Lions of Judah from Shaarei Eli Torah Ark, 1918,
Isaac Sternberg
2009-2010
The Culture of Jewish Objects
What makes an object Jewish? The question invites other questions, about the significance of objects within Jewish culture and whether one can speak of a culture of Jewish objects. The diverse objects Jews have used throughout their long history have often been endowed with specifically Jewish significance. Ritual objects associated with Jewish religious practices immediately come to mind. Sabbath observance, with its candle holders, Kiddush cup, challah plate, and spice box involves a range of Jewish artifacts that simultaneously expand on and deviate from sacred meaning associated with synagogues or the ancient Temples. But what about other, more mundane, objects that are integral to Jewish life yet not associated with sacred time or space? How does one think about buildings and decorations, book covers and design, kitchen structures and cooking utensils, clothing and jewelry? In 2009-2010, the Frankel Institute theme examines the construction of Jewish objects. Engaging current developments in the field of Material Culture, we wish to study the purpose, use, and aesthetics of Jewish “things,” as well as the ways they have been embraced and contested throughout history. In focusing on the culture of Jewish objects, the Institute explores relationships among the physical, visual, spiritual, and textual over a broad span of time and place.
The artifacts of Judaism—physical objects used over centuries within Jewish families and communities—have sometimes been considered to be important only insofar as they fostered religious aims. Since at least the early days of the Renaissance, however, the physical realm has attracted the attention of scholars seeking to challenge this view of Jewish physicality. Examinations of biblical and rabbinic sources, no less than the theoretical considerations of Marxism, structuralism, and semiotics have contributed to a robust multidisciplinary exploration of the material cultures of Jews. Through such diverse fields as anthropology, archaeology, art history, architecture, museum studies, history, literature, sociology, and politics, scholars have collected, documented, and analyzed Jewish objects and the perceptions associated with them.
The Frankel Institute invites scholars to build upon this framework to explore webs of meaning attached to Jewish objects and woven by families and communities in which Jews live. What can be learned about Jewish culture from relationships of people to the physical realm? What is the relationship between tangible things and their textual and folkloristic presentations? What happens when interpretations of objects are contested? How do Jews borrow objects, modify them, and incorporate them into Jewish life? What happens when physical structures are abandoned—such as synagogues and Jewish communal buildings—or when objects are stolen? What impact do artists and craftsmen and builders exert on objects through their role in fashioning them?
The theme of the culture of Jewish objects invites artists and scholars to pursue their work in a stimulating, collaborative environment, exploring the interaction between Jews and their surroundings, between physical artifacts and identity, between things and their many meanings.
Apply to be a 2009-2010 Frankel Institute Fellow here.
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