Permanent Exhibition – “A Treasury of Words"

In our innovative exhibition hall, filled with a sense of mystery and under gentle lights necessary to preserve ancient ink, some of our most precious and important artifacts are displayed to the visiting public.

In the “A Treasury of Words” exhibition, you are invited to embark on a journey through time, and through words.

You will see age-old holy scriptures up close. You will draw inspiration from the handwriting of Nobel laureate S.Y. Agnon, Israeli songwriter Naomi Shemer, and other well-known cultural icons. You will discover what magical words were once inscribed on mysterious incantation bowls, and gain a deeper understanding of how words shaped our history and culture here, in this place.

In this exhibition, you will see with your own eyes the original writings that shaped our reality. Hear the stories behind them and understand why they are so important to us.

This exhibition will leave you with a sense of discovery and inspiration that will stay with you long after you have left the building.

Flowers: Leafing Through the NLI Collections

The exhibition Flowers: Leafing Through the Collections of the National Library presents rare items from the Library’s collections that reflect the role of flowers in the history of Israel, in story and song, in decoration and illustration, in music and sound, in research, and in reference and scholarly works.

Hadassa Goldvicht: To the Internal Libraries

The invisible network of trajectories, which for over 60 years carried millions of books from the basement of the National Library on Givat Ram to those awaiting them in the reading rooms, is revealed in the video installation by artist Hadassa Goldvicht, which captures the overall experience of the Library.

A Journey to the Hājj

Every year, millions of people from around the world gather in the holy city of Mecca for the hājj, the annual five-day pilgrimage that every Muslim is obligated to complete during their lifetime. At the end of the hājj period, Muslims in Mecca and around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha, the Festival of the Sacrifice or the Great Festival. Since its founding in 1924, the Islam and Middle East Collection of the National Library of Israel has gathered manuscripts, books, newspapers, photographs, and recorded interviews that tell the story of the hājj and the sacred sites in Mecca and Medina in the past and present, among numerous other topics related to Islam and the history and cultures of the Middle East. This exhibition highlights a selection of the Library’s hājj treasures to coincide with this year’s pilgrimage, which begins on June 1, and to mark the centennial of the Collection.

Works of Art in the NLI Building

A number of unique artworks by talented artists are scattered throughout the Library building. Some of these pieces were created specifically for the new National Library, while others were donated or loaned to the library to adorn and enhance the national book house. All the artworks in the National Library resonate with the essence of the Library, as a sanctuary that venerates Hebrew writing and letters, and as a place that preserves Jewish and Israeli history and culture through the ages.

Photograph:Broken Time | Michal Rovner. Level -2