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This wedding riddle from Italy is written in Hebrew and Judeo-Italian. Wedding songs, sometimes performed by professional jesters, were traditional at Jewish weddings. Some had lyrics in the form of…
Before the priestly blessing is recited in the synagogue, those making the blessing ritually wash their hands. It is also customary for Jews to wash their hands before entering a synagogue for worship…
Paper cuts have been a tradition of Jewish folk art, with the earliest record of one dating to the fourteenth century. Given the widespread availability of paper in Europe by the mid-nineteenth…
The scroll (megillah) of Esther is read out loud on the holiday of Purim. This example, from Baghdad, is hand painted, with an ornate design in which bands of flowers frame the text. It is rolled on a…
This silver Hanukkah lamp is an example of a new type for home use that became popular in the late seventeenth century in Frankfurt am Main. Designed to resemble an ancient menorah, it has a central…
These silver and filigree Torah finials used by Amsterdam’s Ashkenazic community are shaped like four-tiered towers. They have gilt bells in their arches and gilt urns on their corners and are topped…
The Rema Synagogue, named after the famous rabbi and scholar Moses Isserles (known by the Hebrew acronym “Rema”), was built in 1553 in the city of Kazimierz (today a district of Kraków). It was…
These silver Torah finials with bells adorned a Torah scroll at the consecration ceremony of the Mill Street Synagogue of Congregation Shearith Israel, which opened in New York in 1730 and was located…
This Torah crown from Suriname was made originally in Amsterdam by Evert van Heerdan (active 1644–1683). It is a fine repoussé piece exemplifying the mastery of Dutch silverwork. Inscribed on the…
Commandment II is from a series of forged-iron sculptures Kirili began in the late 1970s. They are among his best-known works and reflect his strong interest in religious concepts and ancient texts…
