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The Klausen Synagogue in Prague gets its name from the kloyz (a complex of buildings used for religious purposes, including synagogues) that originally stood on its site, erected in the 1570s. The…
Jacob Ries (1660–1751) of Prague first worked as a badchan (jester) for weddings. In 1710, he became court jester in Vienna under Charles VI. The artist of this portrait of Ries is not known. It…
The process of ritual purification of a dead body, known as taharah, involves careful cleaning of the corpse. Prior to being dressed in a white cotton shroud, the body of the deceased is washed, the…
This medal was issued in the Netherlands to commemorate the repeal of the 1745 expulsion of the Jewish community of Prague. Responding to appeals from foreign leaders, Maria Theresa (1717–1780), the…
This beaker was used by the members of a burial society in Prague at their annual banquet, held on the day traditionally designated as the anniversary of Moses’ death. The painted scene depicts a…
Women played key roles in preparing the deceased for burial. This painting shows women’s involvement in the ultimate act of generosity.
This Haggadah from Prague, printed by Gershom and Grunim Katz with illustrations that are thought to be by Ḥayyim ben David Shaḥor, is one of the earliest Haggadahs ever printed. It was the first…
In Ashkenazic communities, circumcision benches with two seats were sometimes used from the nineteenth century on, one for the sandek, the godfather on whose lap the baby boy is circumcised, and one…
The physician and surgeon Issachar Baer Teller received his medical training by studying and practicing with other physicians in Prague. He completed his studies under the guidance of Joseph Solomon…
According to the colophon, the scribe in Prague who produced the Klausen Book of Psalms, Shabbetai Sheftel ben Zalman Auerbach (d. 1738), was descended from a family expelled from Vienna in 1669/70…
