Illuminations
Chanukiah
Russia
Benjamin G brought this chanukiah for the 2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair.This chanukiah was passed down to
Benjy’s father,Gerald G, from his mother Frieda Katz G.He believes that it originally came from Eastern Europe, and was given as a gift to his grandparents. The significance to
it is that it’s a one-of-a-kind chanukiah, and it traveled to Israel and America. It is valuable to Gerald and Benjy as it was one of the only chanukiot that was brought to America.
It is made of solid silver and is fragile. This object is not used today, but it had been used up until a few years ago. The family appreciated being able to use an object that had been passed down for many generations.
The G family cherishes this
object.
Chanukiah
Vietnam
Zaidy Albie
Gabriel brought this chanukiah for the 2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair. Gabriel brought the chanukiah because it reminds the family that Chanukah is an important holiday.
Chanukah was so important to Gabriel's grandfather that while he was stationed in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, he made his own chanukiah. Gabriel realizes that his grandfather, Albert H, was proud of his Jewish roots while he was in the Vietnam War. The H
family likes to light this every year and think about him. Zaidy Albie was a major in the U.S army and used this while he served the United States.
The
family cherishes this object.
Candlesticks
Europe
Emily M brought these candlesticks for the 2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair. There was a woman, Mrs. Kurtzman, who moved to America from Europe and
brought candlesticks with her. Mrs. Kurtzman’s daughter was friends with Emily M’s maternal great grandmother, Sylvia Rozman. When Mrs. Kurtzman
was ready to give her candlesticks away, she would have given them to her daughter, but her daughter wasn’t
religious. She decided to give them to Sylvia Rozman, and it was kept a secret from Mrs. Kurtzman’s daughter. Emily’s
great grandmother used them for many years to light Shabbos candles every Friday night. Then, she eventually
passed them down to Emily’s maternal grandmother, Sara Gail Reiss. She still uses them today to light Friday night candles. Emily lights Shabbos candles with her mother every Friday night, and she hopes to inherit these candlesticks.
The M and R families cherish this object.
Candlesticks
Russia
Eli S brought these Shabbat candlesticks for the 2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair. These Shabbat candlesticks are from Eli S’s maternal great-great grandmother. She received them from her mother as a wedding gift. Eli S’s maternal great-great-great grandmother originally got them in
Kiev, Imperial Russia around the 1850’s. Eli S’s great-great grandmother brought the candlesticks from Russia
to America because she wanted something to remind her of home. She then passed it down to her daughter, and she then passed it down to her daughter. It is still used today by Eli S’s grandmother, Susan Polan Shapiro.
The S and Schlass
families cherish these objects.
Candlesticks
Germany
Eliezer K brought these candlesticks for the 2017 Moriah School
Heritage Fair. Eliezer K's object came from his paternal grandmother,
Shoshana. Her mother, bought these candlesticks and used them to light
Shabbos candles. Shoshana and her family lived in Germany before
the Holocaust. In 1939 at the start of the war, the family was sent to
occupied territory in France. Shoshana's father escaped and went to Lyon, France, while Shoshana and her mother,stayed in the occupied territory. Shoshana and her mother eventually escaped because they heard they were going to be taken into a concentration camp. While hiding, they bribed a driver with hidden jewelry which was under Shoshana's mother’s neck to go to Lyon, where Shoshana's father was. Once reunited, they traveled from Lyon,France to a refugee camp in Switzerland. Shoshana lived with a Jewish family because the refugee camp was boring and there was nothing to do. After the war, the Weingold family met in Brussels, Belgium. Yankel, Shoshana’s great grandfather’s cousin was there and was held by a non-Jew. They had a suitcase of goods and inside of it were the candlesticks.
The K family cherishes this object.
Lachter/Candelabra
Dukla, Poland
Annabel S. brought this candelabra for the 2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair. Annabel S’s object is from her maternal great grandmother, Felicia R. She, more than likely, received the lachter (candelabra) as a wedding gift, from
her father. It was given to her circa 1927 in Dukla, Poland when she married Henry. Later on, Henry and Felicia started a family in Vienna, Austria. When the Holocaust started, Felicia and Henry moved to Belgium for safety and protection. The lachter was later
shipped to them in Belgium where they lived for about three months.
In those few months, Henry was imprisoned,and then transported to
France. Soon after, the whole family moved to France to be closer to
him. While in France,they shipped the lachter to Henry’s brother, Simon, who was living in Brooklyn, NY. He took care of the lachter until the family could be together again. The lachter carried Jewish tradition everywhere it traveled.
The S. family cherishes this object.
Candlesticks
Austria-Hungary
Aiden S brought these candlesticks for the 2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair. Aiden's object is from Austria-Hungary circa 1873. It belonged to Aiden’s great-great grandmother. Aiden’s paternal great-great grandmother got the candlesticks as a wedding present. It is significant to Aiden’s family
because Aiden’s great-great grandmother was very religious and
used the candlesticks every shabbat. Aiden’s family has kept this object because after the Holocaust ended, this was the only thing she had left. Later on she passed it down to Aiden’s great
grandmother and it moved from generation to generation. Today the object is not used often, but sometimes the S family uses it for shabbat. This means a lot to Aiden because it reminds
Aiden that his great- great grandmother was strong enough to
survive the Holocaust and follow Jewish traditions.
The S family cherishes this object.
Chanukiah
Morocco
Benjamin A brought this Chanukiah to the 2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair. Benjamin A’s Chanukiah is from Marrakesh, Morocco. It was purchased in a market (shuk) by one of Benjamin A’s ancestors. It was bought in the late 19th century. This Chanukiah has been in the Attias and A families for more than 100 years and is used every year for Chanukah. The object has been passed down to the first born in
Benjamin A's maternal family for over a century, and will be passed down to Benjamin’s older brother, Eytan, when he gets married. This beautiful Chanukiah reminds the A family of all the generations that have come before them, and it is a symbol of their
Jewish life.
The A family cherishes this object.
The Living Museum is a project of the Education Department of the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust.
The Living Museum is made possible through the generous support of The Covenant Foundation. The statements made and the views
expressed, however, are solely the responsibility of the grantee.