Audio

Illuminated manuscript on parchment. Second edition 1271/72. Exactly reproduced and commented excerpts © The National Library of Isra
GDKE, Landesmuseum Mainz

The Worms Maḥzor

The Worms Maḥzor, which dates back to 1272, is the oldest preserved Ashkenazic prayer book. Written in Hebrew calligraphy and artistically illuminated, it contains prayers, songs and poems for Jewish holidays, including the oldest sentence ever written in Yiddish. The Maḥzor has been in the possession of the Jewish community of Worms since 1578 at the latest. It was moved away from Germany to protect it from the National Socialists and it is now stored in the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem, where it is one of the most important manuscripts in the collection.

The Maḥzor of Worms

The Maḥzor of Worms is a prayer book with selected prayers and passages from the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) to be read aloud on holidays. It contains prayers for Rosh ha-Shana, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, among others. The manuscript was carried from the house [MH1] of its owner into the synagogue the evening before the respective holiday and remained there until the end of the celebrations.