With UN help, sacred Jewish text unveiled in Bosnia and Herzegovina

With help from the United Nations and other charitable organizations, a 700-year-old, sacred Jewish document has been unveiled in a public setting for the first time in Sarajevo.

The Sarajevo Haggadah, with its description of human history from the beginning of the universe to the death of Moses, dates back to the 14th century in Barcelona and was a wedding present to a young couple.

Speaking at the text's unveiling last night, Jacques Klein, the top UN envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said the odyssey of the Sarajevo Haggadah has come to an end. "It is home. It is safe," he said.

The document is being stored at the National Museum in a vault room constructed with the help of several organizations, including the United Nations Trust Fund, the World Bank, and many governments and charitable foundations.

Their efforts, Mr. Klein said, show that the survival of Bosnia and Herzegovina, "with its precious heritage of cultural and religious harmony, is possible."