28. David Simonsen's Amsterdam-haggadah. 1695.

This haggadah printed in 1695 is the first book with a printed map of the country Israel. Map and other illustrations are copper engravings by Abraham bar Jacob, a Christian priest who had converted to Judaism.

The use of copper engravings made a printed reproduction of improved quality possible, and the haggadah became very popular, especially in southern Europe.

During Easter celebrations in Jewish homes, excerpts from the haggadah are being read aloud. The ceremony ends with the well-known greeting ' Next year in Jerusalem'. We have few books today which give us an insight into Jewish tradition in relation to illustrations. The Haggadah is one of them - and the Amsterdam-haggadah was the very finest of its time and became very well known.

The haggadah is part of professor and chief rabbi David Simonsen's (1853-1932) large collection of manuscripts and books in Hebrew, Yiddish, Arabic and several western languages acquired by The Royal Library in 1932 and forms the basis of the Judaica Collection.