neiman, the NLI’s
International Media & Public
Relations specialist, extended
a warm invite. And, when I
say “warm,” that is a bit of
an understatement about the
gracious Rachel. She not only
personally welcomed me to
the library but made arrange-
ments for five other meetings
and introductions.
I was also gratified to meet
Dr. Yochai Ben-Ghedalia,
director of the Central
Archives for the History
of the Jewish People. Shai
My visit to the National Library of Israel.
Gem of a Library
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
Albert Einstein cut-out statue on the Edmond J. Safra campus of
Hebrew University in Jerusalem.