Juedisches Ceremonial (Jewish Ceremony): Death and Mourning

Paul Christian Kirchner

1724

This illustration depicting Jewish death and mourning rituals (a sick man on his deathbed, a body laid out for burial, and a funeral procession) appeared in the book, Jüdisches Ceremoniel (Jewish Ceremonial Customs), by Paul Christian Kirchner, a Jewish convert to Christianity. The first edition of his book, published in Erfurt, Germany, in 1717, had no illustrations and was critical of Judaism. In 1724, a new edition of the book was published in Nuremberg, Germany. It was edited by Christian Hebraist Sebastian Jugendres (1685–1765), who softened Kirchner’s criticism of Judaism. It included twenty-eight copperplate engravings, which were made in the workshop of Johann Georg Puschner (1680–1749) and his son, also named Johann Georg.
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Credits

Paul Christian Kirchner, “Von Sterben und betrauern Der Juden,” from Jüdisches Ceremoniel (Nürnberg: Peter Conrad Monath, 1724), p. 207. Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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Page with Hebrew text of decorative border and Star of David located in bottom section, with signatures in the Roman alphabet below.
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