by Isobel Leybold-Johnson in Zurich, swissinfo.ch
When a private collection of beautiful Hebrew manuscripts belonging to Swiss businessman René Braginsky first came to light it caused a sensation.
Detail of a Megillah (Esther Scroll) from 19th century France (© Braginsky Collection, Zürich)
Some of the documents, which include illuminated scrolls, prayer books, Bibles and marriage contracts, are currently on show at the Swiss National Museum in Zurich after having first travelled the world.
Braginsky, a Zurich-based entrepreneur and investor – and one of Switzerland’s wealthiest men with a fortune estimated by Bilanz magazine in its 300 Richest People list at SFr500-600 million ($544-653 million) – has built up his collection over 30 years.
The works, which span seven centuries, have been termed by the National Museum as “probably the most remarkable private collection of illustrated Hebrew manuscripts anywhere in the world”.
They have already been exhibited to great success in Amsterdam, New York and Jerusalem.
“I feel a little bit proud that we can show the collection in my home town as well,” Braginsky, who remains modest about his collection, told swissinfo.ch at the media preview.
Fascination
Braginsky started collecting because he wanted to find a Bar Mitzvah present for his son. Delving into the world of Hebrew manuscripts, he soon became fascinated by them.
“If you hold some of these manuscripts that are 400-500 years old and you think the people maybe didn’t survive, but the books did, I feel that somehow we have saved a lot, by at least saving these documents to show to future generations,” he said.
Braginsky’s own history has been marked by the two world wars. His paternal grandfather came from Ukraine and went missing, presumed dead, during the First World War. This left Braginsky’s father an orphan at 16 and he survived the Second World War in Switzerland, where the family has lived ever since.
Categories: Europe, Judaism, Switzerland
The exhibition
The exhibition runs at the Swiss National Museum until March 11, 2012. There is a rich and varied accompanying programme (see link).
Before Zurich, the collection was shown in 2009-2010 at the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana at Amsterdam University, then in 2010 the Yeshiva University Museum at the Center for Jewish History in New York and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
Braginsky has always chosen his manuscripts carefully at auction or through specialised dealers, seeking the advice of learned friends and scholars. He has not finished collecting yet. In fact, there are 25 new acquisitions in the Zurich show which have been bought since Amsterdam.
Other highlights
The oldest manuscript is the 1288 legal code of rabbinic scholar Moses Maimonides and the oldest Esther scroll comes from 1564 and was written by a woman named Estellina. The collection goes up to the 20th century.
Kabbalah – as many know from its association with Madonna – also makes an appearance in the form of, for example, a daily prayer book with Kabbalistic commentaries.
There is a notable Haggadah by a non-Jewish French artist which uses illustrations from 17th century Persian book art, also made for the Rothschilds. It is decorated in gold and lapis lazuli. There is also a work by a non-Jewish artist which depicts God, which is not normally allowed.
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