Worms Machzor

The Prayer Book That Survived Kristallnacht

הספרייה הלאומית

The Worms Mahzor is one of the most important and famous Jewish manuscripts in the world. This festival prayer book was written and illustrated in Germany in the 13th century and was used by the cantors of the ancient synagogue in Worms – one of the oldest synagogues in Europe.

Worms community

Worms was one of the most important Jewish communities in medieval Europe. Together with Speyer and Mainz, it formed the "ShUM" league (Speyer, Worms, Mainz), the center of Torah study and halakhic rulings for Ashkenazi Jewry.

ברוכה שתיבא די דש מחזור טרגט – הטקסט הקדום ביותר ביידיש שהגיע לידינו

Kristallnacht and the rescue

On Kristallnacht (November 9-10, 1938), the ancient synagogue in Worms was set on fire. The mahzor was saved by the city archivist, Friedrich Illert, who hid it in Worms Cathedral. After the war, it was transferred to the National Library in Jerusalem.

Linguistic Significance

The mahzor contains the earliest known text in Yiddish – "The Blessing for Carrying the Mahzor". This blessing was recited when the synagogue attendant carried the mahzor from the synagogue to his home and back, and it offers a rare glimpse into the language spoken by Ashkenazi Jews in the Middle Ages.