Etrog Container Crafted by Zelig Segal Israel, 1989 Sterling silver and mahogany Gift of Dr. Stanley and Judy Lucas in honor of their 40th Anniversary The Festival of Sukkot, a seven day Thanksgiving festival, takes place four days after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Sukkot is one of Judaism’s harvest festivals and is [...]
Werner Weinberg Dr. Siegfried Emmering Bergen-Belsen, 1944 Graphite on paper Deaccessioned from Bergen-Belsen Museum, Lohheide, Germany Werner Weinberg (1915-1997), a former faculty member at Cincinnati’s HUC-JIR Campus, was born on May 30, 1915 in Rheda, Germany. He served as a rabbi in Rheda until Kristallnacht, and shortly after escaped to Holland with his wife, [...]
Baruch Spinoza Moses Jacob Ezekiel (1844-1917) Bronze ca. 1880 Cincinnati Skirball Museum The sculptor Moses Jacob Ezekiel (1844-1917) was a Richmond-born American patriot and expatriate who lived in Rome for more than 40 years; a Confederate soldier who fought in the Battle of Newmarket; a host to the rich and famous in his home [...]
Torah Crown Ori Resheff (b. 1955) Israel, 1996 Silver and patinaed copper Purchased 1997 B’nai B’rith Klutznick Collection at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion The Torah, the five books of Moses, is considered to be at the center of Jewish life. The scroll on which the Torah is written becomes a beautifully hand-crafted [...]
Esther Scroll Carved ivory, watercolor, gold paint, ink, and gouache on vellum Venice, Italy, 1700 Gift of Joseph B. and Olyn Horwitz B’nai B’rith Klutznick Collection of the Skirball Museum The festival of Purim, which takes place in March this year, celebrates the continual resilience of the Jewish people. Purim commemorates the story of [...]
Hands Hannah Lampert Photograph Cincinnati, OH Hannah Lempert, a student at the Mercaz High School in Cincinnati, was the first-place winner in an international photography competition sponsored by Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People at Tel Aviv University. This inaugural exhibition included photography by teens from North and South America, as well [...]
Door Knobs and Backplates Rockdale Avenue Temple, Cincinnati, 1905 Brass Gift of Howard and Marlene Mayers The doorknobs and backplates affixed to the wall in the Cincinnati Skirball Museum originally graced the Rockdale Avenue building of K.K. Bene Israel, now located in Amberley Village. The Rockdale Avenue location in Avondale was the third home [...]
Smelling Salts Container Cast, engraved, and cut silver Holland, c. 1800 Gift of Joseph B. and Olyn Horwitz This tiny box was most likely used on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, observed 10 days after Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. This year, [...]
Tzedakah Box Yaakov Greenvurcel (b. 1952) Silver Israel, 1992 Gift of Theodore and Selma Tannenwald, Jr., in honor of Audrey and Charles Kenis The term tzedakah comes from the Hebrew word tzedek, which means justice. The giving of tzedakah is one of the most important laws in Judaism, and the Talmud teaches: "Tzedakah is [...]
Miniature Hanukkiah (Hanukkah Lamp) Gilt silver and brass Austrian Empire, 2nd half 19th century Gift of Joseph B. and Olyn Horwitz Hanukkah, a joyous winter holiday, commemorates the military victory in 165 BCE of a small number of Jews, led by Judah Maccabee, over the oppressive ruling Syrian-Greek government, which had commanded the Jews [...]
