The future of the Bodleian Libraries’ Curator of Hebraica and Judaica has been secured thanks to a generous benefaction from leading UK businessman and philanthropist Sir Victor Blank.
Sir Victor will endow the post jointly with the Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe, of which he was Chairman until recently. In recognition of his gift the post will be renamed the Victor Blank Curator of Hebraica and Judaica, and the lecture theatre in the Weston Library will become the Sir Victor Blank Lecture Theatre for a period of 25 years.
Currently held by Dr César Merchán-Hamann, the curatorship is the guardian of one of the most significant collections of Hebrew manuscripts in the world, as well as an extraordinarily rich collection of early Hebrew and Yiddish printed books. Hebrew books were among the original endowment of the Bodleian Library and some of the first to be listed in the library’s earliest catalogue in 1605.
Highlights of the collections include a fragment of Maimonides’ autograph draft of the Mishneh Torah from the Cairo Genizah; exquisitely illuminated manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, such as the 15th-century Kennicott Bible, still with its original goatskin box-binding; and stunning festival prayer books, such as the richly illuminated 14th-century Tripartite Maḥzor from the Michael collection.
All fields of traditional Hebrew scholarship are represented in the collection. Its geographic, cultural and chronological range is enormous, representing a large panorama of Jewish life and culture in the last millennium. Many of the greatest items are freely available online, and the Bodleian has ambitious plans to digitise its entire Hebrew and Jewish collection, a project that the curator will be leading.
Sir Victor Blank said: ‘My love and fascination with the Bodleian Library goes back to my undergraduate days. As a historian, I came to appreciate the uniqueness of the Bodleian, housing and preserving swathes of our written history in this country and across the world. The pre-eminent collection of Hebrew and Yiddish books (a collection as good as almost any in the world) requires love and care from a dedicated curator. I am delighted to be able, with the Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe, to secure that post for the future.’
Lord Jacob Rothschild said: ‘My family is proud to be associated with this important initiative. Our foundation looks to the future and supporting this curatorial position, in partnership with Sir Victor Blank, will contribute to securing Jewish scholarship and offering access to unique manuscripts for generations to come.’
Richard Ovenden OBE, Bodley’s Librarian, said: ‘I am delighted that this curatorship is now safeguarded for future generations. This donation shows confidence in the Bodleian’s world-class scholarship in Hebrew and Jewish studies, and will allow us to extend our work to share the richness of Jewish culture and learning with students, scholars and the general public across the globe. We are enormously grateful to Sir Victor Blank and to the Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe for this tremendous gift.’