Synagogue Service for the New Year

Paul Christian Kirchner

Johann Georg Puschner

Sebastian Jugendres

1724

This illustration depicting Rosh Hashanah services in a synagogue 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, who softened Kirchner’s criticism of Judaism. It included twenty-eight copperplate engravings, which were made in the workshop of Johann Georg Puschner and his son, also named Johann Georg.

We’re sorry. The Posen Library’s licensing agreements prevent this image from being printed or downloaded.

Credits

Paul Christian Kirchner, “Das Neue Jahrsfelt,” from Jüdisches Ceremoniel (Nürnberg: Peter Conrad Monath, 1724), p. 110. Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

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

Engage with this Source
Page with Hebrew text of decorative border and Star of David located in bottom section, with signatures in the Roman alphabet below.
Tooltip info icon

Related Guide

Early Modern Rabbis and Intellectuals on the Move

1500–1750

Carrying books and knowledge, itinerant rabbis and scholars traveled between communities, facilitating cultural exchange. 

Two-panel drawing, the top of many people in interior room, some seated on right side under canopy, and the bottom of many people outside with a central figure with veil.
Tooltip info icon

Related Guide

Early Modern Religious Practices

1500–1750

Early modern Jews both preserved tradition and innovated. Documents and legal texts reveal rich details about synagogue life, marriage, family relations, and death rituals.

You may also like