Yom Kippur through the centuries: The prayer books that preserve centuries of Jewish history

The National Library of Israel (NLI) houses an extensive collection of Yom Kippur prayer books and related artifacts, offering unique insights into Jewish history. Dr. Chaim Neria, curator of the Haim and Hanna Solomon Judaica Collection, highlighted several notable items:

• A World War II-era prayer book helped solve the mystery of David Meyer Wald, a Jewish American soldier who died on Yom Kippur in 1944 while liberating Holland. Neria noted, “one mahzor opened an entire story of an American soldier who died while liberating the world from evil.”
• A fragment from the Cairo Genizah, dating to the late 11th or early 12th century, represents one of the oldest Yom Kippur prayer books globally, featuring a piyut by Rabbi Eliezer Kalir.
• The three-volume Lisbon Mahzor, created after the expulsion of Jews from Spain and Portugal, was recently reunited at the NLI. One volume was given to Israeli President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi in 1957, while the other two were acquired from an auction house.

These artifacts underscore the NLI's mission to document Jewish heritage, providing a “very deep and broad” collection that preserves centuries of Jewish life and tradition.