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The cemetery in the village of Silwan, on the hill east of the City of David, included some aboveground tombs, cut out from the cliffs on three or four sides so that they look like buildings. These…
This basin from Kuntillet Ajrud is much too large to have been used for a practical purpose—it weighs more than 300 pounds (136 kg) and is large enough for two adults to sit in. The inscription…
This page from a birkon (Grace after Meals) is an example of the work of Aaron Wolf Herlingen (Aaron Schreiber), a prominent eighteenth-century scribe and artist known for his illustrated Grace after…
This is [the burial of Sheban]yahu, the steward of the palace. There is no silver or gold here, only his bones and the bones of his spouse. Cursed be the man who will open this.
Translated by Anson F…
The Torah binder (also known as a wimpel) was intended to accompany the male child through his lifetime, through the stages of his circumcision, bar mitzvah, and wedding. This linen Torah binder from…
This small hand, carved in stone with downward-pointing fingers, was probably apotropaic—that is, meant to protect the person buried in the tomb where it was found. It was carved on a wall between the…
The Book of Esther (also known as the Scroll [megillah] of Esther) is read out loud on the holiday of Purim. This example of an illustrated scroll from the Netherlands (shown here with a page of…
