A newly-acquired 14th-century machzor (prayer book for the Jewish holidays) includes previously unknown liturgical poems for the festival of Yom Kippur, the National Library of Israel announced on Thursday.

The discovery marks a rare occurrence, according to Dr. Chaim Neria, curator of NLI’s Haim and Hanna Solomon Judaica Collection, that gives a glimpse into a time before the prayers were largely standardized by the invention of the printing press.

The manuscript reflects the Kaffa rite (“nusach Kaffa”), a liturgical tradition that emerged in the Black Sea port city of Kaffa on the Crimean Peninsula. In that era, the region was a vibrant crossroads of Jewish life, home to diverse communities including Krimchaks (“Crimeans”), Karaites, Khazarians, Genoese, Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews.

The Kaffa rite shows notable affinities with the Judeo-Greek Romaniote tradition, practiced by Romaniote Jews who lived across much of the Greek mainland and islands.

“We were already familiar with the Kaffa rite, but this machzor seems to have been written down prior to when the tradition was codified,” Neria told The Times of Israel over the phone.

“What truly surprised us is that the machzor contains several piyyutim [liturgical poems] completely........

© The Times of Israel