Coming to America
At the turn of the century, Jews left the shtetls of eastern Europe and Russia in droves for the promise of America, and the world they left behind was largely lost. But in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, a 2600-year-old Jewish community still exists. And when a trio of its

Seth Jerchower, special collections research associate,
shows one of the library's treasures to visitors from the
former Soviet republic of Georgia
PHOTO: Marjorie Gersten
leaders, sponsored by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, came to New York City this winter to publicize their community and learn about ours, they made a stop at JTS.

Temut Sapir, a Georgian Jewish businessman; Jemal Ajiashvili, dean of the Open Jewish University of Georgia and a member of the Georgian Parliament; and Guram Batiashvili, editor-in-chief of the Georgian Jewish newspaper Menorah made their way to the library to view the collection of rare manuscripts while they were here.

The highlight of the day came when Seth Jerchower, special collections research associate, showed the group two letters found in the Cairo Genizah that were autographed by Judah Halevi. Professor Ajiashvili, it turns out, has translated Halevi's work into Georgian.

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