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JWR VerifiedFounding RecordJWR-2026-000232

Jewish Heritage · Sacred Texts & ScrollsLargest

Largest Yemenite Jewish Manuscript Collection

Record holder

National Library of IsraelInstitution

Record value

60,000 Manuscripts & Fragments

Country: IsraelAchievement location: Jerusalem, IsraelAchievement date: 18 January 2024Current record

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Verified by Jewish World RecordsHow we verify records

Medieval Yemenite Jewish manuscript of Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed

Illustrative Yemenite Jewish manuscript. It is not necessarily an item from the Nahum Collection held by the National Library of Israel.Wikimedia Commons / public-domain Yemenite manuscriptSource

Official record definition

The largest documented institutional collection of Yemenite Jewish manuscripts and manuscript fragments.

Measurement methodology

National Library of Israel collection accession and item-count statement

Measurement point: manuscripts and fragments in the deposited Nahum Collection

Record story

The National Library of Israel in Jerusalem is the custodian of the world's 'Largest Yemenite Jewish Manuscript Collection', comprising '60,000 Manuscripts & Fragments'. This total was recorded on 18 January 2024, following the donation of the Nahum Collection to the institution. The library itself described the acquisition as the world's largest collection of Yemenite Jewish manuscripts, with the measurement based on its own collection accession and item-count statement.

The total of 60,000 items is further detailed by the library as consisting of about 45,000 manuscripts and legible fragments, plus approximately 15,000 additional fragments extracted from book covers or removed from genizot. The collection brings a vast number of materials that preserve centuries of Jewish life in Yemen under institutional care, increasing access to a significant element of dispersed cultural heritage.

Media

Record video

How JWR verified this record

Verification status
Verified
Verification date
27 September 2026
Verification standard
JWR Verification Standard 1.0

Achievement evidence

The National Library of Israel announced the donation of the world's largest collection of 60,000 Yemenite-Jewish manuscripts and fragments. NLI further breaks the total into about 45,000 manuscripts and legible fragments plus about 15,000 fragments extracted from book covers or removed from genizot.

Superiority evidence

The National Library of Israel, the receiving institution, explicitly describes the Nahum Collection as the world's largest collection of Yemenite Jewish manuscripts and gives a 60,000-item total. JWR records that institutional claim with its internal item-count breakdown and does not extrapolate beyond it.

Jewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Jewish eligibility verification

Evidence establishing that the holder qualifies as Jewish for JWR purposes.

  • NLI Receives World's Largest Collection of Yemenite Jewish Manuscripts — National Library of Israel

Achievement / record verification

Evidence establishing that the holder achieved the result and holds the record as defined.

  • NLI Receives World's Largest Collection of Yemenite Jewish Manuscripts — National Library of Israel
  • National Library of Israel Receives World's Largest Collection of Yemenite Jewish Manuscripts — press release PDF — National Library of Israel

Jewish eligibility, achievement and superiority evidence retain their separate classifications and are never merged. Context and provenance are not presented as proof of the achievement. Restricted evidence and internal research notes are never published. Learn more about the seven-stage process on the verification page.

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Sources & Verification

History

  1. Verified

    Verified according to JWR Verification Standard 1.0.

  2. Publishedv1

    Published to the official JWR registry.

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