The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Warren Hellman Gallery Charles Michael Gallery

Irving Rabin Collection Wing

August 28, 2014–June 26, 2015

Gourmet GhettosM o d e r n F o o d r i T u A L s

case study no. 5

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Gourmet Ghettos: Modern Food rituals

Case study no. 5

The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life

The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Warren Hellman Gallery, Charles Michael Gallery, and

Irving Rabin Collection Wing

August 28, 2014–June 26, 2015

Galleries open Tuesday–Friday 11 am–4 pm

(closed December 20, 2014–January 26, 2015)

bit.ly/gourmetghettos

exhibiTion TeAM

Curators: Dr. Francesco Spagnolo and India Mandelkern

(PhD Candidate, History)

Contributing Scholar: Dr. Yahil Zaban, Tel Aviv University

Helen Diller Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, 2012–2014

Registrars: Julie Franklin, Lorna Kirwan (Bancroft Library)

Research: Gary Handman, Zoe Lewin (URAP), Christine Liu (URAP)

Design: Gordon Chun Design

ACknowLedGMenTs

Major support for The Magnes comes from the Hellman Family

Foundation, Koret Foundation, Magnes Museum Foundation,

Taube Philanthropies and Magnes Leadership Circle. Additional

research funds were provided by the Helen Fawcett Chair in History

at UC Berkeley.

Cover iMAGe

le-shanah tovah. tikatevu (May you be inscribed for a good year)

A Happy New Year

Popup greeting cardGermany, n.d.

Gift of Solomon l. Gluck, liB 73.35.3

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Curators’ Note

From Alexander Portnoy’s french fry cravings to eating Chinese food on Christmas, from the abominations of Leviticus to the legendary New York City kosher deli, Jewish food rituals combine religion and history, folklore and stereo-type. In many ways, food’s remarkable powers of expression are encapsulated by the Jewish experience.

Jewish foodways are associated with religious and cultural partic ularism almost by default. At the same time, they are relevant to the broader ways in which we think about food, eating, and conviviality today. Gourmet Ghettos considers how food, ritual, identity, and activism intersect in Jewish life. Using objects from around the world, ranging from cookware, tableware, and kitchen textiles to books, manu-scripts, paintings and drawings, this exhibition also examines Jewish food rituals as meaningful frameworks in which to contextualize today’s food movement. Modern food ritu-als are deeply embedded in Berkeley’s history, a city with a powerful tradition of social justice and its own “gourmet ghetto,” a term inherited from the original Jewish ghettos of Renaissance Europe.

These connections may not be intuitive at first. After all, today’s food culture seems to pride itself on its global omniv-orousness, rejecting the status and structure of highbrow grande cuisine in favor of exoticism, camp, and culinary pastiche. We attribute our passions for sustainability and social justice to the past two hundred years of industrial-ization, which opened a Pandora’s box of hyper-processing, environmental degradation, human rights abuses, and unprecedented waste.

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Yet, given a closer look, Jewish foodways in fact engage with these issues more than we may think. Many of the agricultural laws outlined in the Bible—such as the “sabbatical year” (shemitah) when land must lie fallow, or the prohibition of eating fruit from young trees (‘orlah)—link Jewish identity to sustainable agricultural practices. Likewise, much in the same way that today’s debates about animal welfare reflect larger concerns about our status as a civil society, Biblical and rab-binic guidelines governing the ritual slaughter and inspection of carcasses appear to ethicize the search for and the con-sumption of food, one of the most personal and immediate ways in which we connect with the natural world.

Links between Jewish food rituals and the modern food move ment extend beyond their respective ethics of food production. Much like dietary laws have structured Jewish identities throughout history, the modern “foodie” organizes his or her food choices by distinguishing between what is morally fit and unfit for consumption. Indeed, the regulatory work achieved today by nutritional labels and various ethically-grounded certifications—organic, local, GMO-free—was for centuries accomplished by a single term: “kosher.”

–FRANCESCO SPAGNOLO and INDIA MANDELKERN

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Introduction

Are we chopped liver?

A few years ago, while giving a lecture on “The Poetics of Jewish Food,” something began to trouble me. I was reading an excerpt from Dror Burstein’s novel, Avner Brenner (2005), one of the best Hebrew novels published in the last decade, when I felt a burning sensation in my chest. The excerpt described a festive Jewish family dinner in which the guests enjoyed chopped liver, a well-known Jewish dish. So smooth, sweet, and silky was this liver, that the guests felt as if they were actually eating ice cream, while the challah bread served with it was so fluffy and delicate that the guests compared it to cake. The main course became a dessert upon the first bite. Such food, one guest remarked, should be served at the wedding of their enemies’ enemies. But while most of the audience were laughing, I felt like someone was puncturing my skin with two hot iron rods. An irrational fear gripped me. Had the unbelievable happened? Had this cholesterol-rich literary dish managed to block my arteries? I raised my eye from the book, and saw a gentleman who must have been in his seventies sitting before me: clenched fists, pressed lips, and two burning, raging, piercing eyes.

I stopped reading. “Is everything alright?”

“No,” he said, springing to his feet. “Nothing is ok. You call this Jewish food, but this is no Jewish food. Believe me, I know chopped liver when I see it: I’ve eaten it my entire life. My grandmother made it, my mother made it, and it was never sweet. Never! If you want something sweet, ask the French to taste their foie gras. But if this is Jewish, it cannot be sweet, so what in the hell is all this nonsense about cakes and ice cream?”

I usually know how to deal with his sort, the kind that take their childhood meals so personally. In a soothing voice, I explained that this was only a fictional description of chopped liver. I was busily explaining the mechanics of literary description when a high-pitched call from one of the back rows interrupted me.

“I don’t know who your grandmother is, mister, but my Bubbe made the sweetest chopped liver there is.” I nearly gasped as the vengeful eyes fixed on a blasphemous old lady.

“You must be from Warsaw,” he charged. “Your kind puts sugar in everything, even in chicken soup. It’s the only condi-ment you use!”

The lady didn’t flinch. “I’m a proud Warsaw descendant, but you are wrong. The sweetness comes not from sugar but from chopped onions fried in schmaltz (goose fat).”

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In fear of escalating the conflict, I decided to end the debate with a peace offering. “Each Jewish dish has many variations,” I suggested. “Each community made it differently and because our identities and memories are so intertwined with eating, our communal perception is conditioned by childhood emotion . . .”

“But what about the hard-boiled egg?”

Another concerned diner cut my soliloquy short.

“Everybody knows that you must add a crushed hard-boiled egg to the dish. Otherwise it will be too watery.”

“And the gherkins,” another voice added. “They cut the sweetness of the onions.”

“No sweet onions!” my nemesis shouted from the front row. “Only raw onions and no hardboiled egg!”

My lecture had disintegrated into a battle of words. Virtual chopped livers flew over my head, a brigade of gherkin diehards jousted with elderly purists, people brandished eggplants, eyerlekh and mashed potatoes while an elderly gentleman, grasping my sleeve, recounted how, when he was a child and his family had no refrigerator, they ate an entire chopped liver over the course of each Sabbath. “It was the only meat dish we ever ate. Oh, how we hated it! I still hate it to this very day!”

Fortunately, the organizer of the evening soon pacified the mob. “We are at a lecture about literature,” she reprimanded, “not in a cooking class.” Once the hall became reasonably quiet, she turned to me and asked if I could please repeat the name of the dish in question. I should have known better, but I was young and believed in humanity’s innate mercy. “Chopped liver,” I said.

“Exactly” she said. “Chopped! So how dare you say smooth and silky like ice cream when its very name refers to a crude piece of meat.” The burning sensation in my chest returned. I ended the lecture feeling lifeless and deflated, much like the humble dish itself.

But as I headed back home that night clinging to my now worthless notes and books, humbled by the powers of Jewish tradition, I was stopped by a member of the audience. In Morocco, where she was from, she told me, no Jew ate chopped liver. The whole debate was meaningless. “You can add gherkins, onions, schmaltz, it doesn’t matter. It was just a European dish that Jews happened to enjoy eating.”

So what is Jewish food? Does it have a unique identity that separates it from other culinary traditions? I don’t have all the answers, but there are a few general features:

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First, Jewish food is kosher food. Anthropologists tell us that every community, tribe, and nation has its own complex food system determined by rules, traditions, social necessities, and environmental conditions. Jewish dietary laws are among the most intricate, multifaceted, and enigmatic among them. They began as a few humble proscriptions recorded in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, which were later inter-preted and reinterpreted by rabbis in the Mishnah and the Talmud. Since then, these laws have been codified, elabo-rated, and re-elaborated by generations of Jewish scholars.

Although the goal of rabbinic law was to demarcate what is appropriate (in Hebrew, kasher) for Jewish people to eat from what it is not, the labyrinth of rules and restrictions it cre-ated can make what “counts” as Jewish food a highly divisive issue. Jewish food is therefore defined by both affirmation and negation, and turns the biological act of eating into a religious act. There are countless explanations for why the Jewish dietary laws exist as they do. But the basic fact is that Jewish food must be kosher, meaning that it is immersed in the Jewish scholarly tradition.

From the point of view of kashrut, chopped liver is a highly paradoxical dish, as the Bible forbids eating blood. There is a vast rabbinic literature on chopped liver: how to salt it, cut it, skewer and chop it. By eating chopped liver, one not only abides by God’s will, but also validates the profound relation-ship between text and practice, word and body.

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Second, Jewish food is poor man’s food. Shaped by two thou-sand years of socioeconomic repression, most Jewish dishes, throughout the diaspora, reflect the harsh conditions of exis-tence. Chicken soup was considered healthy because it was often the best thing at hand to serve to the sick. Jachnoon, the Yemenite bread made of cooked dough left overnight, was revered because it looked like meat and could defer hunger for hours. Chopped liver was beloved not for its taste as much as its price; in eastern Europe, offal wasn’t taxed by the government because it so easily spoiled.

Last, Jewish food is a form of communal memory. The eastern European cholent, the Iraqi tabit, and the Moroccan schina might use different ingredients, but they are all pre-pared in advance to be enjoyed on Shabbat, marking the six days of creation and the day of rest that followed. Different dishes can share a symbolic function, and conversely, the same dish can evoke very different collective memories. While chopped liver became “Jewish” in the United States because of its price, in Israel it evoked the austerity period during the 1950s, when the Ministry of Rationing attempted to replace it—a widely beloved delicacy—with chopped cour-gettes. In both cases, however, food was then, as it continues to be today, a powerful tool to evoke the past. Once it enters the body, it becomes permanently integrated in the consum-er’s identity and lives on as an edible memory.

Gourmet Ghettos invites us to explore the vast traditions, tastes, rituals and customs that define Jewish food. But it also shows us how Jewishness is always an ongoing recipe that continues to be written, revised, and re-embodied from generation to generation.

YAHIL ZABAN

Tel Aviv University Helen Diller Foundation postdoctoral fellow, UC Berkeley (2012–2014)

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wArren heLMAn GALLery

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Religious and Secular Food Rituals Religious rituals mark the beginning (kiddush) and the end (havdalah) of the Sabbath and holidays. Aromatic spices and candle light invoke our senses to punctuate the passage of time, while the inebriating properties of wine seal the bonds of kinship among drinkers. These qualities are equally important to secular rituals, such as preparing, serving, and drinking coffee in the Middle East and the Mediterranean basin, and can invest them with religious meaning. For instance, coffee’s arrival to Europe in the 16th century enabled the development of nighttime Kabbalistic rituals still celebrated today.

1. Kiddush set. Six wine cups and plate engraved in honor of Rabbi Irving F. ReichertUSA, 1916 Silver Gift of RaBBi iRvinG f. ReicheRt, 66.2 a-g

2. Havdalah set. Wine cup, spice container, candle holder, and plate inscribed in Hebrew ha-mavdil beyn qodesh le-chol (“He who separates the holy from the profane”)Berlin, Germany, Posen-Posen, ca. 1930 SilverGift of the eState of Stefanie JonaS, 2002.6.5.1-4

3. Coffee set. Pot, sugar bowl, cups, and tray Damascus, Syria, ca. 1930Copper, enamel, porcelainGift of maRy SchuSSheim, 85.35.2 a-p

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Embodying IdentityCaptured in 1980s San Francisco, American photographer Ira Nowinski’s depictions of Russian Jewish immigrants portray the quiet contemplative dignity of men and women allowed to openly practice their faith for the first time. Yves Mozelsio’s portraits, taken a decade later in Chicago, reveal a very different frame of mind. His subjects, prosperous candy story owners, kashrut supervisors, fishmongers, and chefs, look straight at the camera, confident in their fields of expertise. These two sets of portraits call attention to food’s ability to define identity. Not only does the production and consumption of food nourish immigrant livelihoods in a new and foreign place, but, as Mozelsio illustrates, it continues to work as an agent of progress and self-realization.

Yves Mozelsio (b. 1961, Belgium)

The Fruits of Our Labor: Orthodox Jews at WorkChicago, Ill., 1996–1999

1. Menachem Emanuel (candy store retailer)1997Silver gelatin print Gift of yveS mozelSio, 2012.6.36

2. David Schwartz (mashgiach—Kasherut supervisor)1998Silver gelatin print Gift of yveS mozelSio, 2012.6.29

3. Dorothy Levant Chakiris (chef)1998Silver gelatin print Gift of yveS mozelSio, 2012.6.23

4. Aharon Morgan (kosher fish store owner and operator)1997Silver gelatin print Gift of yveS mozelSio, 2012.6.8

Ira Nowinski (b. 1938, United States)

5. Untitled (Man reading a Russian-English Passover Haggadah), from the series Soviet Émigrés, San FranciscoSan Francisco, Calif., 1991Silver gelatin print Judah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, 92.29.4

6. The Karaite Jews—San Francisco, Ca, 1984San Francisco, Calif., 1985Silver gelatin print Gift of kaRl and elSa kRauS, 86.14.5

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7. Untitled (Community meal), from the series Soviet Émigrés, San FranciscoSan Francisco, Calif., 1991Silver gelatin print Judah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, 92.29.23

8. Untitled (Kosher grocer), from the series Soviet Émigrés, San FranciscoSan Francisco, Calif., 1991Silver gelatin print Judah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, 92.29.24

Food and CelebrationThroughout history, celebrations have been defined by alimentary rituals. Not only are they typified by abundant quantities of food, but they are frequently marked by unusual or special foods that allow eaters to reenact religious narratives. Alcohol is also an important element, whether it is used to sanctify a historical moment or to fuel an altered collective consciousness. Thanks to food and drink, celebrations are transformed from exalted eating occasions into bona fide performances. These can be manifested in several ways. During Passover, participants recline on pillows as they take turns reciting from the Haggadah, echoing the symposia of ancient Greece. On Purim, all Jews must perform mishloach manot—the “sending of portions”—allowing them to re-enact a biblical narrative while participating vicariously in their friends’ Purim feasts.

1. Anonymous

San Francisco Jewish family in the California redwoodsCalifornia, ca. 1900Silver gelatin printSophie and theodoRe lilienthal letteRS and photoGRaphS,

Banc mSS 2010/732, the maGneS collection of JewiSh aRt and

life, the BancRoft liBRaRy

2. Sedar Service 1916: Emanuel SisterhoodSan Francisco, Calif., Morton & Co., 1916Silver gelatin print emanu-el ReSidence cluB of San fRanciSco RecoRdS, Banc mSS

2010/717, the maGneS collection of JewiSh aRt and life, the

BancRoft liBRaRy

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3. Mark Podwal (b. 1945, United States)

Purim costumesUnited States, 2006Etching, edition 19/35Gift of the aRtiSt, 2014.1.3

4. Andrew Partos

Purim—New Square, N.Y., an Orthodox Hassidic Jewish CommunityFrom the series America—Faces United States, n.d. Silver gelatin printGift of andRew paRtoS, 75.274

5. J. Y. Eisenstark

Mevinus. Connoisseurs examine the finished article From the series Baking matzah shemurah Jerusalem, Palestine, ca. 1930Silver gelatin printJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe with fundS pRovided By an

anonymouS donoR, 80.77.2.6

6. Isaachar Ber Ryback (1897–1935: Ukraine, Soviet Union, Lithuania, Germany, and France)

Untitled (Queen Esther as a pickled cucumber)Moscow, ca. 1921 Gouache and conte crayon on wove paperGift of dR. elliot zaleznik, 83.48.1

7. Pitcher for Purim inscribed in Hebrew mi-she-nikhnas adar marbin be-simchah (“Those entering the month of Adar increase in joy,” after TB Ta’anit 29a) Bohemia, 18th centuryGlazed stoneware with pewter lidJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe with fundS pRovided By dR.

elliott zaleznik, 81.63

8. Plate for delivering Purim gifts, depicting a scene from the Book of Esther, and inscribed in Hebrew with biblical quotations, the names of Mordecai and Haman, and the motto, ratz ke-tzvi (“run like a deer”)Central Europe, 1748PewterJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, SieGfRied S. StRauSS

collection, 67.1.15.16

9. Plate for delivering Purim gifts, depicting a scene from the Book of Esther, and inscribed in Hebrew with biblical quotations: shelach manot ish le-re’ehu u-[ma]tanot la-evyonim (“send portions one to another and gifts to the poor,” Esther 9:22) and kakhah ye’aseh la-ish asher ha-melekh chafetz bi-yqaro (“Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delights to honor,” Esther 6:11)Germany, 18th centuryFaience (earthenware with white tin glaze)Judah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe with fundS pRovided By dR.

elliott zaleznik, 81.58

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10. Announcement for a Purim party, depicting a festival table, food, animal, floral, and plant motifs, and inscribed in Hebrew with quotations from the Book of Esther and texts relating to the Festival of Purim, including mi-she-nikhnas adar marbin be-simchah (“Those entering the month of Adar should increase in joy,” TB Ta’anit 29a), and mishloach manot ish le-re’ehu u-matanot la-eviyonim (“send portions one to another and gifts to the poor,” Esther 9:22), and in Polish 18 Marca godz 19 (“March 18, at 7pm”) Poland, [1935] Hand colored lithograph on paper with ink Gift of dR. elliott zaleznik, 82.21

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From the Kitchen to the Table From the kashering of meat to the setting of the Sabbath table, nowhere are family dynamics more evident than in the processes of preparing, distributing, and consuming food in the home. The kitchen and the dinner table have always been important sites for the inculcation of norms, expectations, and the transmission of information from one generation to another. Yet the apparent hierarchies suggested by gender divisions are not always what they seem. Historically, the home could be a civilizing force for men as much as it was for women and children, as it integrated men into domestic routines. Proper food hygiene depended on a combination of male trust and female expertise, while cookery could be a tool in a woman’s arsenal, granting her entry into otherwise separate spheres.

1. Wedding apron embroidered with P.W. monogram and floral designs Poland, n.d.CottonGift of mRS. ida SilveR, 86.39.1

2. Russian Caravan Tea advertisementNew York, B. Fischer & Co., 1900ChromolithographGift of maRk huRvitz, 91.59.36.2

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3. Yitzchaq Levizon

Di fromme chaneh und ikher shabes (The pious Hannah and her Sabbath)Hebrew and Yiddish Alsace-Lorraine, France, 19th centuryHand-colored engraving on paper Gift of conGReGation Beth iSRael-Judea, 76.104

Illustration of Sabbath religious precepts for women and men. Women engage in the preparation of the Sabbath bread, in the ritual bath, and in the kindling of Sabbath candles. Men observe the Sabbath, perform ritual circumcision, and engage in daily prayer. The initials of the three Hebrew titles of the panels dedicated to women form the name “Hannah,” while those of the panels dedicated to men form the word “Shabbat.”

4. Hand towel embroidered with birds, hippogryphs, lions, and stags, illustrating the spies returning from the Land of Canaan carrying a cluster of grapes (after Numbers 13:23), and with Hebrew inscriptions from the Psalms (134:2) and Numbers (Ch. 13)Germany, 18th centuryLinen, silk, cotton75.183.126

5. Hand towel depicting a crowned double-headed eagle, animal and floral motifs, embroidered with Hebrew inscriptions containing the blessing for ritual hand washing, honoring a couple named Abraham and [Hedindl], and the Hebrew date 8 Tammuz [5]553 Germany, 1793 Linen, silk, cotton 75.183.127

6. sefer ‘olat shabbat ‘im kol ha-tefilot . . . be-otiyiot amsterdam (Book of the Sabbath burnt offering with all the prayers . . . in Amsterdam typescript) Illustrated manuscript prayer bookHebrewGermany, 1725–1726Ink and gold leaf on vellum (bound, silk velvet and silver clasp)Ms. 29.4

7. Marie Elsasser

Ausfuhrliches Kochbuch fur die einfache und feine judische Kuche unter Berucksichtigung aller rituellen Vorschriften in 3759 Rezepten (Comprehensive cookbook for the simple and fine Jewish kitchen according to all ritual prescriptions in 3759 recipes)German Frankfurt, J. Kauffmann Verlag, 1921mcBc 45

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8. Frank Brown

Board for salting kosher meat USA, 19th century WoodGift of natalie wachSpReSS, 93.36

9. Anonymous

Family celebrating a festival meal in a sukkahWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, ca. 1906Silver gelatin printGift of StewaRd and BeveRly denenBeRG, 84.35.5

10. Neil Folberg (b. San Francisco, Calif., 1950)

Kleinman family making Havdalah; Brooklyn, New York 1974 From Ki anu ‘amkha. Portfolio One: We Are Thy people: Glimpses of Lubavitcher lifeBerkeley, Calif., Bet-Alfa Press, 1975Silver gelatin printGift of BeveRlee fRench, 2008.8.1.6

11. Sukkoth (Laubhuttenfest) (Sukkot. Feast of Tabernacles)Postcard reproduction after an engraving by Bernard Picart (18th century)Berlin, Germany, Joseph Spiro, n.d.Gift of SeRGe klein, 92.28.9

12. Chamez hatteln (Wegräumen des gesauerten Brodes am Vorabend des Osterfestes) (The search for chametz. Clearing the unleavened bread on the Eve of Passover)Postcard reproduction after an engraving by Bernard Picart (18th century)Berlin, Germany, Joseph Spiro, n.d.Gift of SeRGe klein, 92.28.6

13. Sederabend (Osterabend) (Passover Seder Evening) Postcard reproduction after an engraving by Bernard Picart (18th century)Berlin, Germany, Joseph Spiro, n.d.Gift of SeRGe klein, 92.28.7

14. le-shanah tovah. tikatevu (May you be inscribed for a good year) A Happy New Year Popup greeting cardGermany, n.d.Gift of Solomon l. Gluck, liB 73.35.3

15. Bob Davis and Ron Giteck

Hanukah Latkas, from the Hanukah Ritual BookBerkeley, Calif., AART, 1979Off-set lithograph with wax on paperGift of the authoRS, 79.73 h

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1. Passover Seder plate engraved with illustrations of a ritual meal scene and inscribed with Hebrew words listing the sections of the Passover Haggadah Iran, 20th centuryTinned copperGift of max eiS, 86.65

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Ritual Bread CoversBland, bloodless, and dietarily neutral, bread historically formed the backbone of a family’s diet, and continues to stand as a metonym for all food. Yet the varied ways in which bread is prepared and used in religious ceremonies can invest it with radically different meanings. Matzah is Hebrew for unleavened bread, consumed during Passover as a symbol of freedom and sacrifice. Matzah covers reflect how ritual objects may elevate a common and otherwise unremarkable foodstuff into an embodiment of Jewish lineage. These meanings were not erased by the mechanization of matzah production during the 19th century, which standardized its recipe and physical shape. Challah has two definitions. While we usually think of it as the special bread eaten on the Sabbath to evoke the double portion of manna that fell every Friday during the forty years the Jews wandered in the desert, the term originally described a portion of dough set aside as an offering to the Temple. Ritual textiles cover bread to separate it from other foods, and often contain explicit directions on how food rituals ought to be performed. These textiles also display a variety of aesthetics reflecting their makers, their social status, and, at times, even their political allegiances.

1. Matzah bag with three pouches, inscribed with Hebrew text relating to the foods displayed on the Passover Seder plate, the sections of the Passover Haggadah, and the three portions of matzah eaten during the Seder meal (labelled as kohen, levi, and yisrael).Europe, 19th centuryLinen with silk embroidery floss, metallic fringe edgingGift of dR. elliot zaleznik, 77.53

2. Matzah cover, embroidered with the monogram “BH” in Latin script, dates in the Gregorian and Jewish calendars, and three Hebrew words from the Passover Haggadah (pesach, matzah, and maror)San Francisco, Calif., 1880 Linen with silk embroidery floss75.183.159

3. Challah cover for the Sabbath table depicting the Great Seal of the United States over the Latin inscription E pluribus unum, and inscribed in Hebrew with the name Gedalyah Ullman, the quotation reu ki h” natan lakhem ha-shabat (after Exodus 16:29), and the year [5]612 of the Jewish calendar United States, 1851–1852Silk brocade, metallic embroidery, red velvet appliqueJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, 77.341

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Wimpel and WineFrom an infant’s brit milah (ritual circumcision) to a child’s bar mitzvah, to a man’s wedding, wine celebrates and ceremonializes the Jewish life cycle. A wimpel is a textile used by German Jews to bind a Torah scroll. Traditionally taken from the cloth used for swaddling at an infant’s circumcision, it was then inscribed, personalized, and preserved for future ritual occasions. This 18th-century wimpel depicts a pitcher and several wine jugs, presaging abundance and fertility.

4. Wine carafe Germany, 18th centuryPewter Gift of henRy lipmanSen, 85.15.1 a-B

5. Wimpel (Binder for Torah scrolls made from a circumcision cloth), depicting animals and jugs of wine, and inscribed in Hebrew for a child named Yehudah Zvi Leyb Hirsch bar Asher, born on August 29, 1718Bechhofen, Germany, 1718Linen with silk embroidery flossJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, SieGfRied S. StRauSS

collection, 67.1.21.13

6. Jug, inscribed in Hebrew and Yiddish to honor Wolf BraunCentral Europe, 1866–1867Silver and tin 83.0.8

Esther Scrolls and BanquetsBanquets were important political tools during antiquity, used not only to represent a ruler’s munificence, but also to showcase his control over resources. The Book of Esther’s plot involves multiple banquets, in which political power and subterfuge play central roles. The banquet scenes depicted in illustrated Esther scrolls are rarely historically accurate. Instead, they vividly characterize the food and eating customs of the time in which the manuscripts were created.

7. Illustrated Esther scroll Italy, 17th century Ink on parchment, woodJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, SieGfRied S. StRauSS

collection, 67.1.11.5

8. Illustrated Esther scroll in the style of the Bezalel School of Arts and CraftsJerusalem, Israel, mid-20th centuryInk on parchment, woodGift of pRofeSSoR lawRence RaBinowitz, 98.23.1

9. Illustrated Esther scroll Germany, 18th centuryInk on parchment, copper plate engravings Judah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, SieGfRied S. StRauSS

collection, 67.1.11.7

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Ritual Slaughter While the Jewish dietary laws pertain to everything from grains to dairy to wine, a vast majority of them deal with meat. Highly nutritious and widely prized across cultures, meat nevertheless is a fertile ground for pathogens and has always been a taboo-ascribed food. The rules of ritual slaughter elaborated in the Talmud overcome these taboos in three ways. First, these rules make slaughter more deliberate and less inhumane, instilling dignity to the sacrificed animal. Second, they distinguish carrion from food, thus civilizing its consumption. Last, by stipulating that every stage must be carefully performed and supervised by a Jewish specialist (in Hebrew, shochet), ritual slaughter nourishes cultural ties within the Jewish community. However, interpreting the rules of ritual slaughter and the manufacture of slaughtering knives has also historically created communal rifts. In 1772, a rabbinic ban against Hassidic whetted knives brought Hassidism, a religious current that was just emerging at the time, to the forefront of European Jewish life.

10. Knife for the ritual slaughter of bovines, with case inscribed in Hebrew with the motto lifrat zot ha-behemah asher tokhlu (after Deuteronomy 14:4 “These are the animals which you may eat”) and the year [5]674 in the Jewish calendar Grünewald, Germany, 19th century (case inscribed in 1913–1914) Steel blade, horn handle with brass collar, steel rivets, container carved wood, and velvet Judah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, 97.16.3 a-B

11. Knifes for the ritual slaughter of poultry Naples, Italy, 19th centurySteel blade, ivory, silver-colored rings and bases, carved wood and pressed leather case with gold decorationJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, SieGfRied S. StRauSS

collection, 67.1.15.2

12. Ritual slaughterer seal, inscribed in Hebrew Avraham eliyahu bar yesha’yah sh”v”b (“Abraham Elijah son of Isaiah, slaughterer and inspector of kosher meat”)Germany, 17th century Black jadeJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, SieGfRied S. StRauSS

collection, 67.1.12.3

13. Yechiel b. Ya’aqov

meqor chayim . . . hilkhot shechitah ve-hilkhot trei[ fah] . . . (Source of Life . . . Rules about ritual slaughter and impurity)HebrewKochi, Kerala, India, n.d. Ink on paper, cardboard and leather bindingIndia Ms. 17

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drAwer one

Educating with FoodEating and Jewish pedagogy have always been intertwined. Some communities bake sweets in the shape of Hebrew letters, while others dab the pages of religious texts with honey in order to enhance the physical and spiritual “taste” of Jewish learning. Food education is also crucial to defining the individual’s relationship to the cosmos. The complex system of Hebrew blessings recited before, during, and after each meal underscores an alimentary blueprint based on a nutrient’s origins, the ways it is prepared as food, and the order in which it is consumed in a meal. Codified by rabbinic literature on the basis of scriptural references, this system reflects a particular outlook on the universe that is articulated by eating.

Table for teaching the Hebrew alphabet, prayers, blessings to be recited over food varieties, and the Grace After Meals, illustrated with the depiction of an angel rewarding studious pupils with candy, and a reluctant pupil being punished by a teacher

Hebrew and Judeo-Spanish Venice, Bragadin press, 18th centuryWood engraving70.0.3

1918

drAwer Two

Kashrut CertificationDuring the 19th century, when food was no longer produced in the home and the supply chain between producer and consumer began to expand, assessing whether food, dishware, and utensils were kosher or not became more difficult to verify. This kashrut certification showcases rabbinic authority over Jewish food production industries. Created for a Hungarian factory that produced kosher dishes, the certification was re-issued over a decade later. Concerns about the origin, preparation, and safety of various foodstuffs were not limited to Jewish culture. In the United States, the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act—a series of consumer protection laws dealing with food adulteration and labeling—sought to accomplish many of the same tasks that Kashrut had done for centuries.

Yonah Zvi Berenfeld and Binyamin Ze’ev Broch

Rabbinical certifications of Kashrut for the Kaszanyitsky Endre dish factoryHebrew and YiddishDebrecen, Hungary, 1879 and 1896Ink on paper, with wax sealGift of alan SteRnBeRG, 84.31

drAwer Three

Subversive Foodways Letter from Julius Eckman to Solomon Nunes Carvalho

San Francisco, Calif., March 15, 1855 the maGneS collection of JewiSh aRt and life, the BancRoft

liBRaRy, Banc mSS 2010/513

Julius Eckman (1805–1874), a graduate of the University and the Rabbinical College of Berlin and a pupil of Leopold Zunz, was the first Rabbi of Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco (1854–55) and the publisher of the Jewish journal, The Weekly Gleaner (1857–1863). In 1855, he wrote to Solomon Nunes Carvalho (1815–1897), the official photographer of explorer John C. Fremont’s “fifth expedition” to the American West in 1853–1854, discussing the living conditions and the religious customs of the Jews in San Francisco. In his letter, he complained about Jews eating non-kosher foods and celebrating weddings in a beer house.

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drAwer Four

Canaan and California: Wine in the Promised LandsWhile winemaking has always occupied a central place in Jewish culture, perhaps no modern winery has a more distinguished reputation than Israel’s Carmel winery. Founded in 1882 by the Baron Rothschild (owner of the famous Château Lafite), the region’s testimonials date back to Biblical times. The explorers sent by Moses to the land of Canaan, recorded in the Book of Numbers (13:23–24), returned from their mission with a cluster of grapes so large it required mounting on a pole to be carried. This powerful image also became the emblem of the Schoenberger winery in Mainz, Germany, then famous for its sparkling wines. In 1939, the winery was seized by the Nazis, forcing the Schoenbergers to flee, eventually settling in San Francisco. But California was a veritable Canaan in more ways than one. While Prohibition (1920–1933) damaged California’s fledgling wine-industries, kosher wine-making flourished, as sacramental wine was exempt from the law.

1. Carmel WinesPostcardTel Aviv, Israel, United Artists, n.d.Offset lithograph on paperGift of tzieRel GuRman, 99.6.1.7

2. Commemorative liquor pour spout, depicting a scene from Numbers 13:23, printed in Hebrew and English “Carmel 1882”Israel, Carmel Wines, 20th centuryPlastic, metal, cork Gift of Ruth eiS, 93.10.4

3. Ephemera from the Schoenberger Cabinet Mainz, Germany, 1930–1939Offset lithograph edith SchoenBeRGeR kaufman papeRS, Banc mSS 2010/729,

the maGneS collection of JewiSh aRt and life, the BancRoft

liBRaRy

4. Rabbi Mayer Hirsch (1874–1946) with barrels of kosher for Passover Angelica and Muscat wineSan Francisco Bay Area, Calif., ca. 1930Silver gelatin printSamuel hiRSch family papeRS and photoGRaphS, Banc mSS

2010/738, the maGneS collection of JewiSh aRt and life,

the BancRoft liBRaRy

2120

ChArLes MiChAeL GALLery

Dinner is ServedIn Jewish life, eating—and especially communal eating—is a religious act that reflects and commemorates the agricultural rhythms around which the ritual calendar is structured. This might seem at odds with the fact that food consumption, so crucial to survival, is one of our most basic, primal, and uncivilized of daily activities. Perhaps it is for this reason that instilling deference, civility, and knowledge so frequently occurs around the table; there is simply so much at stake. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the dining room became an important site of bourgeois cultivation. It was there that most of a family’s wealth—from linen tablecloths to crystal glasses to silverware—could be found. Given the communal meal’s centrality to staging and reproducing the social order, all the more important are the special occasions, such as the Sabbath and the Holidays, in which diners partake of food around a table. During the Passover Seder, communal eating echoes the Greek symposium, or drinking party, where participants are invited not to sit but recline, often propping themselves with the aid of pillows.

1. A. P.

Festival tablecloth Southern Germany, 1775Linen, embroidered with silk and cotton embroidery flossJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, SieGfRied S. StRauSS

collection, 75.183.137

Tablecloth inscribed for a couple named Michel and Henleh, embroi dered with the owners’ names, Hebrew blessings for the Festivals of Sukkot, Shemini ‘atzeret, and Simchat Torah, a quotation from the Mishnah (Ethics of the Fathers 3:3), and depictions of a heraldic emblem, biblical scenes, animals, and floral motifs. The initials of the maker, “A. P.”, appear at the bottom right of the cloth. At times, tablecloths like this one would be used as wall hangings inside a sukkah (festival hut).

The embroidered quotation from the Ethics of the Fathers recites: “Three who eat at one table, and at the table speak words of Torah, it is as if they have eaten at table of the Blessed One, as is said: ‘And he said to me: this is the table that is before God’ ” (Ezekiel 41:22).”

2. Pillowcase used for reclining during the Passover Seder meal, depicting birds and plant motifs, embroidered in Hebrew li-khvod yom tov pesach ha-laylah ha-zeh kulanu mesubin (“In honor of the Passover Festival on this night we all recline”)n.d. CottonJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, 86.5

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3. Pillow cases

3.1 Pillow case embroidered with the monogram R.S.Norway, 19th century Cotton with silk embroidery floss75.183.250

3.2 Pillow case n.d. Silk brocade 75.183.294

3.3 Eileen Amiel Baroukk

Pillow case Palestine, ca. 1910 Velvet with silk ribbon applique and embroidery flossGift of eStheR BemoRaS, 94.44.1

3.4 Pillow casesBulgaria, n.d.Gold metallic thread on blue silk with green linen backingGift of SeRena dJeRaSSi, 2001.30.5 and 2001.30.6

3.5 Pillow casesTurkey, 19th centuryVelvet, gold metallic thread, sequinsJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe with fundS pRovided By

GeRald fRiedkin, 88.34.a-B

4. Passover Seder panel depicting Moses, the paschal lamb, and King David, with Hebrew texts and biblical quotations Germany, 1725Silk and silver metallic thread Judah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, SieGfRied S. StRauSS

collection, 75.183.254

Moses is depicted at the top, holding the Tablets of the Law, and described in Hebrew as mosheh rabenu (“Moses, our teacher”). A depiction of a paschal lamb at the center is accompanied by the inscription ve-amartem zevach-pesach (“That you shall say: It is the Passover sacrifice,” Exodus 12:27), which also indicates the year [5]485 in the Jewish calendar (1725 in the Gregorian calendar) through the Hebrew letters highlighted in the inscription. At the bottom, a depiction of King David holding a harp is followed by the inscription david melekh yisrael (“David, King of Israel”). According to the collector’s notes, this item belonged to the descendents of Zevi Hirsch ben Jacob Ashkenazi (also known as the Chakham Zevi; 1660–1718), rabbi and halakhist.

5. Ritual hand washing station with lavabo, lid, basin, and bowl Germany, ca. 18th century Pewter Gift of the eState of chaRlotte Stein pick, 91.12.1.1-3

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The Ritual Table The dining table lies at the center of meals, study, singing and performance: it is the original site of sociability. While common to many societies, it is particularly relevant to Jewish culture.

The “table of the Presence” (shulchan) was an essential component of the divine mishqan, or tabernacle, described in the Book of Exodus, upon which twelve loaves of “showbread” were displayed as a sacrifice to God, along with vessels used for libations. While the shulchan was just one part of the tabernacle, its ritual functions are now embodied by the Jewish dining table. The Sephardic scholar Joseph Caro (1488–1575) drew upon these meanings in the 16th century by choosing the Hebrew word for table—shulchan—as a metaphor for his detailed code of Jewish law, the Shulchan ‘Arukh (“The Set Table”). Scholar Moses Isserles (1525 or 1530–1572) embraced the same metaphor by naming his own adaptation of Caro’s code to Ashkenazi Jewish law Ha-Mappah, the “tablecloth.”

Given its evocative powers, the table remains a powerful site of religious instruction, in which ritual and pedagogy are intertwined. Many food vessels are inscribed with ritual texts, instructions, and at times, visual depictions of how the rituals themselves ought to be performed.

As a meticulously defined ritual space, the dining table is populated by a variety of items, all of which play specific roles. Foods are displayed and organized according to predefined templates governed by each ritual. Dishware, cutlery, cups and bottles are clearly labeled to reflect their specific ritual uses, the types of food they may contain, and the respective demarcations imposed by dietary laws.

6.1 Passover Seder plate depicting a family seated at a Festival table, inscribed in Hebrew with a list of the fifteen parts of the Seder meal, and the motto achilat matzah (“eating of Matzah”)Limoges, France, ca. 1900 Glazed stonewareJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, 78.25

6.2 Passover Seder plate with three compartments for the Matzah inscribed in Hebrew kohen, levi, and yisrael, and two inserts for displaying ritual foods, engraved in German and Hebrew in honor of the 70th birthday of Louis Schlesinger Racibórz, Poland, 1857 SilverGift of maRianne Rawack BRannon, 75.245 a-c

24

6.3 Joseph Loewy and Joseph Guens

hagadah shel pesach. The Pessach Haggadah Service for the First Nights of PassoverHebrew, Aramaic, and English; color illustrations by Aryeh Allweil Tel Aviv, Sinai Publishing, 1971Tin, enamel, and plastic binding Gift of maRianne fRiedman, 98.20.2

6.4 Eric Tunstall (1897–1987)

“Sederdish.” Passover Seder plate set with six cups, painted with depictions of the Seder meal ingredients and vignettes of the Ten Plagues, and inscribed in Hebrew and English with a list of the fifteen parts of the Seder meal, the “Four Questions,” the names of the ingredients and narrative captionsStoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom, Royal Cauldon (designed for Sirett), mid-20th centuryBone china Gift of BeRnaRd oSheR and iRvinG RaBin, 77.248a-G

6.5 Passover Seder plate engraved in Hebrew and German with the names of ingredients of the Seder meal, and with the initials, “H. S.” surmounted by a crownGermany, 1712PewterJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, 84.6

6.6 Candelabrum for the Sabbath depicting two deerPoland, 19th centuryBrassGift of dR. and mRS. JaSon e. faRBeR, 76.281

6.7 Haroset from Israel for your Seder Table [Ingredient for the Passover Seder meal, with ritual instructions on package] Wickliffe, Ohio, Telshe Yeshiva, n.d. Cardboard box, plastic container, and wrapped food2010.0.64 a and c

6.8 Kosher for Passover citric acid (sour salt) container Hebrew, English, and YiddishNew York, Aron Streit, Inc., n.d. Glass, tin coated steel and paper Gift of theodoRe and valeRie Reich, 97.37.12

6.9 Kosher for Passover white pepper containerEnglish and Hebrew Long Island City, New York, Horowitz Bros. & Margareten, n.d. Tin coated steel and paperGift of theodoRe and valeRie Reich, 97.37.10

6.10 Kosher for Passover ginger container English, Hebrew, and Yiddish Brooklyn, New York, Hudson Tea & Spice Co., n.d.Tin coated steel and paperGift of theodoRe and valeRie Reich, 97.37.11

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6.11 Cup for the Passover Seder inscribed in Hebrew kos shel eliyahu ha-navi (“Cup of Elijah the Prophet”) Corning, New York, Steuben Glass Works, 1979Engraved glass Gift of dR. and mRS. phillip BadeR, 82.7

6.12 Cup for the Passover Seder decorated with floral motifs, and inscribed in Hebrew kos shel eliyahu (“Cup of Elijah”)United States, Tiffany and Co., n.d. Sterling silver Gift of the JonaS collection, 66.5

6.13 Cup for the Passover Seder decorated with a six-pointed star and inscribed in Hebrew shel chag ha-pesach (“For the Passover Festival”) Central Europe, 18th centuryEtched glassJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, SieGfRied S. StRauSS

collection, 67.1.15.20

6.14 W. H. Grindely

“Passover.” Cup and saucer for Passover, depicting a seven-branched candelabrum and fruit motifs, and inscribed in Hebrew with quotations from the Passover HaggadahStoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom, Royal Cauldon (designed for Sirett), ca. 1930Bone chinaGift of mRS. howaRd and mRS. BuRR, 75.350 a-b

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6.15 Plate for Passover, depicting a bird and floral motifs, inscribed in Hebrew with the word pesach (“Passover”) and the monogram “D. L.” Germany, 17th–18th centuries Glazed ceramic Judah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, SieGfRied S. StRauSS

collection, 67.1.15.27

6.16 Painted manuscript Passover Haggadah illustrating the order of the Passover Seder tableHebrew and Aramaic, with Yiddish annotations[Amsterdam], 1777–1778Ink on paperGift of the eState of RaBBi mauRice a. lazowick, 94.43.7

6.17 Two-handled cup for ritual handwashing Israel, 20th centuryTinned copperJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe thRouGh the GooR fund,

Rozin collection, 78.78.35 B

6.18 Three-handled cup for ritual handwashing, decorated with floral motifs and engraved with monograms in honor of the wedding of Lew WagonerUnited States, 1910 Glass, silverGift of don t. thRall, 88.13

6.19 Bar mitzvah cake decoration, with a six-pointed star inscribed with the Hebrew acronym “M. T.” (mazal tov)United States, 20th centuryPainted bisque porcelain, plaster, fabricGift of dR. philip feiGiR, 99.47.3

6.20 Festival cooking vessel for meat dishes, engraved in Hebrew basar y”t (“meat [dishes] for the festivals”) Germany, 18th centuryPewter68.0.1

2726

6.21 Wrapped saucer from Lou G. Siegel, America’s Foremost Kosher RestaurantNew York City, United States, after 1925Ceramic, paper, and plastic wrapping Gift of John haRRiS, 97.39

6.22 Spice container in fish form, with articulated movable bodyPoland, 19th centurySilver Gift of dR. elliot zaleznik, 81.23

6.23 Rebekka Heinemann Wolf

Kochbuch fur Israelitische Frauen enthaltend die verschiedensten Koch- und Backkarten, mit einer vollständigen Speisekarte sowie einer genauen Anweisung zur Einrichtung und Fuhrung einer religios-judischen Haushaltung (Cookbook for Jewish Women containing a variety of cooking and baking recipes, with a full menu as well as a precise statement on the establishment and management of a religious Jewish household)GermanFrankfurt a. M., J. Kauffmann, 1912 (13th edition, first published in 1851)Ink, paper, and boardmcBc 44

6.24 Plates for kosher service on the RMS Queen Mary ocean liner, inscribed in Hebrew and English for dairy and meat dishesLiverpool, United Kingdom, Maddock “Ivory Ware” England Stoniers for The Cunard Steam-ship Company United, n.d. (before 1967)Porcelain Gift of elie GuGGenheim, 96.5.1 and 96.5.2

6.25 Silverware for kosher service, inscribed in Hebrew chalav (“milk”) for dairy dishesWarsaw, Poland, Norblin & Co., ca. 1900 SilverJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, 88.23.1 and 88.23.2

6.26 Wine bottle medallion for Sabbath and Festivals, decorated with vine motifs and a six-pointed star, and inscribed in Hebrew bore peri ha-gefen (“creator of the fruit of the vine”)United States, 20th centurySilverGift of the eState of Stefanie JonaS, 2002.6.10

6.27 Cups for the circumcision ceremony, decorated with vine motifs, and inscribed in Hebrew kos berakhah (“blessing cup”) France, 18th century Silver Judah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, SieGfRied S. StRauSS

collection, 67.1.8.13 a-B

6.28 Candelabrum for the Sabbath depicting two deer, inscribed in Hebrew lehadliq ner shel shabat (“To kindle the Sabbath lights”) Poland, 19th centuryBrass79.0.02

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6.29 Travel-size set including a wine cup, a spice container for the Havdalah ceremony and, at the base, a Hebrew seal stating michael berg k”tz mi-lesla (“Michael Berg, Kohen Tzedeq, from Inowrocław”)Poland, 19th centurySilver Gift of GunteR Bendix, 84.36.2 a-c

6.30 Wine bottle medallion for the Sabbath meals, decorated with a wreath and geometrical motifs, and inscribed in Hebrew zakhor et yom ha-shabat le-qadsho (“remember the Sabbath day, to sanctify it,” after Exodus 20:7) and with the initials H[irsch] R[osenthal]Germany, 20th centurySilverGift of the eState of Stefanie JonaS, 2002.6.11

6.31 Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts

Kiddush cup, depicting three synagogue scenes, Torah scrolls, a seven-branched candelabrum and a wine cup, decorated with geometrical and architectural motifs, and inscribed in Hebrew after Proverbs 23:31 (“Do not look upon the wine when it is red, when it gives its color to the cup, when it goes [down] smoothly”)Jerusalem, Palestine, ca. 1930Silver washed brassGift of RaBBi and mRS. louiS newman, 69.22

6.32 Kiddush cup depicting floral and geometrical motifs, inscribed in Hebrew in honor of the chevra qadisha (“burial society”) of Sulzbach on the 1st of Cheshvan, 5525 (October 27, 1764)Germany, 18th centurySilver Gift of mR. and mRS. ludwiG pick in memoRy of SiGmund Stein

and family, 78.66.1

6.33 Kiddush cup inscribed in Hebrew mazal tov Mosheh ben AvrahamGermany, 20th centurySilverGift of doRothy voGel fRom the eState of walteR voGel,

99.58.1

6.34 Ben Rafi Mayeri (Eşfahān, Iran, 1914–San Francisco, Calif., 2003)

Kiddush cup depicting floral motifs, inscribed in Hebrew barukh atah h’ eloheynu melekh ha-‘olam bore peri ha-gefen (“blessed are you God, our God and king of the universe, creator of the fruit of the vine”)Iran, 20th century Silver plated bronzeGift of Ben Rafi mayeRi, 84.63

2928

6.35 Knife for cutting the Sabbath bread, depicting a hanging Sabbath lamp and a table set with a kiddush cups, two loaves of bread and and a challah cover, inscribed in Hebrew zakhor et yom ha-shabat le-qadsho (“remember the Sabbath day, to sanctify it,” Exodus 20:7) and yom menuchah u-qedushah le-‘amekha natata (“a day of rest and of sanctity you gave to your people,” after the prayer service)Warsaw, Poland, Gerlach, 20th centurySilverJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe with fundS pRovided By dR.

elliot zaleznik, 83.56.3

6.36 Tray for the Sabbath bread inscribed in Hebrew zakhor et yom ha-shabat le-qadsho (“remember the Sabbath day, to sanctify it,” Exodus 20:7) and ba-yom ha-shishi lachtu lechem mi-sheneh (“And it came to pass that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread,” Exodus 16:22) Berlin, Germany, Posen, ca. 1930SilverGift of the eState of Stefanie JonaS, 2002.6.1 a

6.37 Souvenir pocket knife for cutting the Sabbath bread, engraved in Hebrew li-khvod ha-shabat (“to honor the Sabbath”) and karlsbadKarlovy Vary (Karlsbad), Bohemia, Czech Republic, ca. 1920Silver, mother of pearl, steel Gift of Ralph SilveRman, 89.61.2

6.38 Pocket knife for cutting the Sabbath bread, engraved in Hebrew shabat qodesh (holy Sabbath), and inscribed for “M. Rieder”Ca. 1920Steel, mother of pearlGift of hilda SappeRStein, 95.1

Food Visions1. Harold Persico Paris (1925–1979: United States)

Man Peeling Potatoes 1942Oil on canvasGift of ShiRley paRiS, 86.23.1

2. Moshe Castel (1909–1991: Ottoman Palestine, France, and Israel)

Sabbath Eveca. 1935 Oil on boardGift of JudGe and mRS. Stanley a. weiGel, 86.56

3. Amy Berk (b. 1967: United States)

Recoverings (Cluster)2006Linens, wood stretcher barsJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, 2007.10

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4. Zelig Tepper (1877–1973: Russia and United States)

Untitled (Shabbat/Purim)ca. 1955Oil on canvas boardGift of Steve Bleckman, 2003.6.1

5. Joseph Wolins (1915–1999: United States)

Chicken Market 1936–1937Oil on canvasJudah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, 98.3

6. Moshe Rynecki (1881–1943: Poland)

The Wedding (The Gift of Bread)1919Oil on parchment Gift of GeoRGe Rynecki, 84.65

7. Zelig Tepper (1877–1973: Russia and United States)

Untitled (Village Scene) 1952Oil on canvas boardGift of Steve Bleckman, 2003.6.2

8. Maurycy Trebacz (1861–1940/41: Poland)

Rabbi Early 20th century Oil on boardGift of Gwen and maRtin S. GanS in memoRy of max and

eStheR leSSman, 91.8.2

9. Boris Deutsch (1892–1978: Russia, Latvia, Germany, and United States)

Chollem (The Dream) 1967Gouache on paperGift of leo and Julia kRaShen, 91.19

10. Boris Deutsch (1892–1978: Russia, Latvia, Germany, and United States)

Holiday (Blessing over wine) 1927Oil on board Judah l. maGneS muSeum puRchaSe, 81.64.20

11. William Freed (1902–1984: Poland and United States)

Market Scene1930Oil on canvasGift of Betty BiShop in honoR of lillian oRlowSky, 98.21

3130

irvinG rAbin CoLLeCTion winG

Food as Religious and Social Ritual: Israeli Advertisement PostersBoth before and after the achievement of Israeli statehood in 1948, Zionists actively sought to define and distinguish the culture of the Jewish state. The establishment of a new national identity also involved foodways, and implicated religious rituals, ideology, as well as entrepreneurship. While primarily concerned with the production and distribution of food, the advertising efforts of state-owned and private food companies in Israel often deployed a multitude of Jewish religious references that articulated sacred connections to the land, exalted biblical food themes, and renewed ancient blessings of abundance.

1. Jewish nATionAL Fund

The Jewish National Fund (JNF), in Hebrew Keren Kayemeth Leyisrael, was founded as a land purchase and development fund of the Zionist Organization at the Fifth Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland in 1901. Its name derives from a Talmudic passage about good deeds regarding earthly delights and rewards in the world to come.

1.1 The Orchard • Verger • Monte Frutal • gan ‘atze pri English, French, Spanish, and HebrewJerusalem, Israel, Jewish National Fund, n.d. Offset lithoGift of RoBeRta SteineR, 93.43.32

1.2 Ora Itan (b. 1940)

chag ha-shavu‘ot chag ha-biqurim; Shavouth—The Harvest Festival; Chavouth —La fête des prémices; Shavuot—La fiesta de la cosecha Hebrew, English, French, and SpanishJerusalem, Israel, Offset Ziv for the Jewish National Fund, n.d.Offset litho2014.0.6 a

1.3 Brigitte Frankfurter

adamah, admati (The land, my land)Jerusalem, Israel, Jewish National Fund, n.d.Offset litho 2014.0.6 b

2. CiTrus MArkeTinG boArd

The Citrus Control and Marketing Board, in Hebrew Ha-mo‘atzah le-shivaq peri hadar, was established during the British Mandatory period. Though the citrus fruit (Heb. hadar) is not among the “seven species” listed as plentiful in the Land of Israel by Deuteronomy, the “fruit of a beautiful tree” (peri ‘etz hadar) is cited in Leviticus as one of the ritual “four species” used during the Festival of Sukkot.

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David Shechem (1923–2012), Abraham Lewensohn (1923–1986), and Uri Aylon

2.1 peri hadar le-vriutekhah (Citrus fruit for your health)Tel Aviv, Israel, Omanim Meuchadim (United Artists) for Ha-mo‘atzah le-shivaq peri hadar (Citrus Marketing Board), n.d. (ca. 1960)Offset litho2014.0.7 b1

2.2 be-khol yom be-khol sha‘ah qlementinah mehanah (Every day at every hour a clementine is enjoyable)Tel Aviv, Israel, Omanim Meuchadim (United Artists) for Ha-mo‘atzah le-shivaq peri hadar (Citrus Marketing Board), n.d. (ca. 1960)Offset litho2014.0.7 b2

2.3 eshkolit - peri ta‘im ve-bari (Grapefruit: A tasty and healthy fruit)Tel Aviv, Israel, Omanim Meuchadim (United Artists) for Ha-mo‘atzah le-shivaq peri hadar (Citrus Marketing Board), n.d. (ca. 1960)Offset litho2014.0.7 b3

2.4 la-hadarim heydad (Hooray for the citrus)Tel Aviv, Israel, Omanim Meuchadim (United Artists) for Ha-mo‘atzah le-shivaq peri hadar (Citrus Marketing Board), n.d. (ca. 1960)Offset litho2014.0.7 b4

2.5 limon tari ya‘il le-kol tavshil (A fresh lemon is effective on any dish)Tel Aviv, Israel, Omanim Meuchadim (United Artists) for Ha-mo‘atzah le-shivaq peri hadar (Citrus Marketing Board), n.d. (ca. 1960)Offset litho2014.0.7 a1

2.6 tabure bikure tapuche zahav: peri ta‘im bishel ve-‘asis (Early navel oranges: delicious fruit, ripe and juicy)Tel Aviv, Israel, Omanim Meuchadim (United Artists) for Ha-mo‘atzah le-shivaq peri hadar (Citrus Marketing Board), n.d. (ca. 1960)Offset litho2014.0.7 a2

2.7 hagashah naeh shel peri-hadar le-iruach (A lovely presentation of citrus fruits for having guests)Tel Aviv, Israel, Omanim Meuchadim (United Artists) for Ha-mo‘atzah le-shivaq peri hadar (Citrus Marketing Board), n.d. (ca. 1960)Offset litho2014.0.7 a3

2.8 afiley-hadarim (Late citrus varieties)Tel Aviv, Israel, Omanim Meuchadim (United Artists) for Ha-mo‘atzah le-shivaq peri hadar (Citrus Marketing Board), n.d. (ca. 1960)Offset litho2014.0.7 a4

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3. oseM

In 1942, Osem Investments Ltd. was established in Bnei Brak, Mandatory Palestine, by seven co-founders, who joined forces in marketing the pasta products of the factories they each owned. The company’s name (Heb. osem, or “plenty”) is based on the words pronounced by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement: “may this year be a year of plenty.”

3.1 hayom-yom pasta (Today is Pasta Day)Calendar for the year 5737 (1976–1977)Israel, Osem, 1976Offset litho 2014.0.8 b

3.2 bissli (Bissli)Israel, Osem, n.d. (ca. 1970)Offset litho2014.0.8 f

3.3 falafel piqanti be-ta‘am mizrachi amiti (Spicy falafel with true oriental flavor) Israel, Osem, n.d.Offset litho2014.0.8 c

4. CArMeL AGrexCo

Originally known as Agrexco, Carmel was established in Israel in 1956 as a state-owned agricultural export company. Its name means, in Hebrew, “God’s vineyard.”

4.1 Tamar. Dates, Datten, Dattes. Carmel: Produce of Israel Hebrew, English, German, and FrenchTel Aviv, Israel, United Artists Ldt. for Carmel, n.d.Offset litho2014.0.1a

4.2 Zach Advertising

Avocado. Carmel: Produce of IsraelTel Aviv, Israel, United Artists Ltd. for Carmel, n.d.Offset litho2014.0.1e

4.3 [Watermelon]. Carmel: Produce of IsraelIsrael, E Lewin Epstein Ltd. for Carmel, n.d.Offset litho2014.0.1 b

4.4 Zach Advertising

[Strawberries]. Carmel: Produce of Israel Tel Aviv, Israel, United Artists Ltd. for Carmel, n.d. Offset litho 2014.0.1c

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