WATCH: Medieval Jewish prayer book sells for record-breaking $8.3 million

A 700-years-old Jewish prayer book was sold earlier this week for the staggering amount of $8.3 million, the highest price ever paid for a Hebrew manuscript.

According to the Sotheby’s auction house, the medieval manuscript, titled the Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor, was sold for $8,307,000 in New York on Tuesday to an unnamed private buyer. Written in Hebrew, the manuscript attests to the vibrancy of the medieval Jewish community.

“This rare prayer book contains the liturgy for the two holiest festivals on the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur,” the Sotheby’s auction house noted. “Preserved in exceptionally fine condition, it is one of only a small number of illustrated Ashkenazic mahzorim extant, none of which is known to be in private hands.”

Jewish manuscriptsJudaicaSotheby’s