Judaica collection on display at Hatcher

An engraving of the Hebrew alphabet from The Hebrew Grammar, with Principal Rules . . . , Caleb Ashworth. London: Printed for G. Terry, J. Jordan, and Scatchard and Whitaker, 1792. Courtesy Special Collections Library

Continuing through April 29, the Special Collections Library is exhibiting highlights from the University’s Judaica collections. “Judaic Journeys at the University of Michigan: From Belser to Frankel to Hermelin” includes early issues of the first American Jewish newspaper, one of the earliest English translations of Hebrew prayer books published in the New World (1766) and a 10th-century Pentateuch.

This fragment of U-M’s vast Judaica treasure examines the interdisciplinary nature of Judaic studies at the U-M through materials that cover such areas as Jewish life through the ages, early stages of Jewish studies and programs at the University, early Jewish life in America and Michigan, Jewish student activities at the University, grammar and dictionaries, religious texts, manuscripts and maps, 20th-century artists, Haggadahs, and calligraphy and the Hebrew alphabet.

The items displayed in the exhibition come from various libraries on campus, including the Special Collections Library, the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library, the Bentley Historical Library and the Clements Library.

The exhibition can be viewed 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday and 10 a.m.–noon Saturday on the

seventh floor of the Hatcher Library.

Guided tours are available for groups by appointment. For more information, contact Elliot H. Gertel, 936-2367 or egertel@umich.edu.

A formal opening reception will be held at 7:30 p.m. March 16.