Shavuot 5785
By Sharon Altshul
On May 22, a special collections reading room at the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem hosted a moving blend of memory, mystery and manuscripts in a pre-Shavuot event.
Honoring the late Rabbi Abraham Hamra, the chief rabbi of Syrian Jewry, the library unveiled several of the 12 fragile Damascus Crowns or Ketarim — delicate, handwritten Bibles steeped in centuries of reverence and secrecy.
The event highlighted the spiritual and historical significance of these ancient texts and the daring, behind-the-scenes efforts that brought them and their community to safety.
Chief Rabbi Hamra, born in Damascus in 1943, was more than a spiritual leader; he was a lifeline. A cantor, educator and the last chief rabbi of Syria, he worked quietly and relentlessly to protect Syrian Jews during perilous years.
Members of Hamra’s extended family from Israel and the US gathered to pay tribute to him on the fourth anniversary (yahrzeit) of his passing.
With rare access to Syrian government officials and a calm authority that inspired trust, Rabbi Hamra became a conduit of hope. In the 1990s, he played a pivotal role in the covert rescue of Jewish artifacts, including these sacred codices, with the assistance of Judy Feld-Carr and the Mossad.
Although forbidden from immigrating to Israel directly, Rabbi Hamra and thousands of Syrian Jews eventually reached freedom, first traveling to the US, with some then making their way to Israel.
Hamra and his family settled in Holon, where he continued to lead the Syrian Jewish community there until his passing in May, 2021.
Efraim Halevy, a former Mossad director with decades of experience in secret operations, was interviewed during the event by Israeli journalist Dikla Aharon Shafran.
Though the details remain classified, Halevy hinted at the high stakes and complexity of those operations and suggested they might be needed in the future.
The only detail he would reveal:
“I first met Rabbi Hamra in New York.”
The Damascus Crowns or Codices (Ketarim) are among the most carefully preserved Hebrew Bibles, requiring exacting conditions for their continued preservation.
While they were not actually written in Damascus, they were safeguarded there for centuries in synagogues such as the Hushbasha Al’anabi, where they were believed to offer divine protection.
The manuscripts vary in origin. Some were penned in Tiberias; others in medieval Spain, Italy, or Ashkenazic lands. Each found sanctuary in Damascus.
Now safeguarded in Jerusalem, these manuscripts are more than historical artifacts; they are spiritual survivors.
Fragile yet enduring parchments feature vocalization and elaborate micrographic Masorah notes — once essential tools for scribes and now cherished hallmarks of Jewish textual tradition. One of the crowns is on display in the National Library’s permanent exhibition gallery.
One of the oldest and most complete Pentateuchs, it is believed to have been written more than 1,000 years ago, a silent witness to centuries of Jewish continuity.
As visitors moved past the glass display cases, reading each codex’s journey and provenance, one could sense not only awe but deep gratitude for the scribes who created these masterpieces, the communities who protected them and the quiet hero who helped carry them and his people to safety.
“These are not just books,” Dr. Haim Neria, curator of the Haim and Hanna Solomon Jewish Collection, said. “Each Codex is a work of art, a vessel of devotion and a testament to survival.
“We chose to unveil them now, before Shavuot, in memory of Rabbi Hamra and in time of the holiday of giving of the Torah.”
