Review of Charles Berlin, Harvard Judaica in the 21st Century

In 2004, Dr. Charles Berlin, Lee M. Friedman Bibliographer in Judaica and Head of the Judaica Division of the Harvard Library, published a blue, cloth-bound volume entitled Harvard Judaica (Berlin 2004) to mark the fortieth anniversary of the start of the programmatic development of the Harvard University Library’s Judaica collections (1962–2002).1 This new, school-colored crimson, also hardback volume, Harvard Judaica in the 21st Century, published a decade later, may be read both as a sequel and also as a prequel. Where the fortieth anniversary volume was understated and reflective; the latter is celebratory and future oriented even as both look back on past achievements. If the 2004 volume is mostly about the history of a collection and its development, the 2014 jubilee volume is a tribute to the people who made it great. It also is self-consciously presented in the introduction as an “ethical will” by its founder to future stewards of the collection. This bequest is not only material, but also spiritual. It is an effort to share a lifetime of wisdom and practical experience and a hope for the future.