A unique 10th-century manuscript of an 8th-century compendium of Jewish law and a 2014 facsimile of a Scroll of Esther – these are the two chronological bookends of the Fisher's latest exhibition that spans a thousand years of Jewish manuscript and print culture. The exhibition, titled "As it is Written": Judaic Treasures from the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, is now open. It features 112 items that highlight the library's diverse Judaic collections

"It’s quite remarkable that we are able to cover the span of a thousand years from our holdings," says Barry Walfish, librarian and Judaica specialist at the Fisher Library and the exhibition’s curator. "It shows how rich the Fisher’s holdings are."

Drawing primarily on the Fisher's Friedberg Collection, the exhibition features Biblical manuscripts, works of Jewish law and liturgy, incunabula and rare Constantinople imprints, among many other items. Highlights include the manuscript of the Zohar, which belonged to the famous false Messiah Shabbetai Tsevi, and a tribute album presented to Jewish statesman and philanthropist Moses Montefiore in 1884 on the occasion of his hundredth birthday.

The exhibition also features contemporary works by Jewish and Israeli artists and book designers. A section devoted to Canadiana features one of the earliest Canadian imprints, dating from 1752, as well as the first English translation of the Hebrew prayerbook (1770), among whose sponsors were the Canadian merchant Aaron Hart and his wife.

About a third of the items come from the Friedberg Collection, donated to the library by Toronto financier Albert Friedberg and his wife Nancy beginning in 1995. Walfish credits them with putting the library on the map as a major repository of rare Judaica.

The exhibition opened on January 26 and runs until May 1, 2015. A few highlights from the exhibition can be seen below, along with a video of the exhibition highlights narrated by the curator.

Judaic exhibition now open!