Friday Night Kiddush

(translation by Raymond P. Scheindlin)

COMMENTARY ON THE ILLUMINATIONS

Jewish tradition inaugurates almost all sacred times with blessings over wine. The wine to which the young woman in the Song of Songs compares to her lover’s kisses symbolizes Divine wisdom, according to the Castilian mystic Ezra of Gerona’s twelfth century commentary on that biblical love poetry. Jewish mystical tradition suggests that Shabbat is the time of the week when the light of that wisdom flows most abundantly into our material realm. Jewish lore compares the Torah — the essential expression of Divine wisdom—to water, the physical substance that apart from its component oxygen, is most essential to sustaining life. My illuminations of the Friday night Kiddush, one of the key rituals with which Jewish tradition sanctifies the Sabbath in the home, express the mystical metaphor of the wine’s translation of Divine Wisdom into the material world. The micrographic text bordering the two paintings presents Proverbs 8:22-31, a seminal text in kabbalistic tradition, in which Wisdom, anthropomorphized as a woman, describes how she was created by God as his companion since “the beginning of His course, as the first of His works of old.”

At right the Hebrew illumination plays with the image of the wine fountains with which many of us share Kiddush with the family and friends at our tables. These cups, however, are not arrayed on tiered trays that pipe wine from the central cup at top into those at the lower levels, and this wine is more than the fermented juice of the grape. Instead, here the wine overflows from one level to the next, following the Kabbalistic metaphor that describes how Divine Wisdom flows from the highest, most hidden aspects of God, downward until it reaches the material world, here, transforming to water. Ezra of Gerona likened Divine Wisdom to water:

“See, fear of the Lord is Wisdom” [Job 28:28]. For Wisdom [hokhmah] is the Holy One’s quality of goodness, all existing, going forth and being emanated from the luminescence of Wisdom and continually blessed through it without cessation. Because their origin is from it, it provides the essence of their sustenance. The remaining Sefirot possess but one request, toward which the entirety of their desire is directed. That is to ascend and enter into the sacred sanctuary, to draw water from the honored fonts of Wisdom.”

The vessels through which the wine flows symbolize the ten sephirot, or emanations of God, and the mystical tradition assigns each one a characteristic color. Thus, beginning at the top with the uppermost sephira, Keter (Crown), and then moving from right to left (following Hebrew convention), the painting presents the sephirot as the wine cups, the vessels through which Divine Wisdom flows: Keter-white and black, Binah-green, Hokhma-blue, Gevurah-red, Hesed-white, Tifereth-white, Hod, green, Netzach-red, Yesod-white, and closest to the material world, Malkhut (Shekhinah)-white.

The arrangement of the cups through which the wine flows alludes to the human understanding of order in the universe. Just as the Kabbalistic system ascribes the number ten cosmic significance—for instance, the ten Sephirot—Pythagorean philosophy also regarded the number ten as holy, and held the tetractys, the pyramid formed by the “generators of geometric dimensions” in which I have arranged the cups, as emblematic of unity in the universe. The four levels of this Pythagorean pyramid trace the development of geometric form as follows: level 1-the element establishing a single point, level 2-two points determining a line, level 3-three points determining a plane, and 4-four points determining a tetrahedron, the simplest three-dimensional form.

The water flows down into the material world, tumbling over boulders, perhaps into a mountain stream. Ezra also compared rough boulders to Wisdom. Why does Wisdom remind the mystic of rocks? The stony cracks and fissures symbolize the task of looking for Wisdom in hidden, hard places.

The English illumination at left offers a painting of a single brimming family Kiddush cup, bearing not only the wine, but also imagery suggesting another aspect of the Shabbat whose holiness we recognize with that wine. The Zohar compares the Shekhinah, the feminine emanation closest to the material realm to “a field of holy apples,” and on Friday night “the King is joined with the Sabbath-Bride; the holy field is fertilized, and from their sacred union the souls of the righteous are produced.” The eighteen apples growing on the two trees remind us of numerical equivalent of the word, chai,“life.”

LITERARY COMMENTARY

Kiddush, a declaration of sanctity of the Sabbath, has been known as a home ritual since the time of the Talmud; it is also recited in the synagogue at the end of the evening service for the sake of the homeless. Like many other rites that are performed outside the framework of the obligatory daily prayers, it is preceded by the drinking of wine, accompanied by its own benediction. The ritual is prefaced with the biblical account of the origin of the Sabbath, the verses of the creation story relating that God rested on the seventh day of creation (Gen. 2:1–3). The ritual thus falls into three parts: the biblical passage; the benediction over the wine; and the benediction of the sanctity of the Sabbath. Some recite the first part while standing; others stand for the entire ritual.

Kiddush follows scripture in offering two explanations for the Sabbath, first calling it “a remembrance of the work of creation,” in accordance with Gen. 2:1–3 and the first version of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:11), and then calling it “a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt,” in accordance with the second version of the Ten Commandments (Deut. 5:15). It also calls the Sabbath “the first of all the holy festivals,” referring to the fact that in the Torah’s lists of sacred times (Lev. 23; Num. 28:9 and 29), the Sabbath is mentioned first.

from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, (c) Debra Band 2014. Forthcoming Spring 2016. See www.dbandart.com

The Jewish Square, Vienna 1, formed in the Middle Ages under the name of "schoolyard" the center of the former Jewish Town, extending next to the Ducal court. It was closed from the rest of the city by four gates. Here there were school, bathhouse, synagogue and the house of the rabbi. The school was one of the most important of German-speaking countries. The community existed from about 1190 to the Vienna Geserah in 1421.

The stemming from the 15th century Jordan House, Nr. 2, bears a late Gothic relief with the representation of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan. This is not only a reference to the name of the house owner, Jörg Jordan, but also to the Vienna Geserah which the accompanying text endorses. On the initiative of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archdiocese of Vienna donated a plaque which Cardinal Franz König on 29 October 1998 unveiled. Its text reads: "Kiddush HaShem" means "sanctification of God". With this awareness, chose Viennese Jews in the synagogue here on Jewish Square - the center of an important Jewish community - at the time of persecution 1420/21 the suicide to escape a feared by them forced baptism. Others, about 200, were burnt alive in Erdberg (today 3rd district of Vienna) at the stake. Christian preachers of that time spread superstitious anti-Jewish ideas and thus incited against the Jews and their faith. So influenced, Christians in Vienna acquiesced without resistance, approved it and became perpetrators. Thus, the liquidation of the Vienna Jewish Town in 1421 was already a looming omen for what happened in our century throughout europe during the Nazi dictatorship. Medieval popes pronounced unsuccessfully against the anti-Jewish superstition, and individual believers struggled unsuccessfully against the racial hatred of the Nazis. But those were too few. Today Christendom regrets its involvement in the persecution of Jews and recognizes its failures. "Sanctification of God" today for Christians can only mean: asking for forgiveness and hope in God's salvation. October 29, 1998

Already in 1910, consisted the plan here the poet of the Enlightenment, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781), who in his play "Nathan the Wise" the interdenominational tolerance has put up a literary monument, to honor with a statue. In 1935, a sculpture by Siegfried Charoux was unveiled, but only four years later, in 1940, taken off and melted down for armaments. In 1968, the same artist created again a Lessing monument, which came first on the Morzin square and 1981 on the original site.

Since 2000, the place is a unique ensemble of remembering with the memorial by Rachel Whiteread for the 65,000 Austrian victims of the Shoah. 1995 the foundations of the in 1420 destroyed synagogue were excavated which now with finds constitute a part of the branch of the Jewish Museum Vienna. A computer-animated walk leads into one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe which existed here in the early 15th century. Another room is dedicated to the Shoah documentation.

Der Judenplatz, Wien 1, bildete im Mittelalter unter dem Namen „Schulhof“ den Mittelpunkt der einstigen Judenstadt, die sich neben dem Herzogshof erstreckte. Sie war durch vier Tore von der übrigen Stadt abgeschlossen. Hier befanden sich Schule, Badestube, Synagoge und das Haus des Rabbiners. Die Schule war eine der bedeutendsten des deutschen Sprachraums. Die Gemeinde bestand ab etwa 1190 bis zur Wiener Geserah im Jahre 1421.

Das aus dem 15. Jahrhundert stammende Jordanhaus, Nr. 2, trägt ein spätgotisches Relief mit der Darstellung der Taufe Jesu im Jordan. Dieses ist nicht nur eine Anspielung auf den Namen des Hausbesitzers, Jörg Jordan, sondern auch auf die Wiener Geserah, die der beigefügte Text gut heißt. Auf Initiative von Kardinal Christoph Schönborn stiftete die Erzdiözese Wien eine Gedenktafel, die Kardinal Franz König am 29. Oktober 1998 enthüllte. Ihr Text lautet: „Kiddusch HaSchem“ heißt „Heiligung Gottes“ Mit diesem Bewußtsein wählten Juden Wiens in der Synagoge hier am Judenplatz — dem Zentrum einer bedeutenden jüdischen Gemeinde — zur Zeit der Verfolgung 1420/21 den Freitod, um einer von ihnen befürchteten Zwangstaufe zu entgehen. Andere, etwa 200, wurden in Erdberg auf dem Scheiterhaufen lebendig verbrannt. Christliche Prediger dieser Zeit verbreiteten abergläubische judenfeindliche Vorstellungen und hetzten somit gegen die Juden und ihren Glauben. So beeinflusst nahmen Christen in Wien dies widerstandslos hin, billigten es und wurden zu Tätern. Somit war die Auflösung der Wiener Judenstadt 1421 schon ein drohendes Vorzeichen für das, was europaweit in unserem Jahrhundert während der nationalsozialistischen Zwangsherrschaft geschah. Mittelalterliche Päpste wandten sich erfolglos gegen den judenfeindlichen Aberglauben, und einzelne Gläubige kämpften erfolglos gegen den Rassenhaß der Nationalsozialisten. Aber es waren derer zu wenige. Heute bereut die Christenheit ihre Mitschuld an den Judenverfolgungen und erkennt ihr Versagen. „Heiligung Gottes“ kann heute für die Christen nur heißen: Bitte um Vergebung und Hoffnung auf Gottes Heil. 29. Oktober 1998

Schon 1910 bestand der Plan, dem Dichter der Aufklärung Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781), der in seinem Stück „Nathan der Weise“hat Lessing der interkonfessionellen Toleranz ein literarisches Denkmal gesetzt hat, hier mit einem Standbild zu ehren. 1935 wurde eine Plastik von Siegfried Charoux enthüllt, doch schon vier Jahre später entfernt und 1940 für Rüstungszwecke eingeschmolzen. 1968 schuf der selbe Künstler wieder ein Lessing-Denkmal, das zunächst auf den Morzinplatz und 1981 an den ursprünglichen Aufstellungsort kam.

Seit 2000 ist der Platz ein einzigartiges Ensemble des Erinnerns mit dem Mahnmal von Rachel Whiteread für die 65.000 österreichischen Opfer der Schoa. 1995 wurden die Fundamente der 1420 zerstörten Synagoge ergraben, die nun mit Funden einen Teil der Außenstelle des Jüdischen Museums Wien ausmachen. Ein computeranimierter Spaziergang führt in eine der größten jüdischen Gemeinden Europas, die Anfang des 15. Jahrhundert hier bestand. Ein weiterer Raum ist der Schoa-Dokumentation gewidmet.

austria-forum.org/af/Wissenssammlungen/Schicksalsorte/Jud...

President Zalman Shazar makes “Kiddush” in the sukkah at Beit Hanassi in Jerusalem. Seated to his right are Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, Chief Rabbi Isser Unterman and Mr. Nahum Goldmann. GPO photo by Cohen Fritz.

The Jewish Square, Vienna 1, formed in the Middle Ages under the name of "schoolyard" the center of the former Jewish Town, extending next to the Ducal court. It was closed from the rest of the city by four gates. Here there were school, bathhouse, synagogue and the house of the rabbi. The school was one of the most important of German-speaking countries. The community existed from about 1190 to the Vienna Geserah in 1421.

The stemming from the 15th century Jordan House, Nr. 2, bears a late Gothic relief with the representation of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan. This is not only a reference to the name of the house owner, Jörg Jordan, but also to the Vienna Geserah which the accompanying text endorses. On the initiative of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archdiocese of Vienna donated a plaque which Cardinal Franz König on 29 October 1998 unveiled. Its text reads: "Kiddush HaShem" means "sanctification of God". With this awareness, chose Viennese Jews in the synagogue here on Jewish Square - the center of an important Jewish community - at the time of persecution 1420/21 the suicide to escape a feared by them forced baptism. Others, about 200, were burnt alive in Erdberg (today 3rd district of Vienna) at the stake. Christian preachers of that time spread superstitious anti-Jewish ideas and thus incited against the Jews and their faith. So influenced, Christians in Vienna acquiesced without resistance, approved it and became perpetrators. Thus, the liquidation of the Vienna Jewish Town in 1421 was already a looming omen for what happened in our century throughout europe during the Nazi dictatorship. Medieval popes pronounced unsuccessfully against the anti-Jewish superstition, and individual believers struggled unsuccessfully against the racial hatred of the Nazis. But those were too few. Today Christendom regrets its involvement in the persecution of Jews and recognizes its failures. "Sanctification of God" today for Christians can only mean: asking for forgiveness and hope in God's salvation. October 29, 1998

Already in 1910, consisted the plan here the poet of the Enlightenment, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781), who in his play "Nathan the Wise" the interdenominational tolerance has put up a literary monument, to honor with a statue. In 1935, a sculpture by Siegfried Charoux was unveiled, but only four years later, in 1940, taken off and melted down for armaments. In 1968, the same artist created again a Lessing monument, which came first on the Morzin square and 1981 on the original site.

Since 2000, the place is a unique ensemble of remembering with the memorial by Rachel Whiteread for the 65,000 Austrian victims of the Shoah. 1995 the foundations of the in 1420 destroyed synagogue were excavated which now with finds constitute a part of the branch of the Jewish Museum Vienna. A computer-animated walk leads into one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe which existed here in the early 15th century. Another room is dedicated to the Shoah documentation.

Der Judenplatz, Wien 1, bildete im Mittelalter unter dem Namen „Schulhof“ den Mittelpunkt der einstigen Judenstadt, die sich neben dem Herzogshof erstreckte. Sie war durch vier Tore von der übrigen Stadt abgeschlossen. Hier befanden sich Schule, Badestube, Synagoge und das Haus des Rabbiners. Die Schule war eine der bedeutendsten des deutschen Sprachraums. Die Gemeinde bestand ab etwa 1190 bis zur Wiener Geserah im Jahre 1421.

Das aus dem 15. Jahrhundert stammende Jordanhaus, Nr. 2, trägt ein spätgotisches Relief mit der Darstellung der Taufe Jesu im Jordan. Dieses ist nicht nur eine Anspielung auf den Namen des Hausbesitzers, Jörg Jordan, sondern auch auf die Wiener Geserah, die der beigefügte Text gut heißt. Auf Initiative von Kardinal Christoph Schönborn stiftete die Erzdiözese Wien eine Gedenktafel, die Kardinal Franz König am 29. Oktober 1998 enthüllte. Ihr Text lautet: „Kiddusch HaSchem“ heißt „Heiligung Gottes“ Mit diesem Bewußtsein wählten Juden Wiens in der Synagoge hier am Judenplatz — dem Zentrum einer bedeutenden jüdischen Gemeinde — zur Zeit der Verfolgung 1420/21 den Freitod, um einer von ihnen befürchteten Zwangstaufe zu entgehen. Andere, etwa 200, wurden in Erdberg auf dem Scheiterhaufen lebendig verbrannt. Christliche Prediger dieser Zeit verbreiteten abergläubische judenfeindliche Vorstellungen und hetzten somit gegen die Juden und ihren Glauben. So beeinflusst nahmen Christen in Wien dies widerstandslos hin, billigten es und wurden zu Tätern. Somit war die Auflösung der Wiener Judenstadt 1421 schon ein drohendes Vorzeichen für das, was europaweit in unserem Jahrhundert während der nationalsozialistischen Zwangsherrschaft geschah. Mittelalterliche Päpste wandten sich erfolglos gegen den judenfeindlichen Aberglauben, und einzelne Gläubige kämpften erfolglos gegen den Rassenhaß der Nationalsozialisten. Aber es waren derer zu wenige. Heute bereut die Christenheit ihre Mitschuld an den Judenverfolgungen und erkennt ihr Versagen. „Heiligung Gottes“ kann heute für die Christen nur heißen: Bitte um Vergebung und Hoffnung auf Gottes Heil. 29. Oktober 1998

Schon 1910 bestand der Plan, dem Dichter der Aufklärung Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781), der in seinem Stück „Nathan der Weise“hat Lessing der interkonfessionellen Toleranz ein literarisches Denkmal gesetzt hat, hier mit einem Standbild zu ehren. 1935 wurde eine Plastik von Siegfried Charoux enthüllt, doch schon vier Jahre später entfernt und 1940 für Rüstungszwecke eingeschmolzen. 1968 schuf der selbe Künstler wieder ein Lessing-Denkmal, das zunächst auf den Morzinplatz und 1981 an den ursprünglichen Aufstellungsort kam.

Seit 2000 ist der Platz ein einzigartiges Ensemble des Erinnerns mit dem Mahnmal von Rachel Whiteread für die 65.000 österreichischen Opfer der Schoa. 1995 wurden die Fundamente der 1420 zerstörten Synagoge ergraben, die nun mit Funden einen Teil der Außenstelle des Jüdischen Museums Wien ausmachen. Ein computeranimierter Spaziergang führt in eine der größten jüdischen Gemeinden Europas, die Anfang des 15. Jahrhundert hier bestand. Ein weiterer Raum ist der Schoa-Dokumentation gewidmet.

austria-forum.org/af/Wissenssammlungen/Schicksalsorte/Jud...

The Jewish Square, Vienna 1, formed in the Middle Ages under the name of "schoolyard" the center of the former Jewish Town, extending next to the Ducal court. It was closed from the rest of the city by four gates. Here there were school, bathhouse, synagogue and the house of the rabbi. The school was one of the most important of German-speaking countries. The community existed from about 1190 to the Vienna Geserah in 1421.

The stemming from the 15th century Jordan House, Nr. 2, bears a late Gothic relief with the representation of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan. This is not only a reference to the name of the house owner, Jörg Jordan, but also to the Vienna Geserah which the accompanying text endorses. On the initiative of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archdiocese of Vienna donated a plaque which Cardinal Franz König on 29 October 1998 unveiled. Its text reads: "Kiddush HaShem" means "sanctification of God". With this awareness, chose Viennese Jews in the synagogue here on Jewish Square - the center of an important Jewish community - at the time of persecution 1420/21 the suicide to escape a feared by them forced baptism. Others, about 200, were burnt alive in Erdberg (today 3rd district of Vienna) at the stake. Christian preachers of that time spread superstitious anti-Jewish ideas and thus incited against the Jews and their faith. So influenced, Christians in Vienna acquiesced without resistance, approved it and became perpetrators. Thus, the liquidation of the Vienna Jewish Town in 1421 was already a looming omen for what happened in our century throughout europe during the Nazi dictatorship. Medieval popes pronounced unsuccessfully against the anti-Jewish superstition, and individual believers struggled unsuccessfully against the racial hatred of the Nazis. But those were too few. Today Christendom regrets its involvement in the persecution of Jews and recognizes its failures. "Sanctification of God" today for Christians can only mean: asking for forgiveness and hope in God's salvation. October 29, 1998

Already in 1910, consisted the plan here the poet of the Enlightenment, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781), who in his play "Nathan the Wise" the interdenominational tolerance has put up a literary monument, to honor with a statue. In 1935, a sculpture by Siegfried Charoux was unveiled, but only four years later, in 1940, taken off and melted down for armaments. In 1968, the same artist created again a Lessing monument, which came first on the Morzin square and 1981 on the original site.

Since 2000, the place is a unique ensemble of remembering with the memorial by Rachel Whiteread for the 65,000 Austrian victims of the Shoah. 1995 the foundations of the in 1420 destroyed synagogue were excavated which now with finds constitute a part of the branch of the Jewish Museum Vienna. A computer-animated walk leads into one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe which existed here in the early 15th century. Another room is dedicated to the Shoah documentation.

Der Judenplatz, Wien 1, bildete im Mittelalter unter dem Namen „Schulhof“ den Mittelpunkt der einstigen Judenstadt, die sich neben dem Herzogshof erstreckte. Sie war durch vier Tore von der übrigen Stadt abgeschlossen. Hier befanden sich Schule, Badestube, Synagoge und das Haus des Rabbiners. Die Schule war eine der bedeutendsten des deutschen Sprachraums. Die Gemeinde bestand ab etwa 1190 bis zur Wiener Geserah im Jahre 1421.

Das aus dem 15. Jahrhundert stammende Jordanhaus, Nr. 2, trägt ein spätgotisches Relief mit der Darstellung der Taufe Jesu im Jordan. Dieses ist nicht nur eine Anspielung auf den Namen des Hausbesitzers, Jörg Jordan, sondern auch auf die Wiener Geserah, die der beigefügte Text gut heißt. Auf Initiative von Kardinal Christoph Schönborn stiftete die Erzdiözese Wien eine Gedenktafel, die Kardinal Franz König am 29. Oktober 1998 enthüllte. Ihr Text lautet: „Kiddusch HaSchem“ heißt „Heiligung Gottes“ Mit diesem Bewußtsein wählten Juden Wiens in der Synagoge hier am Judenplatz — dem Zentrum einer bedeutenden jüdischen Gemeinde — zur Zeit der Verfolgung 1420/21 den Freitod, um einer von ihnen befürchteten Zwangstaufe zu entgehen. Andere, etwa 200, wurden in Erdberg auf dem Scheiterhaufen lebendig verbrannt. Christliche Prediger dieser Zeit verbreiteten abergläubische judenfeindliche Vorstellungen und hetzten somit gegen die Juden und ihren Glauben. So beeinflusst nahmen Christen in Wien dies widerstandslos hin, billigten es und wurden zu Tätern. Somit war die Auflösung der Wiener Judenstadt 1421 schon ein drohendes Vorzeichen für das, was europaweit in unserem Jahrhundert während der nationalsozialistischen Zwangsherrschaft geschah. Mittelalterliche Päpste wandten sich erfolglos gegen den judenfeindlichen Aberglauben, und einzelne Gläubige kämpften erfolglos gegen den Rassenhaß der Nationalsozialisten. Aber es waren derer zu wenige. Heute bereut die Christenheit ihre Mitschuld an den Judenverfolgungen und erkennt ihr Versagen. „Heiligung Gottes“ kann heute für die Christen nur heißen: Bitte um Vergebung und Hoffnung auf Gottes Heil. 29. Oktober 1998

Schon 1910 bestand der Plan, dem Dichter der Aufklärung Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781), der in seinem Stück „Nathan der Weise“hat Lessing der interkonfessionellen Toleranz ein literarisches Denkmal gesetzt hat, hier mit einem Standbild zu ehren. 1935 wurde eine Plastik von Siegfried Charoux enthüllt, doch schon vier Jahre später entfernt und 1940 für Rüstungszwecke eingeschmolzen. 1968 schuf der selbe Künstler wieder ein Lessing-Denkmal, das zunächst auf den Morzinplatz und 1981 an den ursprünglichen Aufstellungsort kam.

Seit 2000 ist der Platz ein einzigartiges Ensemble des Erinnerns mit dem Mahnmal von Rachel Whiteread für die 65.000 österreichischen Opfer der Schoa. 1995 wurden die Fundamente der 1420 zerstörten Synagoge ergraben, die nun mit Funden einen Teil der Außenstelle des Jüdischen Museums Wien ausmachen. Ein computeranimierter Spaziergang führt in eine der größten jüdischen Gemeinden Europas, die Anfang des 15. Jahrhundert hier bestand. Ein weiterer Raum ist der Schoa-Dokumentation gewidmet.

austria-forum.org/af/Wissenssammlungen/Schicksalsorte/Jud...

The Jewish Square, Vienna 1, formed in the Middle Ages under the name of "schoolyard" the center of the former Jewish Town, extending next to the Ducal court. It was closed from the rest of the city by four gates. Here there were school, bathhouse, synagogue and the house of the rabbi. The school was one of the most important of German-speaking countries. The community existed from about 1190 to the Vienna Geserah in 1421.

The stemming from the 15th century Jordan House, Nr. 2, bears a late Gothic relief with the representation of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan. This is not only a reference to the name of the house owner, Jörg Jordan, but also to the Vienna Geserah which the accompanying text endorses. On the initiative of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archdiocese of Vienna donated a plaque which Cardinal Franz König on 29 October 1998 unveiled. Its text reads: "Kiddush HaShem" means "sanctification of God". With this awareness, chose Viennese Jews in the synagogue here on Jewish Square - the center of an important Jewish community - at the time of persecution 1420/21 the suicide to escape a feared by them forced baptism. Others, about 200, were burnt alive in Erdberg (today 3rd district of Vienna) at the stake. Christian preachers of that time spread superstitious anti-Jewish ideas and thus incited against the Jews and their faith. So influenced, Christians in Vienna acquiesced without resistance, approved it and became perpetrators. Thus, the liquidation of the Vienna Jewish Town in 1421 was already a looming omen for what happened in our century throughout europe during the Nazi dictatorship. Medieval popes pronounced unsuccessfully against the anti-Jewish superstition, and individual believers struggled unsuccessfully against the racial hatred of the Nazis. But those were too few. Today Christendom regrets its involvement in the persecution of Jews and recognizes its failures. "Sanctification of God" today for Christians can only mean: asking for forgiveness and hope in God's salvation. October 29, 1998

Already in 1910, consisted the plan here the poet of the Enlightenment, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781), who in his play "Nathan the Wise" the interdenominational tolerance has put up a literary monument, to honor with a statue. In 1935, a sculpture by Siegfried Charoux was unveiled, but only four years later, in 1940, taken off and melted down for armaments. In 1968, the same artist created again a Lessing monument, which came first on the Morzin square and 1981 on the original site.

Since 2000, the place is a unique ensemble of remembering with the memorial by Rachel Whiteread for the 65,000 Austrian victims of the Shoah. 1995 the foundations of the in 1420 destroyed synagogue were excavated which now with finds constitute a part of the branch of the Jewish Museum Vienna. A computer-animated walk leads into one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe which existed here in the early 15th century. Another room is dedicated to the Shoah documentation.

Der Judenplatz, Wien 1, bildete im Mittelalter unter dem Namen „Schulhof“ den Mittelpunkt der einstigen Judenstadt, die sich neben dem Herzogshof erstreckte. Sie war durch vier Tore von der übrigen Stadt abgeschlossen. Hier befanden sich Schule, Badestube, Synagoge und das Haus des Rabbiners. Die Schule war eine der bedeutendsten des deutschen Sprachraums. Die Gemeinde bestand ab etwa 1190 bis zur Wiener Geserah im Jahre 1421.

Das aus dem 15. Jahrhundert stammende Jordanhaus, Nr. 2, trägt ein spätgotisches Relief mit der Darstellung der Taufe Jesu im Jordan. Dieses ist nicht nur eine Anspielung auf den Namen des Hausbesitzers, Jörg Jordan, sondern auch auf die Wiener Geserah, die der beigefügte Text gut heißt. Auf Initiative von Kardinal Christoph Schönborn stiftete die Erzdiözese Wien eine Gedenktafel, die Kardinal Franz König am 29. Oktober 1998 enthüllte. Ihr Text lautet: „Kiddusch HaSchem“ heißt „Heiligung Gottes“ Mit diesem Bewußtsein wählten Juden Wiens in der Synagoge hier am Judenplatz — dem Zentrum einer bedeutenden jüdischen Gemeinde — zur Zeit der Verfolgung 1420/21 den Freitod, um einer von ihnen befürchteten Zwangstaufe zu entgehen. Andere, etwa 200, wurden in Erdberg auf dem Scheiterhaufen lebendig verbrannt. Christliche Prediger dieser Zeit verbreiteten abergläubische judenfeindliche Vorstellungen und hetzten somit gegen die Juden und ihren Glauben. So beeinflusst nahmen Christen in Wien dies widerstandslos hin, billigten es und wurden zu Tätern. Somit war die Auflösung der Wiener Judenstadt 1421 schon ein drohendes Vorzeichen für das, was europaweit in unserem Jahrhundert während der nationalsozialistischen Zwangsherrschaft geschah. Mittelalterliche Päpste wandten sich erfolglos gegen den judenfeindlichen Aberglauben, und einzelne Gläubige kämpften erfolglos gegen den Rassenhaß der Nationalsozialisten. Aber es waren derer zu wenige. Heute bereut die Christenheit ihre Mitschuld an den Judenverfolgungen und erkennt ihr Versagen. „Heiligung Gottes“ kann heute für die Christen nur heißen: Bitte um Vergebung und Hoffnung auf Gottes Heil. 29. Oktober 1998

Schon 1910 bestand der Plan, dem Dichter der Aufklärung Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781), der in seinem Stück „Nathan der Weise“hat Lessing der interkonfessionellen Toleranz ein literarisches Denkmal gesetzt hat, hier mit einem Standbild zu ehren. 1935 wurde eine Plastik von Siegfried Charoux enthüllt, doch schon vier Jahre später entfernt und 1940 für Rüstungszwecke eingeschmolzen. 1968 schuf der selbe Künstler wieder ein Lessing-Denkmal, das zunächst auf den Morzinplatz und 1981 an den ursprünglichen Aufstellungsort kam.

Seit 2000 ist der Platz ein einzigartiges Ensemble des Erinnerns mit dem Mahnmal von Rachel Whiteread für die 65.000 österreichischen Opfer der Schoa. 1995 wurden die Fundamente der 1420 zerstörten Synagoge ergraben, die nun mit Funden einen Teil der Außenstelle des Jüdischen Museums Wien ausmachen. Ein computeranimierter Spaziergang führt in eine der größten jüdischen Gemeinden Europas, die Anfang des 15. Jahrhundert hier bestand. Ein weiterer Raum ist der Schoa-Dokumentation gewidmet.

austria-forum.org/af/Wissenssammlungen/Schicksalsorte/Jud...

Friday Night Kiddush

(translation by Raymond P. Scheindlin)

COMMENTARY ON THE ILLUMINATIONS

Jewish tradition inaugurates almost all sacred times with blessings over wine. The wine to which the young woman in the Song of Songs compares to her lover’s kisses symbolizes Divine wisdom, according to the Castilian mystic Ezra of Gerona’s twelfth century commentary on that biblical love poetry. Jewish mystical tradition suggests that Shabbat is the time of the week when the light of that wisdom flows most abundantly into our material realm. Jewish lore compares the Torah — the essential expression of Divine wisdom—to water, the physical substance that apart from its component oxygen, is most essential to sustaining life. My illuminations of the Friday night Kiddush, one of the key rituals with which Jewish tradition sanctifies the Sabbath in the home, express the mystical metaphor of the wine’s translation of Divine Wisdom into the material world. The micrographic text bordering the two paintings presents Proverbs 8:22-31, a seminal text in kabbalistic tradition, in which Wisdom, anthropomorphized as a woman, describes how she was created by God as his companion since “the beginning of His course, as the first of His works of old.”

At right the Hebrew illumination plays with the image of the wine fountains with which many of us share Kiddush with the family and friends at our tables. These cups, however, are not arrayed on tiered trays that pipe wine from the central cup at top into those at the lower levels, and this wine is more than the fermented juice of the grape. Instead, here the wine overflows from one level to the next, following the Kabbalistic metaphor that describes how Divine Wisdom flows from the highest, most hidden aspects of God, downward until it reaches the material world, here, transforming to water. Ezra of Gerona likened Divine Wisdom to water:

“See, fear of the Lord is Wisdom” [Job 28:28]. For Wisdom [hokhmah] is the Holy One’s quality of goodness, all existing, going forth and being emanated from the luminescence of Wisdom and continually blessed through it without cessation. Because their origin is from it, it provides the essence of their sustenance. The remaining Sefirot possess but one request, toward which the entirety of their desire is directed. That is to ascend and enter into the sacred sanctuary, to draw water from the honored fonts of Wisdom.”

The vessels through which the wine flows symbolize the ten sephirot, or emanations of God, and the mystical tradition assigns each one a characteristic color. Thus, beginning at the top with the uppermost sephira, Keter (Crown), and then moving from right to left (following Hebrew convention), the painting presents the sephirot as the wine cups, the vessels through which Divine Wisdom flows: Keter-white and black, Binah-green, Hokhma-blue, Gevurah-red, Hesed-white, Tifereth-white, Hod, green, Netzach-red, Yesod-white, and closest to the material world, Malkhut (Shekhinah)-white.

The arrangement of the cups through which the wine flows alludes to the human understanding of order in the universe. Just as the Kabbalistic system ascribes the number ten cosmic significance—for instance, the ten Sephirot—Pythagorean philosophy also regarded the number ten as holy, and held the tetractys, the pyramid formed by the “generators of geometric dimensions” in which I have arranged the cups, as emblematic of unity in the universe. The four levels of this Pythagorean pyramid trace the development of geometric form as follows: level 1-the element establishing a single point, level 2-two points determining a line, level 3-three points determining a plane, and 4-four points determining a tetrahedron, the simplest three-dimensional form.

The water flows down into the material world, tumbling over boulders, perhaps into a mountain stream. Ezra also compared rough boulders to Wisdom. Why does Wisdom remind the mystic of rocks? The stony cracks and fissures symbolize the task of looking for Wisdom in hidden, hard places.

The English illumination at left offers a painting of a single brimming family Kiddush cup, bearing not only the wine, but also imagery suggesting another aspect of the Shabbat whose holiness we recognize with that wine. The Zohar compares the Shekhinah, the feminine emanation closest to the material realm to “a field of holy apples,” and on Friday night “the King is joined with the Sabbath-Bride; the holy field is fertilized, and from their sacred union the souls of the righteous are produced.” The eighteen apples growing on the two trees remind us of numerical equivalent of the word, chai,“life.”

LITERARY COMMENTARY

Kiddush, a declaration of sanctity of the Sabbath, has been known as a home ritual since the time of the Talmud; it is also recited in the synagogue at the end of the evening service for the sake of the homeless. Like many other rites that are performed outside the framework of the obligatory daily prayers, it is preceded by the drinking of wine, accompanied by its own benediction. The ritual is prefaced with the biblical account of the origin of the Sabbath, the verses of the creation story relating that God rested on the seventh day of creation (Gen. 2:1–3). The ritual thus falls into three parts: the biblical passage; the benediction over the wine; and the benediction of the sanctity of the Sabbath. Some recite the first part while standing; others stand for the entire ritual.

Kiddush follows scripture in offering two explanations for the Sabbath, first calling it “a remembrance of the work of creation,” in accordance with Gen. 2:1–3 and the first version of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:11), and then calling it “a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt,” in accordance with the second version of the Ten Commandments (Deut. 5:15). It also calls the Sabbath “the first of all the holy festivals,” referring to the fact that in the Torah’s lists of sacred times (Lev. 23; Num. 28:9 and 29), the Sabbath is mentioned first.

from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, (c) Debra Band 2014. Forthcoming Spring 2016. See www.dbandart.com

Usually, when we hear of the closure of a synagogue, it is as a result of the fall in numbers of the community it served. Examples such as Sunderland, Grimsby, even most recently Nottingham, come to mind.

But the decision of Manchester’s Higher Crumpsall and Higher Broughton Hebrew Congregation to close down, after more than 70 years as one of the city’s most iconic synagogues, has other factors in play — and they are to do with the shifting demographics of the neighbourhood.

When Higher Crumpsall, as it was then, opened its beautiful white-domed building in 1928, it was a thing to marvel at both inside and outside. The building dominated Cheetham Hill Road, which stretched from the city centre out into the northern suburbs but, in 1928, the Ashkenazi Jews had not yet moved north to Prestwich and Whitefield — let alone gone to the south side of Manchester, which was strongly populated, in those early years, by Sephardi Jews.

But Cheetham Hill was the focal area of Manchester Jewry, and the buildings that grew up around Crumpsall Synagogue reflected that — the Talmud Torah, the Zionist headquarters at Mamlock House, and neighbouring congregations such as Heaton Park and Higher Broughton. The latter was to be subsumed into Higher Crumpsall in the early 1960s.

Higher Crumpsall was beautiful outside. But it is a listed building for its interior, which was different from almost every other synagogue in the city, with its cantilevered ladies’ gallery, meaning there were no pillars in the way to block the eye-line, and the women — particularly those on the front row — felt themselves full participants in the services.

There were some anomalies in the decor, however. The gigantic central light fitting was strongly rumoured to have been bought, on the cheap, from an Odeon cinema that was closing down. Generations of caretakers muttered darkly about how difficult it was to replace the bulbs in this monstrosity, but that’s not what people went to Crumpsall for.

They went for the spectacular services. Higher Crumpsall was famous for its chazan and choir, first Rev Solomon Hershman and then Rev Avraham Hillman. Rev Hershman, who died in 1971, was fond of inserting operatic melodies into Yom Tov liturgies, and the trick was to see if you could recognise which opera he was singing.

Chazan Hillman had a symbiotic relationship with the choir which enabled him, apparently by magic, to know exactly where they were going with a chorus — even if he had his back to them. He died in 2016 after serving Crumpsall for an astonishing 48 years.

The rabbis were scarcely less starry: Rabbi Kopul Rosen, the founder of Carmel College, was Crumpsall’s minister in the early years of the Second World War, and was often accompanied by the leading scholar Dr Alexander Altmann, who served as the city’s communal rabbi. People flocked to the shul to hear what they had to say.

But eventually, and inevitably, the demographics of the area changed. Crumpsall was marooned on the fault line between Jewish and Muslim north Manchester, and its more well-heeled members had either moved north to affluent suburbs, or south.

Instead, the area became dominated by the Strictly Orthodox community, who will take over the premises to use as a yeshiva.

For at least the last ten years, Crumpsall has been hanging on by its fingertips, closure always on the horizon and the members that remained, together with minister Rabbi Arnold Saunders, defiantly determined to keep the shul open. An English Heritage Lottery grant did not help as the sheer scale of building and maintenance work proved overwhelming.

And so Crumpsall held its last Shabbat service last weekend, going out in style with a celebratory Kiddush. Grand cathedral-style shuls are no longer fashionable but in its day Crumpsall was a magnificent creation, and will be remembered with warmth and affection.

Item dated 22/12/17

www.thejc.com/comment/comment/closure-of-crumpsall-synago...

Another wimshul cooks project (wimshulcooks.wordpress.com) - a kiddush (the food after the main shabbat service) to celebrate Tu B'Shevat, the new year for the trees, the date (in Israel) that trees come out of their winter dormancy and begin to form flowers and fruits. Traditionally the 'seven species' - the different fruits and grains of Israel - are eaten especially on this day - grapes, figs, pomegranates, dates, olives, wheat and barley.

We had a lovely morning at the children's service and then enjoying the fabulous spread - hallah, muffins, cakes and all sorts made using the seven species. My personal favourite was Claudia's Persian Aubergines. The children mainly ate cake, pomegranate seeds and chocolate raisins.

1. l'chaim Ronnie!, 2. Ronnie in the den reading his favorite history books ..., 3. Ronnie says kiddush Shabbos Hanukkah, 4. Ron cuts the challah after the Hamotzi blessing, 5. Ronnie makes hamotzi blessing, 6. Ronnie and baby Jess: Columbus, Ohio, 7. Ronnie and Jess in our Cassingham house, 8. Ronnie and Jess on a trip to Boca Raton, Florida, 9. Ronnie and Tim Russert ... an educated duo ..., 10. my extended family in 1971 after Ronnie came back from Vietnam, 11. Ronnie and his Aunt Bertha, 97 years of age and going strong!, 12. cousins Elaine and Vic, Ronnie, Dr. Harlan Meyer, and Bruce Meyer, 13. Ronnie saying the after dinner blessings14.

I love setting a nice table for friends on Shabbes. Note the kiddush cups from recycled bike parts...