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Edouard Brandon’s painting of Amsterdam’s famous Portuguese Synagogue (1675) is set on the Ninth of Av, a fast day commemorating and mourning the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Members of the…
This Haggadah from Venice was commissioned by Moses ben Gerson Parenzo, the last of the Parenzo Hebrew printers, and issued at the Caleoni press on behalf of the Bragadini family. This page shows the…
In the nineteenth century, especially in the era before photography, it was common for artists to travel to exotic or picturesque locations in Europe, North Africa, and the Near East, and to produce…
This lithograph of a micrographic drawing, believed to be from Poland, reproduces the text of the scroll of Esther in its entirety, as well as prayers and poems for the holiday of Purim. In the center…
Flags like this, made of paper, decorated, and attached to a stick—sometimes with an apple and a small lit candle atop it—were commonly carried by children during Simḥat Torah celebrations. The…
Mah Tovu notes our coming into the house of God, symbolized by the words “tents” and “tabernacles.” Mah Tovu begins with a passage from the Torah (Num. 24), in which the pagan prophet Balaam blesses…
Traditionally, the prophet Elijah is believed to be present at all Jewish circumcision ceremonies, and a chair is reserved for him. It serves as the seat of the godfather, who holds the baby boy…
The book of Esther (also known as the Scroll [megillah] of Esther) is read out loud on the holiday of Purim. This example of a scroll from Venice has Hebrew text framed by arcades and borders…
Traditionally performed on the afternoon of the first day of Rosh Hashanah, Tashlich is a rite in which Jews symbolically cast away their sins by throwing breadcrumbs into a body of moving water…
This drawing of a gathering hosted by Dr. Hermann Adler, the chief rabbi of Great Britain (wearing a yarmulke and standing at right), represents the adaptation of the British custom of high tea to the…
