Ancient Bible from Afghanistan | Tachles

What is probably the oldest Jewish book in the world is currently on display in the Bible Museum in Washington. It is just the size of a hand and comes from a civilization in the 8th century AD. Z., who lived on an old trade route, the Silk Road. It was written by Jews who lived as a minority among Buddhists in the Bamiyan Valley, in what is now Afghanistan. Many experts may initially doubt that this book with prayers, poems and supposedly the oldest version of the Haggadah is actually the oldest Jewish book. Mind you, there are Jewish scrolls that are older, like the Qumran Scrolls, but older books? The results of a scientific study of the booklet will not appear until long after the exhibition. Curator Sharon Mintz understands that only the disclosure of the research will remove all doubts. By the time the scientific report is published, the exhibition will have already gone to the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. But what we already know: A carbon test carried out in a laboratory in 2019 allegedly shows that the artifact is 1,300 years old. Incidentally, it was found in 1997 near the two gigantic Bamiyan Buddhas, which were carved into a mountain. They gained additional notoriety in 2001 when the Taliban blew them up. The book then disappeared during the American attack on Afghanistan after 9/11, later evangelicals brought the booklet to the USA and gave it to the Bible Museum. There it was marked: “Egypt, ca. 9th century.” issued. But a museum curator discovered it in a photo in the Jewish magazine “Tablet”. There it was listed as one of several Jewish manuscripts that had been smuggled out of Afghanistan. Everything else happened almost automatically. By the way, the museum’s partner in the exhibition is the democratically elected government in Afghanistan, which is of course not currently in power. And also Afghan Jewish organizations and the Anshei Shalom synagogue in Queens, which was founded by Afghan Jews. They are all proud of their heritage and are pleased to be able to introduce an ancient line of Afghan Jewry to the world in this way.