Jewish ceremonial art is objects used by Jews for ritual purposes. Because enhancing a mitzvah by performing it with an especially beautiful object is considered a praiseworthy way of honoring God's commandments, Judaism has a long tradition of commissioning ritual objects from craftsmen and artists. [1]
Jewish ceremonial art forms a large part of Judaica ( /dʒuːˈdeɪ.ɪkə/ ), a general academic and art trade term for Jewish-related objects, of which other types are manuscripts, books and other printed materials, artworks in various media, and clothing.
Multiple early rabbinic commentaries on the Hebrew Bible refer to sanctifying rituals with visually pleasing objects in the Midrash. Midrash Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael has this teaching on a biblical verse:
"This is my God and I will glorify Him" (Exodus 15:2)
Is it possible for a human being to add glory to his Creator? What this really means is: I shall glorify God in the way that I perform commandments. I shall prepare a beautiful lulav, beautiful sukkah, beautiful fringes (tzitzit), and beautiful tefillin.[ citation needed ]
Other Midrash teachings (e.g. Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1.15) offer the same idea. This idea is expanded upon in the Babylonian Talmud (e.g. Bāḇā Qammā 9b). This teaching was understood by succeeding generations as a duty, when possible, to make beautiful items used in Jewish life and worship, both physical and textual.
The following items are used during Shabbat:
The end of the Jewish Shabbat is marked by the brief prayer ceremony of Havdalah, which usually takes place in the home. Part of the ceremony requires sniffing a sweet-smelling spice or plant. In Jewish communities around the Mediterranean, a sprig of a sweet-smelling shrub was customarily used, in Northern Europe by the twelfth century there are literary references of the use of a specially designed spice box or container. The oldest surviving spice boxes for Havdalah date to the mid-sixteenth century. The Jewish Museum (New York) has a German example c. 1550 thought to originate in Frankfurt am Main. [2]
The menorah (or hanukkiah) used on the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah is perhaps the most widely produced article of Jewish ceremonial art. [3] [4] [5] The Lindo lamp is a particularly fine example by an 18th-century silversmith. Contemporary artists often design menorahs, such as the gold-plated brass menorah with 35 moveable branches designed by Yaacov Agam. [6] A silver menorah by Ze'ev Raban from the 1930s is in the Judaica Collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art. [7]
To protect the esrog during the Sukkot holiday, it is traditionally wrapped in silky flax fibers and stored in a special box, often made from silver. [8]
In modern times, the esrog is also commonly wrapped in synthetic netting, and placed in cardboard boxes. Wooden boxes are increasingly popular as well.
The tradition of artistically embellished haggadahs, the Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder, dates back to the Middle Ages. The Sarajevo Haggadah of 1350 is a celebrated example. Major contemporary artists have produced notable haggadahs, such as the Szyk Hagaddah. See also the facsimile edition of the even earlier Barcelona Haggadah [9] of 1340.
Museums with notable collections of Jewish ceremonial art include the British Library, [10] the Israel Museum, the Jewish Museum (London), the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme in Paris, the Jewish Museum in Prague, the North Carolina Museum of Art, [7] the Jewish Museum (New York), the Musée Lorrain in Nancy, [11] the Musée alsacien in Strasbourg and the Contemporary Jewish Museum of San Francisco. [12] The Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery City Park, New York City also holds a sizable collection. Another way to see Judaica is through the art marketplace, including auction houses. Sotheby's, Bonhams-New York, Skinner's and Kestenbaums routinely hold regular auctions each year.
Hanukkah is a Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE.
Shabbat or the Sabbath, also called Shabbos by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stories describing the creation of the heaven and earth in six days and the redemption from slavery and the Exodus from Egypt, and look forward to a future Messianic Age. Since the Jewish religious calendar counts days from sunset to sunset, Shabbat begins in the evening of what on the civil calendar is Friday.
The Haggadah is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the mitzvah to each Jew to tell their children the story from the Book of Exodus about God bringing the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm.
Havdalah is a Jewish religious ceremony that marks the symbolic end of Shabbat and ushers in the new week. The ritual involves lighting a special candle with several wicks, blessing a cup of wine, and smelling sweet spices. Shabbat ends on Saturday night after the appearance of three stars in the sky. Havdalah may be performed as late as sunset of the Tuesday following Shabbat. Havdalah is also recited at the conclusion of the biblical holidays.
Kiddush, literally, "sanctification", is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Additionally, the word refers to a small repast held on Shabbat or festival mornings after the prayer services and before the meal.
Yaacov Agam is an Israeli sculptor and experimental artist widely known for his contributions to optical and kinetic art.
A Hanukkah menorah, or hanukkiah, is a nine-branched candelabrum lit during the eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Eight of the nine branches hold lights that symbolize the eight nights of the holiday; on each night, one more light is lit than the previous night, until on the final night all eight branches are ignited. The ninth branch holds a candle, called the shamash, which is used to light the other eight.
Jewish art, or the art of the Jewish people, encompasses a diverse range of creative endeavors, spanning from ancient Jewish art to contemporary Israeli art. Jewish art encompasses the visual plastic arts, sculpture, painting, and more, all influenced by Jewish culture, history, and religious beliefs.
Maurice Ascalon was an Israeli designer and sculptor. He was, by some accounts, considered the father of the modern Israeli decorative arts movement.
Ze’ev Raban (22 September 1890 – 19 January 1970), born Wolf Rawicki (Ravitzki), was a leading painter, decorative artist, and industrial designer of the Bezalel school style, and was one of the founders of the Israeli art world.
A Hanukkah stamp is a holiday stamp issued to commemorate Hanukkah. Since 1996, several Hanukkah-themed postage stamps have been issued, often jointly.
The Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme or mahJ is the largest French museum of Jewish art and history. It is located in the Hôtel de Saint-Aignan in the Marais district in Paris.
The Derfner Judaica Museum is a cultural and educational center that provides exhibitions relating to Jewish history and contemporary Jewish culture. The museum is located in the Jacob Reingold Pavilion on the grounds of The Hebrew Home at Riverdale in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City.
Various numbers play a significant role in Jewish texts or practice. Some such numbers were used as mnemonics to help remember concepts, while other numbers were considered to have intrinsic significance or allusive meaning.
The Lindo lamp is a silver Chanukah menorah. It is the oldest known example of a Chanukah menorah made in Britain.
David Heinz Gumbel (1906–1992) was an Israeli designer and silversmith, born in Germany.
The Museum of Moroccan Judaism is a museum of Jewish life in Morocco in Casablanca, Morocco.
Objects used in Jewish rituals are known collectively as Judaica. The conservation and restoration of Judaica takes into account the collective body of Jewish religious laws derived from the written and oral Torah known as halacha in order to properly care for these materials. This work involves identifying these objects and therefore knowing how any of these objects are traditionally handled, stored, exhibited, and generally cared for based on their use and significance.
"Menorah: Worship, History, Legend" is a 2017 museum exhibition sponsored jointly by the Vatican Museums and the Jewish Museum of Rome.
The Madras Synagogue is the only synagogue in Chennai and it was built by Jacques (Jaime) de Paiva (Pavia) a Paradesi Jew of Chennai. Madras Synagogue was also known as the Esnoga, or Snoge, Esnoga is synagogue in Ladino, the traditional Judaeo-Spanish language of Sephardic Jews.
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