Accumulated over the course of eighty years, beginning with the founding of the division in 1897, this collection of more than 12,000 unique and rare titles of Jewish interest was microfilmed in 1979. From the New York Public Library. Each set is also available separately.
- Belles-Lettres on Jewish Themes
- Biography of Jews
From eminent persons like Sholem Aleichem, Maimonides, and Moses Mendelssohn to a wide range of more obscure historical figures, this subset presents a view of Jewish history through the prism of biography.
- Christianity and the Jews
Religious polemics, apologetic literature, missionary materials, and accounts of conversions from the seventeenthth century onward.
- Doctrinal Theology
Traditional rabbinic literature in Hebrew, as well as vernacular glosses written from a variety of religious standpoints.
- General History and Biography
- Hebrew Belles-Lettres
Sources showing the development of modern Hebrew as a literary language, beginning with the Haskalah of the late eighteenth century.
- Hebrew Bible
A variety of translations, rabbinical commentaries, and scholarly works relating to the Torah, Prophets, and Writings
- Hebrew Language
Grammars, vocabularies, linguistic analyses, and instruction books from the seventeenth century onward.
- Homiletic Literature
More than 200 rabbinical sermons in six languages from more than twenty countries provide insight into the history of the Jewish pulpit.
- Jewish History
Primary and secondary source materials in fourteen languages provide a detailed overview of more than two millennia of persecution, survival, and achievement in all parts of the world.
- Jewish Life and Literature
More than 7,000 titles present a comprehensive portrait of the Jewish world and of the world at large as it has impacted Jews.
- Jews and Gentiles
Pamphlets from a variety of ideological stances on Jews and their relations with non-Jews. Includes both anti-Semitic tracts and responses to anti-Semitism.
- Ethnological and Sociological Studies of Jews
This subset brings together a wide range of scientific studies and ideological outlooks from this period on Jews and their position within a broader society.
- Kabala and Hasidism
Original writings of Kabalistic masters and Hasidic rebbes, as well as scholarly and popularizing studies and translations aimed at secular audiences.
Studies, position papers, and propaganda pieces from the pre-independence Zionist movement, presenting their case for a Jewish claim to the land.
- Philosophy Manuscripts
Scholarly treatments and original works of Jewish philosophy from all periods, as well as Hebrew translations of Western philosophy from Plato to Leibniz.
- Reform Judaism
Traditional Hebrew guides to rituals such as siddurim, mahzorim, and haggadot, as well as translated prayers in a variety of languages for women, children, and Reform congregations.
- Jewish Studies of Secular Sciences
Original works and translations in Hebrew and Yiddish of materials on a wide variety of topics.
- Soviet Literature in Yiddish
- Talmudic Literature
Rabbinic commentaries, rare Talmudic manuscripts and scholarly analyses, from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries.
- Yiddish Language and Literature
Original plays, poems, novels, and stories and Yiddish translations of classic literary works.
Political debates within and about the Zionist movement, from the first half-century since its emergence.