Sacred Seforim
Talmud Dictionary
England
Eli S. brought this dictionary for the 2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair. In the 1970s Eli S.’s paternal great-great uncle Abraham went to England and bought this Aramaic to Hebrew, German to English dictionary for words in the Talmud. This Talmud dictionary was printed in 1927 in London, England and he bought it in Israel. When he died, he had no children to inherit this, so his wife gifted all his books to his sister's grandchildren, one of which was Eli’s dad. The S.'s still use it now when Eli’s parents learn Talmud and need to know what a word means. Its
message to Eli S. is “..we should try our best to understand as much Talmud as we can to be better Jews.”
The S. family cherishes this object.
Siddurim
Germany
Jack G. brought these siddurim for the 2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair. These pocket-sized siddurim once belonged to Jack G.’s maternal great grandfather,
Bela Samuel and his wife, Ruth Samuel. The prayer books are originally from Germany, 1948. In World War II Bela
was separated from his family. He had to escape and, fortunately, he did. While Bela was escaping, he met the love of his life, Ruth. They got married and decided to move to America.
They wanted to stay religious, but that was hard for them because they were always on the move. Therefore, Ruth bought herself and Bela two pocket-sized siddurim. Ever since then,
the G. family has used and passed down these siddurim.
When Jack G. and his siblings were born, their mother, Robin, inscribed the siddurim. Robin wrote the letter to remind her children that people can overcome difficulties.
The
G. family cherishes these objects.
Siddur
Poland
Phoebe R. brought this siddur for the 2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair .In 1939 Phoebe R's great uncle, Fischel
Sztokman was living with his parents and sisters in Lvov. One day, the bakery next door caught fire, and it spread.This resulted in his house burning down. All their siddurim and sefarim were destroyed in the fire. Phoebe R's great uncle’s father found a siddur nearby after the fire. At that time the Germans were trying to beat
Russia and getting closer to their village. The Russian army rounded
the Jews up from Lvov, and said they could either go with them or wait for the Germans to come. The Sztokman family decided to go with the Russians to a camp in Volgarod where they were forced to work day and night. In January of 1942, Joseph Sztokman, Fischel Sztokman’s father, took him behind the barracks, checked no one
was watching, showed him how to put on tefillin and gave him the siddur. This was his Bar Mitzvah. He used this siddur throughout the entire war, and it was very special to him. It is 142
years old, so it cannot be used, but is kept as a family heirloom.
The R. family cherishes this object.
Haggadah
Germany
Ava L. brought this haggadah for the 2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair. This object is originally from Germany
in the late 1800’s. Yonatan L., Ava’s great grandfather purchased it, and this book has been used on Pesach for a
long time. Today it is not used as it is very fragile.This is a very special item to the L family because it was
smuggled out of Germany during the Holocaust. When the L family left Germany, they could bring very little
with them, and they chose to bring this haggadah. This shows how important Judaism was and still is to the L
family. They are grateful that they don’t need to live in fear anymore. They know they are lucky that they a can buy a haggadah without being persecuted or harmed.
The L family cherishes this object.
Machzor
Morocco
David B. brought this machzor for the
2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair. This machzor was given to Elias B. for his Bar Mitzvah in Morocco in 1933. This machzor helps the B.family stay connected to their roots in Morocco. Since it is very old and fragile, the family no longer uses it as it is precious to them. This machzor is one of the few objects that the B. family has from that time period.
The B. family cherishes this object.
Gemara
Lithuania
Maya G brought this Gemara for the 2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair. Maya G received this Gemara from her paternal great-great grandfather, Tzemach Ruchames, who passed it down to her great grandfather. Today Maya’s grandfather Michael G owns it. Tzemach got the Gemara from his father in Vilna, Lithuania. The set of Gemaras was printed in 1908. The Gemara is significant to Maya’s family because Tzemach’s dedication to Jewish learning influenced Maya’s great grandfather, and then Maya’s grandfather to educate the family in Jewish teachings. The set of Gemaras was one of the only possessions that Tzemach brought with him from Europe when he came to America. Tzemach would gather all his neighbors and read and teach the Gemara to them.On special occasions Maya’s grandfather learns from it today.
The significance of this Gemara is the idea of transmitting mesorah and passing it down from one generation to the next. The G family is lucky to have a physical object that represents their tradition.
The G family cherishes this object.
Megilah
Jerusalem
Maya N brought this megillah for the
2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair.
This object came from Jerusalem, Israel. This megillah was handwritten by Maya N’s paternal great grandfather, Shalom N. This object is cherished by the N family because it has been passed down to Maya N grandfather and her father as well. It was used every Purim by the men of the N family. Shalom N was a scribe and hand wrote torahs and megillahs for his shul. Maya N's paternal great aunt bought a silver patterned casing for the megillah so it would protect it. Also, M’s paternal grandmother made a velvet casing for it.This megillah was written in the time between 1925-1937 close to the time when Shalom N died.
The Nahary family cherishes this object.
Siddur
Poland
Sabina C brought this siddur for the 2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair. This siddur has a lot of significance to the C family. The siddur was originally published in 1907 but was purchased in 1909. The siddur belonged to Sabina's paternal great grandfather, Morris C, also known as Moshe Kapitnick.
Morris was born on October 9, 1896, in Poland. He was the youngest of 11 siblings. The siddur was gifted to Morris by his father for his Bar Mitzvah in 1909. He davened from it daily. In World War I, Morris fought for the Russian army. He was wounded,
captured and imprisoned by the Germans. He miraculously, managed to keep his siddur with him until he was freed.
Eventually, Morris made his way to America and brought the siddur with him to pass it on to his chldren and grandchildren. The siddur is currently not used because it is very fragile. The siddur inspires Sabina to daven each day. The object always reminds Sabina of what her great grandfather
suffered through.
The C family cherishes this object.
Tehilim
Romania
Miriam K brought this tehilim book for the 2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair. This book was originally from a rabbi
in Romania. During that time, there were many communists in Romania so it was very challenging for the Jews there to keep Judaism. Miriam’s paternal great grandfather, from the time he got this tehilim book to when he moved to Israel, always kept this book in his coat pocket. Whenever he got a free moment, he would say a perek of tehillim. When he died, Miriam’s great grandfather left it for her grandfather, and hehas kept it to this day.
The K family cherishes this object.
Haggada
czechslovkia
Emma G brought this haggada for the 2017 Moriah School Heritage Fair. Emma’s item was her great-great
grandfathers. It was made in 1909 and is from Czechoslovakia. One of the cool parts about this haggadah is that it has no English. It is written in Hebrew translated into Czech. Emma’s family used this haggadah for many sedarim until the war when they had to hide it and then get it back after the war. No one in Emma's family had seen the haggadah since, until 1995. It was
found in her great grandparents’ house after they died. Today, the family doesn't use the haggada anymore because it is too delicate to use. This item is so important to Emma's family
because it tells her family about the past and gives us an idea of what it was like back in Czechoslovakia.
The G 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.