The painter Jacob Kramer was born in Ukraine and moved with his family to Leeds in 1900. He studied at the Leeds School of Art from 1907 to 1913 and at the Slade School of Art in London from 1913 to 1914. His paintings were included in the Jewish section of the landmark 1914 Whitechapel exhibition of modern art. His early works, including his later masterpiece Day of Atonement, were strikingly original examples of English expressionism. In the 1920s he returned to Leeds and his career took a downturn. He lived in alcohol-soaked poverty, producing second-rate portraits of local figures.
The back of this brass Hanukkah lamp from Morocco is adorned with birds and a row of keyhole-shaped windows. The ring at top is designed to allow the lamp to be hung outside on a doorpost, a custom…
Theology teaches us that when God the Eternal formed man He gave him an extra rib. This rib was destined for the formation of woman in order that this creature, who was to become the rich…
27. On the eve of the Sabbath they light the oven in the home of the beadle, where they bake cakes and roast what is required for the Sabbath. They also boil the pots for the needs of…