Simchat Torah celebrates the annual completion of reading the Torah. We all danced around the synagogue with Torahs in our arms. Our synagogue also still has individual scrolls of each of the five books, which some consider obsolete, but we included them in the celebration anyway.

For the services, The Girl and her friend sat in front, as did I and the friend’s mom (along with her son). Hubs and the grandmother of the friend sat behind us. The girls were very well behaved. I’m glad to see Sunday school is paying off. :)

Before the start of the service, the Cantor came over to ask one of us to light the Shabbat candles. I said, “Oh, come on. We were brave enough to sit in front. Can’t you leave us alone?” We all laughed. And I ended up lighting the candles.

This service was supposed to be kid-centered, but Cantor just couldn’t leave stuff out. We danced far more than 7 dances with the Torahs. I will say, The Girl was very cute as she held one. After dancing for a looooooong time, we finally go to the Torah reading. Being that it was the last reading of the Torah, Cantor insisted on unrolling and re-rolling “the whole megillah.” By that time, it was after 8:30. The kids were out of their minds overtired. Many of us grownups were as well.

Anyway, when that was finally done, the new kids of the congregation were blessed under a talit (Hubs even held a corner) on the bimah. Then they got their own miniature Torahs. Finally, the big Torah was dressed, Kiddush was said, and we concluded with challah, apples, pastries, cake, and of course, wine. As a bonus, one of the members had made vodka with last year’s etrog. It was STRONG, but good, though it had an aftertaste not unlike Pledge.

It was a long night, but I’m glad we went.

#cy365 #InTheFront

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...

These two cards, above, were being sent to the same 'Grandma' within a short time of each other. It was suggested that the design somehow depict her cooking and the family's Friday night Shabbat dinners around the table. On both cards I illustrated the Shabbat candlesticks, traditionally lit by the woman of the household just before sundown to welcome the Shabbat. I also added a plaited Challah and a steaming hot pie to the birthday card, whilst the anniversary card for Grandma and Grandpa displayed a Kiddush cup and a couple of champagne glasses to toast their special day.

On display at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The descriptions are as follows:

-- "Transition" Havdala Set - by Fred Klap (Spice Box, Kiddush Cup and Candle Holder - pear wood, ebony and abalone)

"From Sabbath prayer and contemplation to workday responsibilities the Havdala service changes the mindset in a very special way. The mood for the new week is set up by lighting the candle, a drink of wine and passing around the spice tower charged with aromatic spices.

"In 17th and 18th century Europe symbolic Jewish pieces provided great latitude for artists who worked in silver, brass, ivory, wood, ceramics and glass. These pieces were collected and treasured. This art form is carried on today with contemporary materials."

-- "Eggs to Enlightenment Menorah" - by Susan L. Brown (Mixed Media construction, 2006)

"I have always been fascinated by the transformative nature of art and culture. From North Africa leather and paper amulets to German Baroque silver torah pointers. Objects made for ritual or everyday function reflect the Jewish geography and epoque of their creators.

"I have inherited a sensibility for Jewish artifacts and a taste for surrealism. Surrealists enlisted everyday found objects as springboards for creating new realities and alternative interpretations of their world. I have investigated a conventional Jewish icon, the menorah, a surreal and feminist object. The media speaks of natural and contemporary manufactured materials transformed and combined through art to reveal the deconstruction of the idea of a menorah.

"My personal ethnographic research based on interviews with friends addresses topics like biblical pillars of salt from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Rose of Sharon in the Songs of Solomon and contemporary Jewish home life. The outcome of these conversations form the textual backdrop and context for my object and invites viewers to engage in a conversation with the uncommon object in the case.

"I asked special women to contribute to the textual context of my work by responding briefly to one or both of these questions:

How do the biblical stories of Lot's wife, Eve in the Garden, or the Songs of Solomon resonate with your own vision of what it means to be feminine or a woman?

and/or

In your opinion, why is a menorah (candelabra) symbolic of women or a woman's role in Jewish culture?

"I would like to thankfully acknowledge the thoughtful contributions of:

Francoise Cockburn, Vicki Cowan, Honey Novick, Sandra Weisberg, Rena Zayit."

Lantos-Montello family, Kansas City, April 2015

Lantos-Montello family, Kansas City, April 2015

When my youngest son recently created some place setting cards for our Shabbat table, I knew that we had found the perfect Shabbat card design.

His card shows two candlesticks, a beautiful plaited Challah bread, a Kiddush cup and bottle of wine. In big, bold letters he has spelt out the words 'Shabbat Shalom', A Peaceful Sabbath.