JERUSALEM — Jews across Israel and the world marked sheloshim, the Hebrew word for “thirty,” on Monday. The solemn milestone of the first 30 days of mourning stems from the one-month anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre that killed some 1,400 Israelis.

Following this period, mourners can resume normal social and professional activities. It is amid the marking of this period — along with the ongoing war in Gaza — that Israelis craving a reprieve from all the bloodshed are venturing out to explore the newly-opened National Library of Israel.

Symbolically located in Jerusalem’s government precinct facing the Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset, and the Israel Museum, home to the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, the Jewish people now have an iconic shrine worthy of their biblical and literary legacy, according to NLI Director Oren Weinberg, a man who can be considered the Jewish people’s chief librarian.

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The visionary mega-project — built at a cost of NIS900 million ($225 million) — contains some six million rare volumes, manuscripts, books and miscellaneous printed material which were transferred from the previous library building on the grounds of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Givat Ram campus.

The new 46,000-square-meter (495,000-square-foot) building — featuring 11 floors — is incomparably more user-friendly that the previous location. Not to mention bigger. The state-of-the-art facility reference library extends over five basement levels, while six floors above ground serve the public.

The building is also high-tech. Books are retrieved from the underground stacks by robots. The oxygen level there is reduced to provide optimal storage conditions and protect the volumes from the threat of fire. Technicians entering the basement levels to carry out maintenance work must carry an oxygen cylinder and saturation monitor at all times.

Funded by the Rothschild family’s Yad Hanadiv foundation based in Jerusalem and the Gottesman Fund of New York, the NLI was designed by the Basel architect firm Herzog & de Meuron in conjunction with the Tel Aviv architectural firm Mann Shinar. The Swiss architects are renowned for their Bird Nest Stadium that graced Beijing’s 2008 Summer Olympics, as well as other mega-projects such as the Tate Modern in London and the Allianz Arena in Munich.

The library promises to be an equally recognizable instant landmark. Located on an irregular plot, the architects designed a modern interpretation of a triangular flatiron building surrounded by a lush garden. On the side of the building is the installation Letters of Light by environmental artist Micha Ullman. The sculpture references his The Empty Library in Berlin’s Bebelplatz, site of the Nazis’ notorious book burning that took place on May 10, 1933. While in the German capital one sees empty bookshelves sealed below the square’s surface, Ullman’s Jerusalem “library” consists of a circle of 18 Hebrew letters arranged in a circle, leading to the building’s entrance.

Like its predecessor, which opened in 1960 and was named after its patron Lady Davis of Montreal, the new NLI is primarily a closed stack facility. It too has a spiral staircase. The comparisons end there. With a glass oculus — it’s more than a skylight — and a swooping roof that would be a skateboarder’s delight, the distinctive library is incomparably more multi-purpose than the previous facility.

In addition to the greatly-expanded three-level reading room, the library features a 500-seat auditorium, display areas, lockers, commercial space, a restaurant, synagogue and underground parking. In 2026, it will be served by a light rail station on the Green Line currently under construction.

The multi-purpose research center and venue for cultural and educational activities is also a welcoming place to drink coffee and socialize. Illuminated at night, the NLI and its oculus is a light unto the nations beckoning with the collective knowledge of the Jewish people.