Trudy Elbaum Gottesman and Robert Gottesman donated the original version of the renowned Moss Haggadah to the National Library of Israel yesterday. The Gottesmans recently purchased the illuminated Haggadah at a Sotheby’s auction for $480,000.

“We are beyond delighted to have received this important work,” Raquel Ukeles, the head of collections at the library, said in a statement. “The Moss Haggadah represents a high point for contemporary Judaic artwork and the 20th century revival of Hebrew calligraphic arts, in which David Moss played – and continues to play – a pivotal role.”

Moss spent upwards of three years from 1980 to 1984 researching, planning and crafting the Haggadah, which has been called “possibly the most beautiful Haggadah of all times,” for its calligraphy, micrography, paintings and designs using a variety of techniques and materials, from acrylic paints to paper-cutting and gold leaf. In 1992, Moss was awarded the Israel Museum’s Jesselson Prize for Contemporary Judaica, in part because of his Haggadah. 

In June, the Moss Haggadah headlined Sotheby’s Important Judaica collection. Appraised at $400,000-$600,000, the haggadah was sold for $480,000.

“The Moss Haggadah is important exactly because it is a deeply researched, modern, visual interpretation of the traditional text. The Moss Haggadah has a dual significance: it is both a commentary on the traditional text and, at the same time, a commentary on our collective historical memory and its meaning,” Chaim Neria, curator of the Haim and Hanna Solomon Judaica Collection at the National Library of Israel, said in a statement. “NLI has the world’s largest collection of Hebraica and Judaica, including the world’s largest collection of haggadot. The original manuscript of the Moss Haggadah will have a place of honor among these treasures.”

Moss was in attendance as the Gottesmans presented his Haggadah to the library. He lauded the decision by the Gottesmans — longtime donors to the library — to present the volume to its archives.

“I began my Haggadah manuscript in 1980 with months of research in Jerusalem’s rich libraries,” Moss said in a statement. “On completion, it was delivered abroad and reproduced in several beautifully printed editions. I’m exceptionally grateful the original is finally ‘coming home’ to Jerusalem, and its rightful place at the National Library where it will be reunited with its sources, preserved, studied and, I hope, enjoyed for generations.”