Carrying the Deceased to the Cemetery Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal To escort the deceased to burial was regarded as a foremost obligation in early rabbinic Judaism. To fail to do so was considered to be mocking God. Haste was [...]
Wedding Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal The origins of the chuppah—the fabric canopy under which a Jewish wedding takes place—are rather ambiguous. The chuppah is often understood as symbolizing the Jewish home the new married couple will create together. The [...]
Circumcision Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal B’rit milah (circumcision) is among the earliest Jewish religious rituals. The Torah tells how Abraham was commanded by God to circumcise himself, all the males in his household, his descendants, and slaves, in an [...]
Havdalah Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal Havdalah, Hebrew for “separation,” is the ceremony performed at the conclusion of Shabbat and festivals marking the passage from the sacred to the everyday. Blessings are recited over a cup of wine, a lit [...]
Blessing the Shabbat Lights Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal The two candles lit on Shabbat eve symbolize the biblical commandments, zakhor v’shamor, “remember” and “observe” the Shabbat (Exodus 20:8; Deuteronomy 5:12). It is customary to light two single-wick white candles, [...]
Blessing the New Moon Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal Rosh Hodesh (head of the month) is a minor holiday that marks the beginning of every Hebrew month. The Torah instructs that on Rosh Hodesh the people are commanded to be [...]
Tishah B'Av Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal The fast day of Tishah B’Av (the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av) commemorates the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem. It has also come to memorialize other tragedies for [...]
Shavuot Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal The Festival of Shavuot falls on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan. The festival’s name, Shavuot, which means “weeks,” denotes that the festival occurs exactly seven weeks after Passover (Exodus 34:22). [...]
Lag Ba'Omer Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal Beginning on the second night of Passover, Jews observe the ritual of Sefirat HaOmer (Counting the Omer), based on the Torah’s commandment to mark the time between the barley and wheat harvests (Deuteronomy [...]
Kashering for Passover Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal According to Jewish law, pots, dishes, and utensils that are used year-round absorb chametz (leaven) and therefore may not be used during Passover. To be used for Passover, they must go through [...]
