14th Century Machzor Uncovers Lost Yom Kippur Prayers from Ancient Crimea

A newly acquired 14th-Century Machzor (Jewish holiday prayer book) includes previously unknown Yom Kippur prayers. According to Dr. Chaim Neria, curator of the National Library of Israel’s Haim and Hanna Solomon Judaica Collection, this find of its kind is rare, and gives a glimpse into the time before the invention of the printing press.

The artifact reflects the Kaffa rite, a liturgical tradition that emerged in the Crimean Peninsula city of Kaffa, located on the Black Sea. In that era, the region was home to a thriving Jewish community, mainly of Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews, and was also home to many other communities, including Karaites, Khazarians, and Genoese, alongside local Krimchaks, or Crimeans. 

The Kaffa rite shows affinities with Judeo-Greek Romaniote tradition, which was practiced by Romaniote Jews who lived scattered throughout Greece. 

What surprised library staff is that the Machzor contains several piyyutim (liturgical poems) that are unknown to any other sources, including a previously unknown version of a blessing for mourners

Though not currently on public display, it has been fully digitized and can be viewed online. “We look forward to having specialized scholars examine it and shed more light on the piyyutim,” said the scholar in an interview with the Times of Israel. He noted that documenting and preserving such traditions is a core mission of the National Library of Israel.