Juedisches Ceremonial (Jewish Ceremony): Death and Mourning

Paul Christian Kirchner

1724

Print of four scenes in quadrants with German headings on each: top left is sick man in bed, top right is sick man in bed surrounded by people with candles and books, bottom left is sick man lying on the floor, and bottom right is procession through city walls.
This illustration depicting Jewish death and mourning rituals (a sick man on his deathbed, a body laid out for burial, and a funeral procession) 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 (1685–1765), who softened Kirchner’s criticism of Judaism. It included twenty-eight copperplate engravings, which were made in the workshop of Johann Georg Puschner (1680–1749) and his son, also named Johann Georg.

Credits

Paul Christian Kirchner, “Von Sterben und betrauern Der Juden,” from Jüdisches Ceremoniel (Nürnberg: Peter Conrad Monath, 1724), p. 207. Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

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

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Creator Bio

Paul Christian Kirchner

17th—18th Centuries

Paul Christian Kirchner converted to Christianity in 1709. He is the author of Jüdisches Ceremoniel (Jewish Ceremonial Customs), published in Erfurt, Germany, in 1717, which took a critical stance on Judaism but which was later republished by Sebastian Jugendres with more neutral text.

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