About the Judaica Index

Our family has been interested in Jewish ritual objects – as collectors and patrons – for many generations and across different countries. Through the Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe we continue to support the conservation, documentation and display of Judaica, books, and archives. We also look for new tools that enable a wider audience to access this historical, religious, and artistic material; hence I am absolutely delighted that our Foundation has created the Judaica Index – an online resource with more than 200 Jewish ritual objects, searchable in 15 languages by name or keyword, that will be regularly enriched and updated. I am confident that this will become a primary digital resource for Jewish heritage institutions and researchers working with Jewish material culture.

I would like to thank Dr Brigitte Sion, the museum grants manager at the Foundation, for her dedication and diligence in conceiving this project and bringing it to fruition. She has worked tirelessly with numerous people, and I would also like to thank the museums, libraries and private collectors for providing images, the experts for their generous advice, and the translators and researchers for making this multilingual index a reality. My hope is that the Judaica Index enriches our collective understanding of the various customs and rites that continue to shape Jewish life.

– Lord Jacob Rothschild, OM, GBE, CVO