With the kind permission of Jewish Museum Vienna.
The “ Israelitisches
Familienblatt” Supports Jewish Ceremonial Art
Valuable Ritual Objects as Prizes in this Year’s
Contest
While the very idea of this year’s contest in itself –
to identify the correct authors of individual
chapters
of a Jewish novel written jointly by 12 authors –
differs from the
puzzles of combining and filling in the gaps, etc.
common on these occasions, we
believe
we should explicitly point out
that the prizes, too
have been adapted to suit the serious
character of
both the novel and the
challenge and – the Jewish
character of our paper. This time
we have decided on Jewishritual objects as prizes for a number of the best answers –
and we had well-considered
reasons for this: –
reasons of both a religious
and a cultural
nature.
Out of religious motives
we wished and continue to wish
for
new life and a revival
of the domestic
Jewishceremony in its poetic
beauty, in its
romantic charm,
in its
– last not least
binding power, which so
often
urges members of Jewish families
in a foreign environment
to
remember their origins and
protects them from the
temptations of the big
city. We
believe we may claimthird prize, for example,
a complete set of Jewish ritual objects:
kiddush cup
besamim container
Hanukkah menorah
acquires something
of significant non-material value
in addition to its not inconsiderable
material value.
And for cultural
reasons we wish to prevent
the scattering of Jewish sacred family heirlooms
that is
increasingly imminent these days.
Quite a few among those who will
receive
a kiddush cup
besamim
container
may thus be inspired
to search their immediate
environment for
Jewish ritual
objects – namelyold ones –, which
today are in large part scattered
and owned by Christians, sold by
dealers,
or sitting in forgotten synagogue attics,
and to either acquire
them
for their own collection or
to secure them for one of the Jewish museums in order to preserve them
for the
Jewish community
and its future generations, just in case.
As a result of
our history that is so overabundant
with persecution and migration, we
sadly have so few old
Jewish sacred cultural
monuments
that the loss of just a single
one would have to be
deeply
mourned.
Hanukkah menorah Eight-
or nine-branched candelabrum lit during the Hanukkah holiday. ,
Kiddush -cup
A usually richly ornamented cup over
which wine is blessed on the Shabbat and other Jewish holidays.,
etrog dish A usually richly
ornamented bowl holding etrog, a citrus fruit, which is part of the
traditional Sukkot decoration.
prizesin this year’s
contest
Silver besamim containers A
usually artfully decorated container in which aromatic spices are kept.
The spices are smelled at the end of the Shabbat in order to carry the
scent of the holiday into everyday life.
designated as prizesfor
this year’s contest