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Before the priestly blessing is recited in the synagogue, those making the blessing ritually wash their hands. It is also customary for Jews to wash their hands before entering a synagogue for worship…
We, the poor of Israel, inhabitants of the city of Izmir, may God protect it, slaves of our lord and king, Sultan Abdülmecid, may his name be praised and long live his reign, [are] oppressed and…
This watercolor from the Gennadius Library’s Costume Album collection, in Athens, depicts two Jewish women—a widow (left) and a married woman (right)—in the colorful traditional attire of…
Hittite couple sacrificing to bull, Alaça Hüyük, Turkey. In this relief, a king and queen, or perhaps a priest and priestess, stand at an altar and make an offering before a bull. On the symbolism of…
This sumptuous velvet and gilt-metal-thread embroidered Torah ark curtain most likely began its life as the wedding gown of a well-to-do Jewish woman of the Ottoman Empire. It was unstitched and…
To the Lilliputians and to the Giants
Translated and adapted from Jonathan Swift by Alexandre Benghiat.
The prince of that place, who saw and liked me, bought me from my master, and I was taken to…
Hybrid creature with wings on stone relief, Carchemish, 9th century BCE. The creature has the body and head of a lion, an additional human head, and wings, paralleling some of the elements in Ezekiel…
This Torah curtain was made in Ankara, Turkey. The motifs of a central menorah and hands making the priestly blessing were common in other Ottoman Jewish ritual folk art. Embroidered verses from the…
My brothers, my children, and my friends know this: I understood with great clarity that the True One, whom I alone have known for many generations and for whom I have strived so much, wants me to…
[Sabbatai’s] illumination grew steadily more intense up to the thirteenth day of the month of Adar [23 February]. On that day his brother came for a stay, along with four of Vani Effendi’s men.…