Illuminated Manuscripts / Yiddish Sheet Music / Life in the Shtetl / Life in America / New Judaica in Arts of the Book Collection /The Book of Ruth-Metavel/ Song of Songs-Metavel / The Book of Ruth - Messer / Song of Songs - Messer / Messer Haggadah / War Diary / German Sketches / Song of Songs - Goldschmitt / Genesis 22 / Otiyot Toledo / Hebrew Alphabet / Kalderon Haggadah / Ketubah
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Shiviti plaque on paper, illuminated with colorful grape vines and floral motifs. On the outside border are semicircles with Hebrew acronyms, which may have kabbalistic significance. The shiviti includes Psalm 67 written in the design of the seven-branched candelabrum with a gilded background, signed by Naim ben Avraham ben Mashiah and dated Friday, 24 Iyar 5631 [1871]. A shiviti is a tablet designed to be hung on a synagogue wall to exhort the congregation to more intense prayer. |
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Shiviti tablet full of kabbalistic
and micrographic designs. Handwritten and illuminated in black, brown,
red, and gold ink on paper. The inscriptions in the squares at the bottom
of the inner border indicate that this shiviti was given as a gift to a
woman, Senora Azizah, wife of Senor Moshe Mordechai Levi. Although a shiviti
is a tablet designed to inspire the faithful in prayer, this one may have
been used as an amulet. The central design is in the form of the 10 sefirot,
the 10 attributes of God in kabbalistic lore. On the bottom of the outside
border on each side are the tablets of the 10 commandments. Above them are
2 six-cornered stars in micrographic form, and above them are 2 seven-branched
candelabra in micrographic form. Above the candelabra are circles which
contain portions of the priestly blessing. [N. African? 19th century?] |
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Illuminated ketubah from Isfahan, Persia, with a traditional shiviti graphic at the top. Large, richly colored ketubah (marriage contract), decorated with birds, two lions with rising suns, and floral motifs. The groom was Menasheh ben Rahamim, and the bride was Leah bat Yaakov. The combination of a ketubah that also serves as a shiviti tablet is quite unusual. 5639 [1878]. |
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Purim liturgical poems: illuminated manuscript. Illuminated plaque on paper with calligraphy and decorative elements. Includes four liturgical poems for Purim customary among Kurdish Jews, verses from the Book of Esther, and the blessings recited before and after the reading of the Megillah. Other similar plaques with verses for Purim are known, some including the word "Mizrah" (or "East," to indicate the direction to face for prayer). No place of origin appears on this manuscript, but its distinctive form and content make it likely that it originated with Kurdish Jews in Persia. Mid-nineteenth century? |
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Hand illuminated title page of theYiddish opera "Bas Sheva." The opera in Yale's possession is in manuscript form. The lyrics are romanized, probably because musical notes can only be written from left to right, whereas Yiddish is read from right to left. The title-page can be considered a work of art in and of itself; unfortunately, the illustrator is not identified. This opera premiered in Warsaw's prestigious Kaminski Theater on May 14, 1924. It was sometimes called "Dovid und Bas-Sheva" and sometimes just "Bas-Sheva." Libretto by Moishe Broderzon; Music by Henekh Kon |
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Images from a recently purchased collection of Yiddish
sheet music, all of which were published in New York in the early 20th
century.
The collection consists of several hundred pieces and serves
as a testament to the volume and vibrancy of the music of the Eastern
European
Jewish immigrant community that settled in the Lower East Side.
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For further information please see Immigrant Popular Culture as Contested Sphere |
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Shtetl, Mayn Khoyever heym; a gedenknish (Shtetl,
My destroyed home; A Remembrance)
by Issachar Ryback, 1897-1935. Verlag Schwellen: Berlin, 1922.
There are 30 lithographic plates (including two title pages) in this volume that was printed as edition 250.
It is described in an Israel Museum exhibition catalogue, Tradition and Revolution:
The Jewish Renaissance in Russian Avant-Garde Art, 1912-1928,
edited by Ruth Apter-Gabriel. Jerusalem: Israel Museum, 1987.
In this book, the artist depicts scenes of Jewish life in his shtetl
in Ukraine before it was destroyed in the pogroms that followed the end
of World War I.
Ryback drew and painted many of the same subjects favored
by Chagall in his early years and a comparison may be made between the
two.
This is certainly true of Ryback's series of drawings of shtetl life.
Title Page
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Likht Benshn |
Der Fishmark |
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Klezmer (Band) |
Kale Matones |
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Farnakht |
Oyfen Mark |
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Der Rav |
In Shul |
Pictures of Jewish workers' life in America, by B.
Weinstein with illustrations by N. Kozlovski.
(Bilder fun Idishn arbeter-lebn in Amerike / B. Vaynshtayn; baarbet un
tsugegreyt far di Idish-veltlekhe shuln, fun Naftali Gros; ilustrirt fun
N. Kozlovski.).
New York: Arbeter ring Bildung-department, 1935.
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Book Cover |
Emigration |
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Sleeping on the roof on hot summer nights |
A ship arriving in the port of New York |
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The Sweatshop |
Lining up for food on the ship to America |
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Delancey Street |
Taking a Walk in the Streets of the Goldiner Medina - (streets paved with gold) |
Love letters : a celebration
of Jewish love and marriage in words and images
by David Moss; quotations from Jewish sources selected and translated by
Michael Swirsky
Embracing tradition, the Jewish wedding contributed by
Meredith Moss Levinson
Berkeley, CA : Bet Alpha Editions, 2004
  Ketubah from 1982, accompanied by the poem "I have a Garden", by Hayyim Nahman Bialik |
  Ketubah from 1977, accompanied by the poem "My Love Grew Inside Me", by Asher Barash |
  Ketubah from 1979, accompanied by the verse "What a Rare Find is a Capable Wife" from the Biblical book of Proverbs |
Sheshet ha-yamim ṿe-shivat ha-shearim (Six days and Seven Gates)
A Poem by Yitsḥaḳ Navon, 5th President of the State of Israel.
Illustrations
by Aryeh Azen and Binding by Yehudah Miklaf.
Jerusalem: Shalom Yehudah Press, c1999.
Hand-tooled Leather Binding |
Jaffa Gate with Poem |
Lion's Gate |
If I forget thee-- poems by Arturo Schwarz
Illustrations by Gary Goldstein.
Jerusalem : Shalom Yehuda Press, 1994.
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Binding is quarter goat skin with side papers from a Linocut print by Yehuda Miklaf |
The Scroll of Esther
Calligraphy and illumination by Avner Moriah
Jerusalem: Har Adar Press, 2005
Click here for more information
Hand-tooled leather case created especially to house the scroll |
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| Susa (Shushan), the capital city of the ancient Persian Empire | The party held by Queen Vashti (She was later deposed by the king) | The king's celebration in honor of Esther becoming queen | Mordecai is made prime minister by King Ahasuerus |
Several scenes from the Story of Esther |
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The Moriah Haggadah
Illuminator, Avner Moriah; calligrapher, Izzy Pludwinski; commentary, Shlomo Fox and Avner Moriah.
Limited ed. of 360 copies, bound in leather, issued in cloth case.
Jerusalem: Fine Art Prints, 2003
Includes companion volume: English translation and explanation of images
Click here for more information
Brown leather binding with an image of Jerusalem and the Temple |
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| A roundel with the word Pesah (Passover) in the middle of three concentric circles. The inner circle depicts the fourteen parts of the seder | The fourteen parts of the seder in pictorial representation starting with Kadesh (sanctification of the wine) and concluding with Nirtzah (completed or accepted) | Pictorial depiction of the paragraph that begins, "In early times our ancestors were idol worshippers" | |
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| Pictorial depiction of the section that begins "With a mighty hand." The middle circle is an image of Mt. Sinai. |
The City of Jerusalem with the Hebrew expression of hope, "Next Year in Jerusalem" |
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See here for additional details on the Haggadah
Scroll of Esther
Facsimile of an Illuminated Manuscript of the Scroll of Esther thought to be from Germany around 1700
Produced by Facsimile Editions Limited, London, 2007
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The Book of Ruth
Calligraphy and illumination by Meṭavel.
Published by Even Ḥoshen, 2004
Limited edition of 36
Song of Songs
Calligraphy and illumination by Meṭavel.
Published by Even Ḥoshen, 2006
Limited edition of 36
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Song of Songs
Calligraphy and illumination by Tamar Messer
Studio Tamar Messer, 2006
Limited edition of 50
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Haggadah shel Pesach
Calligraphy and illumination by Tamar Messer
Studio Tamar Messer, 2004
Limited edition of 130
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In Russisch-Polen Ein Kriegstagebuch
von Hermann Struck
In Russian Poland: a War Diary
by Hermann Struck
Berlin, 1915
Limited edition of 300
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Elderly Jewish man in Lodz |
Jewish porter |
Skizzen aus Litauen Weissrussland und Kurland
60 Sketches with Text
by Hermann Struck and Herbert Eulenberg
Berlin, 1916
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Street scene in Jewish section of Vilna |
Jewish porter |
Die Schriften Salomos
Woodcuts by Bruno Goldschmitt
Leipzig, 1925
Limited edition of 100
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Genesis Twenty-two: The Binding of Isaac
by David Moss
Bet Alpha Editions: 2006
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Illuminated Letters of the Hebrew Alphabet
by J. Leibo
Thirty plates tipped to larger sheets, each signed
Tallinn (Estonia), 1933
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Passover Haggadah
Calligraphy and Illustrations by Asher Kalderon
Tel Aviv, 2006
Limited Edition of 396
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The Four Sons
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The Lord brought us forth from Egypt with a strong hand...
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Shulhan Orekh - the meal is served
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Had Gadya - An Only Kid
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Ketubah from Finale, Italy
1844
Manuscript on Parchment
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