- Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, Israel
Vladimir Levin
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Center for Jewish Art, Department Member
- Jewish History, Synagogue Architecture, Russian History, Jewish Art History, Art History, Jewish Art History, Synagogue Art History, Eastern European and Russian Jewish History, and 10 moreModern Jewish History, Architectural History, - Architecture history, Russian Foreign Policy, Russian Orthodox Church, Jewish Studies, Urban History, Collective Memory, Yiddish Folk-songs, and History of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealthedit
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"The second volume of the catalogue includes the entries: Pakruojis, Panevėžys, Pasvalys, Plungė, Prienai, Pušalotas, Raguva, Ramygala, Rietavas, Rozalimas, Salantai, Seda, Šeta, Šiauliai, Šilalė, Simnas, Širvintos, Skaudvilė, Švėkšna,... more
"The second volume of the catalogue includes the entries: Pakruojis, Panevėžys, Pasvalys, Plungė, Prienai, Pušalotas, Raguva, Ramygala, Rietavas, Rozalimas, Salantai, Seda, Šeta, Šiauliai, Šilalė, Simnas, Širvintos, Skaudvilė, Švėkšna, Telšiai, Tirkšliai, Troškūnai, Ukmergė, Utena, Vabalninkas, Veisiejai, Vilnius, Vištytis, Žagarė, Zarasai, Žasliai, Žemaičių Naumiestis, Žiežmariai.
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This article proposes a methodology for understanding the business networks and mental maps of Jewish communities in central and eastern Europe from the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. The methodology is based... more
This article proposes a methodology for understanding the business networks and mental maps of Jewish communities in central and eastern Europe from the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. The methodology is based on scrupulous documentation of Jewish tombstones, especially the signatures of stonemasons. Through analysis of the signatures found in the Jewish cemeteries of Croatia, geographical networks become apparent, and we can reconstruct the mental maps of Croatian Jews, both in the Austro-Hungarian period and in interwar Yugoslavia. The Jewish cemeteries in some other central European cities serve as comparative material for our discussion.
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The article explores the synagogues along the Volga River as a case demonstrating the development of the Jewish communities in the Russian interior, beyond the Pale of Settlement and outside the Russian capitals. The history of synagogues... more
The article explores the synagogues along the Volga River as a case demonstrating the development of the Jewish communities in the Russian interior, beyond the Pale of Settlement and outside the Russian capitals. The history of synagogues in the Volga region is examined here through the lenses of the history of architecture, the development of Jewish ritual, and the relations between Jews and the Russian authorities, which enabled or hindered the establishment of synagogues. Special attention is paid to the architectural models for the Volga synagogues and the degree of their visibility in the cityscapes.
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The absolute majority of maps of East European cities marked only one or two major synagogues, while tens or hundreds of smaller synagogues and Jewish prayer houses were omitted. Using Vilnius as a case study, the article argues that this... more
The absolute majority of maps of East European cities marked only one or two major synagogues, while tens or hundreds of smaller synagogues and Jewish prayer houses were omitted. Using Vilnius as a case study, the article argues that this omission was not only a consequence of viewing the Jews as a 'not indigenous' part of the population, but also reflected the reality. The absolute majority of synagogues and prayer houses had no role in the cityscape of Vilnius and other cities of Eastern Europe, and therefore were not noticeable to non-Jewish people. Either synagogues and prayer houses were situated in courtyards, or they had no external features designating them as Jewish sacred places. Only the Great Synagogues and the Choral Synagogues of 'modernised' Jews attempted to be visible and prominent in the cityscape. The discussion of the issue of visibility of Jewish sacral buildings is based on the Yiddish guidebook to the city of Vilnius published by Zalmen Szyk in 1939. This book is a unique work, which combines the description of Vilnius 'in general' with special attention paid to the Jewish public institutions existing in the city, the majority of them synagogues and prayer houses.
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Research Interests: Eastern European and Russian Jewish History, Mental Maps, Judaism, Modern Jewish History, Jewish Cultural Studies, and 5 moreLithuanian History, History of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Geographic Mental Maps, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and History of Grand Duchy of Lithuania In the XVI-XVIII C.
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The present article aims to analyze the religious practices of Siberian Jews in a broad Jewish context. It presents a review of the religious life of the Jews isolated from traditional centers, with a focus on the models they were guided... more
The present article aims to analyze the religious practices of Siberian Jews in a broad Jewish context. It presents a review of the religious life of the Jews isolated from traditional centers, with a focus on the models they were guided by in developing their communal life and the ways in which they maintained their connection with the Jewish world. The research is primarily based on the analysis of Jewish periodicals and the material culture of Siberian Jews (synagogue buildings, Jewish cemeteries, and ceremonial objects). The authors contest the view of Siberian Jews as a unique group, widespread in historiography, as untenable. Siberian Jewry developed within the framework of the modernized model, common in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and other cities outside the Pale of Settlement as well as among Jews in large cities of the Pale. The forms of religious observance in Siberia are similar to those typical for regions and cities with a rapid pace of modernization of the Jewish populat...
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T movement Orthodox Judaism, the definitions of which and the date of whose emergence will be explored below, appeared in Europe and spread subsequently to the land of Israel and the United States of America. Academic research... more
T movement Orthodox Judaism, the definitions of which and the date of whose emergence will be explored below, appeared in Europe and spread subsequently to the land of Israel and the United States of America. Academic research on this complex social and cultural phenomenon, in all its forms and periods, has flourished in recent decades. Thus the bibliography compiled by Kimmy Caplan in , ‘Research on Orthodox Society in Israel in the Last Generation’, includes as many as items.1 Since then, the extent of this scholarship has significantly increased, making the task of presenting this huge corpus in one overview virtually impossible. This chapter will thus concentrate on the historiography of Jewish Orthodoxy in eastern Europe. However, the discussion cannot also avoid alluding to the research on Germany and central Europe.
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This article analyses the architecture of women’s sections in eastern European synagogues and argues that two profound changes took place, one in the eighteenth century and the second in the second half of the nineteenth century. The... more
This article analyses the architecture of women’s sections in eastern European synagogues and argues that two profound changes took place, one in the eighteenth century and the second in the second half of the nineteenth century. The first was moving of the women’s section from an external (but not detached) annex into the main volume of the synagogue; the second was the introduction of women’s galleries into the prayer halls. The first move coincided with the alteration of the woman’s status in Jewish traditional society, while the second move resulted from the arrival of modernity and reflected the changing place of women in eastern European Jewish society.
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Many scholars view the choral synagogues in the Russian Empire as Reform synagogues, influenced by the German Reform movement. This article analyzes the features characteristic of Reform synagogues in central and Western Europe, and... more
Many scholars view the choral synagogues in the Russian Empire as Reform synagogues, influenced by the German Reform movement. This article analyzes the features characteristic of Reform synagogues in central and Western Europe, and demonstrates that only a small number of these features were implemented in the choral synagogues of Russia. The article describes the history, architecture, and reception of choral synagogues in different geographical areas of the Russian Empire, from the first maskilic synagogues of the 1820s–1840s to the revolution of 1917. The majority of changes, this article argues, introduced in choral synagogues were of an aesthetic nature. The changes concerned decorum, not the religious meaning or essence of the prayer service. The initial wave of choral synagogues were established by maskilim, and modernized Jews became a catalyst for the adoption of the choral rite by other groups. Eventually, the choral synagogue became the “sectorial” synagogue of the moder...
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Abstract: The present article aims to analyze the religious practices of Siberian Jews in a broad Jewish context. It presents a review of the religious life of the Jews isolated from traditional centers, with a focus on the models they... more
Abstract: The present article aims to analyze the religious practices of Siberian Jews in a broad Jewish context. It presents a review of the religious life of the Jews isolated from traditional centers, with a focus on the models they were guided by in developing their communal life and the ways in which they maintained their connection with the Jewish world. The research is primarily based on the analysis of Jewish periodicals and the material culture of Siberian Jews (synagogue buildings, Jewish cemeteries, and ceremonial objects). The authors contest the view of Siberian Jews as a unique group, widespread in historiography, as untenable. Siberian Jewry developed within the framework of the modernized model, common in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and other cities outside the Pale of Settlement as well as among Jews in large cities of the Pale. The forms of religious observance in Siberia are similar to those typical for regions and cities with a rapid pace of modernization of the Jewish population.
Аннотация: Задачей этой статьи является анализ религиозных практик сибирских евреев в широком еврейском контексте. Авторы рассматривают, как евреи, оторванные от традиционных центров, выстраивали свою религиозную жизнь, на какие модели ориентировались и в какой форме сохраняли связь с еврейским миром. Исследование в основном построено на анализе еврейской периодики и объектов материальный культуры сибирских евреев (здания синагог, еврейские кладбища и предметы, связанные с еврейскими обрядами). Авторы статьи приходят к выводу, что существующее в историографии представление о сибирских евреях как об уникальной группе несостоятельно. Сибирские евреи развивались в рамках модерной модели, распространенной в Санкт-Петербурге, Москве и других городах вне черты оседлости, а также среди евреев в крупных городах черты. Формы соблюдения религиозной традиции в Сибири схожи с формами, характерными для регионов и городов с быстрыми темпами модернизации еврейского населения.
Аннотация: Задачей этой статьи является анализ религиозных практик сибирских евреев в широком еврейском контексте. Авторы рассматривают, как евреи, оторванные от традиционных центров, выстраивали свою религиозную жизнь, на какие модели ориентировались и в какой форме сохраняли связь с еврейским миром. Исследование в основном построено на анализе еврейской периодики и объектов материальный культуры сибирских евреев (здания синагог, еврейские кладбища и предметы, связанные с еврейскими обрядами). Авторы статьи приходят к выводу, что существующее в историографии представление о сибирских евреях как об уникальной группе несостоятельно. Сибирские евреи развивались в рамках модерной модели, распространенной в Санкт-Петербурге, Москве и других городах вне черты оседлости, а также среди евреев в крупных городах черты. Формы соблюдения религиозной традиции в Сибири схожи с формами, характерными для регионов и городов с быстрыми темпами модернизации еврейского населения.
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The absolute majority of maps of East European cities marked only one or two major synagogues, while tens or hundreds of smaller synagogues and Jewish prayer houses were omitted. Using Vilnius as a case study, the article argues that this... more
The absolute majority of maps of East European cities marked only one or two major synagogues, while tens or hundreds of smaller synagogues and Jewish prayer houses were omitted. Using Vilnius as a case study, the article argues that this omission was not only a consequence of viewing the Jews as a 'not indigenous' part of the population, but also reflected the reality. The absolute majority of synagogues and prayer houses had no role in the cityscape of Vilnius and other cities of Eastern Europe, and therefore were not noticeable to non-Jewish people. Either synagogues and prayer houses were situated in courtyards, or they had no external features designating them as Jewish sacred places. Only the Great Synagogues and the Choral Synagogues of 'modernised' Jews attempted to be visible and prominent in the cityscape. The discussion of the issue of visibility of Jewish sacral buildings is based on the Yiddish guidebook to the city of Vilnius published by Zalmen Szyk in 1939. This book is a unique work, which combines the description of Vilnius 'in general' with special attention paid to the Jewish public institutions existing in the city, the majority of them synagogues and prayer houses.
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The paper (in Hebrew) discuss the synagogues of Bukharan Jews in Uzbekistan
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This article analyses the architecture of women’s sections in eastern European synagogues and argues that two profound changes took place, one in the eighteenth century and the second in the second half of the nineteenth century. The... more
This article analyses the architecture of women’s sections in eastern European synagogues
and argues that two profound changes took place, one in the eighteenth century and
the second in the second half of the nineteenth century. The first was moving of the women’s
section from an external (but not detached) annex into the main volume of the synagogue; the
second was the introduction of women’s galleries into the prayer halls. The first move coincided
with the alteration of the woman’s status in Jewish traditional society, while the second
move resulted from the arrival of modernity and reflected the changing place of women in
eastern European Jewish society.
and argues that two profound changes took place, one in the eighteenth century and
the second in the second half of the nineteenth century. The first was moving of the women’s
section from an external (but not detached) annex into the main volume of the synagogue; the
second was the introduction of women’s galleries into the prayer halls. The first move coincided
with the alteration of the woman’s status in Jewish traditional society, while the second
move resulted from the arrival of modernity and reflected the changing place of women in
eastern European Jewish society.
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“Russian Jews and the Russian Right: Why Were There no Jewish Right-Wing Politics in the Late Russian Empire?” in The Tsar, the Empire, and the Nation: Dilemmas of Nationalization in Russia’s Western Borderlands, 1905–1915, eds. Darius Staliūnas and Yoko Aoshima (Budapest: CEU, 2021), pp. 357–381more
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Many scholars view the choral synagogues in the Russian Empire as Reform synagogues, influenced by the German Reform movement. This article analyzes the features characteristic of Reform synagogues in central and Western Europe, and... more
Many scholars view the choral synagogues in the Russian Empire as Reform synagogues, influenced by the German Reform movement. This article analyzes the features characteristic of Reform synagogues in central and Western Europe, and demonstrates that only a small number of these features were implemented in the choral synagogues of Russia. The article describes the history, architecture, and reception of choral synagogues in different geographical areas of the Russian Empire, from the first maskilic synagogues of the 1820s-1840s to the revolution of 1917. The majority of changes, this article argues, introduced in choral synagogues were of an aesthetic nature. The changes concerned decorum, not the religious meaning or essence of the prayer service. The initial wave of choral synagogues were established by maskilim, and modernized Jews became a catalyst for the adoption of the choral rite by other groups. Eventually, the choral synagogue became the "sectorial" synagogue of the modernized elite. It did not have special religious significance, but it did offer social prestige and architectural prominence.
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The Jewish community of Ostroh was one of the oldest and most affluent communities in Volhynia. The Great Synagogue in Ostroh has been built after 1627, when an owner of the town issued a privilege, prohibiting erection of synagogues... more
The Jewish community of Ostroh was one of the oldest and most affluent communities in Volhynia. The Great Synagogue in Ostroh has been built after 1627, when an owner of the town issued a privilege, prohibiting erection of synagogues higher than churches, conducting Jewish burials in the daytime, etc. The synagogue design was novel: a spacious prayer hall had four interior columns and twelve perimeter pilasters, which support nine equal vaulted bays. The preceding edifice of this type was the Great Suburban Synagogue in Lviv. It shared with the Great Synagogue in Ostroh some almost identical shapes, which suggests a common architect, who apparently was Giacomo Medleni (d. 1630), a Lviv guild master employed also in Volhynia. The meaningful placement of the architectural order, the nine-bay scheme of the ground plan, and an addition of the slanting buttresses suggest that the architect employed an imagery of the Jerusalem Temple published in 1604 by theologian Juan Bautista Villalpando. The synagogues of Lviv and Ostroh coined the scheme of four interior pillars and twelve windows illuminating prayer hall, which would become popular in the Commonwealth and beyond.
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The “Special Item” by Sergey R. Kravtsov and Vladimir Levin examines a pair of wall paintings seen, though cropped, in a photograph taken in the Great Synagogue in the town of Radyvyliv, Volhynia, in 1912–13. The captions under the... more
The “Special Item” by Sergey R. Kravtsov and Vladimir Levin examines a pair of wall paintings seen, though cropped, in a photograph taken in the Great Synagogue in the town of Radyvyliv, Volhynia, in 1912–13. The captions under the paintings substantiate the theory that certain zoomorphic images in the decoration of eastern-European synagogues were inspired by the compilation of liturgical hymns known as Perek Shirah.
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The paper deals with various aspects of Hasidic material culture, namely architecture of courts, tsadiks' dwelling houses, kloyzn, mikvaot, tsadiks' graves, hasidic synagogues, ceremonial and personal objects, and clothing, with a... more
The paper deals with various aspects of Hasidic material culture, namely architecture of courts, tsadiks' dwelling houses, kloyzn, mikvaot, tsadiks' graves, hasidic synagogues, ceremonial and personal objects, and clothing, with a special attention to shtrayml.
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The article discusses the Jewish concept of Lithuania (Lite), its borders and subdivision, as well as Jewish understanding of the Lithuanian concept of Lithuania.
Research Interests: Eastern European Studies, Russian Studies, Jewish Studies, Eastern European and Russian Jewish History, East European studies, and 6 moreJewish History, Russian History, Modern Jewish History, Lithuanian History, History of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and History of Grand Duchy of Lithuania In the XVI-XVIII C.
The article describes the Jewry of the Russian empire, its legal and political situation in the first decade of the 20th century
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The Jewish presence in Siberia began after the Pale of Settlement, a relocation program that regulated Jewish migration of different communities and relocated them to distant lands. During the XIXth century, the Jewish communities were... more
The Jewish presence in Siberia began after the Pale of Settlement, a relocation program
that regulated Jewish migration of different communities and relocated them to distant
lands. During the XIXth century, the Jewish communities were forced to move to Siberia
where they established small colonies full o f cultural heritage. This paper aims to analyse how much Jewish cultural heritage is still alive in Siberia and the Russian Far East after the Tsarist and Soviet times.
that regulated Jewish migration of different communities and relocated them to distant
lands. During the XIXth century, the Jewish communities were forced to move to Siberia
where they established small colonies full o f cultural heritage. This paper aims to analyse how much Jewish cultural heritage is still alive in Siberia and the Russian Far East after the Tsarist and Soviet times.
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After a five‐year battle against cancer, Jonathan Frankel, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Russian and Slavic Studies and the Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, died in Jerusalem on 7 May 2008.
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Call for Papers The Foundation for Jewish Cultural Heritage in Italy and the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are pleased to announce a one-day international (online) conference “Jewish Crossroads: Between Italy... more
Call for Papers
The Foundation for Jewish Cultural Heritage in Italy and the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are pleased to announce a one-day international (online) conference “Jewish Crossroads: Between Italy and Eastern Europe.”
The close contacts between Italy and eastern Europe have evolved over the centuries and Jews have been an integral part of this relationship. The most known examples of Italian influences on eastern European Jews are the construction of synagogues in Poland and Lithuania by Italian architects; Jewish medics from Italy practicing in noble east European courts; or the selling of Hebrew books printed in Italy. The interaction obviously was in the opposite direction: many Polish and Lithuanian rabbis moved to Italy or transferred their texts to be published there; the Council of the Four Lands sent emissaries to Rome; and many eastern European Jewish artists spent years in Italy. The conference is planned to concentrate on those contacts and interactions, during the Early Modern and Modern periods.
The conference will take place online on July 22, 2021 and will be conducted in English. The keynote lecture will be given by Prof. Ilia Rodov of Bar-Ilan University.
Please send an abstract of your paper (maximum 300 words) and a CV (maximum two pages) to cja@mail.huji.ac.il by May 28, 2021.
The Foundation for Jewish Cultural Heritage in Italy and the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are pleased to announce a one-day international (online) conference “Jewish Crossroads: Between Italy and Eastern Europe.”
The close contacts between Italy and eastern Europe have evolved over the centuries and Jews have been an integral part of this relationship. The most known examples of Italian influences on eastern European Jews are the construction of synagogues in Poland and Lithuania by Italian architects; Jewish medics from Italy practicing in noble east European courts; or the selling of Hebrew books printed in Italy. The interaction obviously was in the opposite direction: many Polish and Lithuanian rabbis moved to Italy or transferred their texts to be published there; the Council of the Four Lands sent emissaries to Rome; and many eastern European Jewish artists spent years in Italy. The conference is planned to concentrate on those contacts and interactions, during the Early Modern and Modern periods.
The conference will take place online on July 22, 2021 and will be conducted in English. The keynote lecture will be given by Prof. Ilia Rodov of Bar-Ilan University.
Please send an abstract of your paper (maximum 300 words) and a CV (maximum two pages) to cja@mail.huji.ac.il by May 28, 2021.
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The Center for Jewish Art invites you to the award ceremony of the Bezalel, Mordechai, and Nessia Narkiss Prize for excellence in the research of Jewish Art. This year the prize is awarded to Dr. Evelyn M. Cohen, who will give the lecture... more
The Center for Jewish Art invites you to the award ceremony of the Bezalel, Mordechai, and Nessia Narkiss Prize for excellence in the research of Jewish Art.
This year the prize is awarded to Dr. Evelyn M. Cohen, who will give the lecture "When Netilat Lulav Occurs on Passover"
The ceremony will take place online on Tuesday, December 15, 2020, at 7 pm Israel time - 12 pm EST
A Zoom link will be sent to everyone who registered here: https://forms.gle/SJqsnGqDdcaEY9HM8
This year the prize is awarded to Dr. Evelyn M. Cohen, who will give the lecture "When Netilat Lulav Occurs on Passover"
The ceremony will take place online on Tuesday, December 15, 2020, at 7 pm Israel time - 12 pm EST
A Zoom link will be sent to everyone who registered here: https://forms.gle/SJqsnGqDdcaEY9HM8
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The attire of the Jews of central and eastern Europe was depicted in paintings, caricatures and photographs and was described in Jewish and non-Jewish texts in the course of several centuries. At the same time, the diversity of the... more
The attire of the Jews of central and eastern Europe was depicted in paintings, caricatures and photographs and was described in Jewish and non-Jewish texts in the course of several centuries. At the same time, the diversity of the sources depicting in words or/and images the varied Jewish population of this vast region often hinders attempts to understand and analyze the development of Jewish clothing. This workshop will focus on visual and textual depictions of early modern and modern central and eastern European Jewish attire and the relationship to the attire of their non-Jewish neighbors. We invite scholars from various disciplines-design, textiles, material and visual culture, art history and fashion history-to discuss central and eastern European Jewish dress and its details in the early modern and modern periods and to compare it to the dress of the surrounding populations. We would like to stress the methodological aspects of this issue, and hope that such a discussion will contribute to the history of interaction between the Jewish and non-Jewish cultures. We envision this online workshop as a series of 10 to 15 minute presentations followed by discussion, as well as a broad conversation in which the participants will share their experiences of working with online research and digital sources and of major challenges faced by historians of Jewish dress.
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המרכז לאמנות יהודית באוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים מזמין לטקס הענקת פרס נרקיס הניתן לחוקרים מצטיינים באמנות יהודית לזכרם של נסיה, מרדכי ובצלאל נרקיס ז"ל. כפי המקובל בשנים אחרונות, הטקס יתקיים במוזיאון יהדות איטליה. השנה יקבל את הפרס אספן... more
המרכז לאמנות יהודית באוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים מזמין לטקס הענקת פרס נרקיס הניתן לחוקרים מצטיינים באמנות יהודית לזכרם של נסיה, מרדכי ובצלאל נרקיס ז"ל. כפי המקובל בשנים אחרונות, הטקס יתקיים במוזיאון יהדות איטליה. השנה יקבל את הפרס אספן נודע מר וויליאם גרוס. לאחר הענקת הפרס מר גרוס ייתן הרצאה "מסתורין מקודש: הדימוי החזותי בקבלה" המבוססת על הפריטים מהאוסף העשיר שלו.
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The Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is pleased to invite you to the official launching of the Bezalel Narkiss Index of Jewish Art
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13 September, Tuesday 10:00 Greetings, Lola Kantor-Kazovsky 10:15 - 11:00 Session 1 The Catalogue of Wall Paintings in Central and East European Synagogues Chair: Aliza Cohen-Mushlin Boris Khaimovich, "The Catalogue of Wall Paintings in... more
13 September, Tuesday
10:00 Greetings, Lola Kantor-Kazovsky
10:15 - 11:00 Session 1
The Catalogue of Wall Paintings in
Central and East European Synagogues
Chair: Aliza Cohen-Mushlin
Boris Khaimovich, "The Catalogue of Wall Paintings
in Central and East European Synagogues":
An Experience of Collecting Lost Heritage
11:00 - 11:30 Coffee Break
11:30 - 12:00 Session 2
Survey, Preservation, and Presentation I
Chair: Samuel D. Gruber
Armin Panter, Reconstruction and Presentation
of the Synagogues of Unterlimpurg and Steinbach
by Eliezer-Zusman
Ewa Malkowska-Bieniek, Awaiting the Messiah:
Paintings in the Synagogues of Gwoidziec
and Polaniec in Historical Context
Aiste Niunkaite-Raciiiniene, Paintings in Lithuanian
Synagogues: Sources for Research and Reconstruction
13:00 - 14:30 Lunch
14:30 - 16:00 Session 3
Survey, Preservation, and Presentation II
Chair: Tania Coen-Uzzielli
Eugeny Kotlyar, Perpetuating the Heritage:
Current State, Conservation, and Presentation
of Synagogue Paintings in Ukraine
Samuel D. Gruber, Art of Old and New Worlds:
The Chai Adam Shul Mural of Burlington, Vermont
Ulrich Knufinke, Wall Paintings in the Synagogues
of Displaced Persons in Germany, 1945-1950
Visit to the Synagogue Route in Israel Museum
Tania Coen-Uzzielli, Exploring Synagogues in Context
14 September, Wednesday
10:00 - 11:00 Session 4
Artist: Tradition and Responses to Modernity I
Chair: Rudolf Klein
Zvi Orgad, Seeing the Elephant: Repetition
and Invention in the Eighteenth-century
Synagogue Paintings
Tamar Shadmi, Who were the Synagogue Artists?
Signatures as Biographic Sources
11:00 - 11:30 Coffee Break
11:30 - 13:00 Session 5
Artist: Tradition and Responses to Modernity II
Chair: Rina Talgam
Riva Arnold, Geometric Surfaces in
Oriental-Styled Synagogues
Rudolf Klein, Wall Paintings in the Subotica Synagogue
Sergey R. Kravtsov, The Artist's Destiny in
Jewish Collective Memory: From Traditional Society
to Avant-garde
13:00 - 14:30 Lunch
14:30 - 17:00 Session 6
Paintings: Program, Reception, and
Signification
Chair: Shalom Sabar
Batsheva Goldman-Ida, The Imagery of
King Solomon's Throne
Thomas Hubka, The Tent and Tabernacle Symbolism
in the Wall Paintings of the Polish Wooden Synagogues
Bracha Yaniv, Multiple Meanings of the Bestiary in
Synagogue Ceiling Paintings of Eastern Europe
Ilia Rodov, Synagogue Space, Its Dimmed Images,
and Their Elusive Meanings
Closing remarks, Vladimir Levin
10:00 Greetings, Lola Kantor-Kazovsky
10:15 - 11:00 Session 1
The Catalogue of Wall Paintings in
Central and East European Synagogues
Chair: Aliza Cohen-Mushlin
Boris Khaimovich, "The Catalogue of Wall Paintings
in Central and East European Synagogues":
An Experience of Collecting Lost Heritage
11:00 - 11:30 Coffee Break
11:30 - 12:00 Session 2
Survey, Preservation, and Presentation I
Chair: Samuel D. Gruber
Armin Panter, Reconstruction and Presentation
of the Synagogues of Unterlimpurg and Steinbach
by Eliezer-Zusman
Ewa Malkowska-Bieniek, Awaiting the Messiah:
Paintings in the Synagogues of Gwoidziec
and Polaniec in Historical Context
Aiste Niunkaite-Raciiiniene, Paintings in Lithuanian
Synagogues: Sources for Research and Reconstruction
13:00 - 14:30 Lunch
14:30 - 16:00 Session 3
Survey, Preservation, and Presentation II
Chair: Tania Coen-Uzzielli
Eugeny Kotlyar, Perpetuating the Heritage:
Current State, Conservation, and Presentation
of Synagogue Paintings in Ukraine
Samuel D. Gruber, Art of Old and New Worlds:
The Chai Adam Shul Mural of Burlington, Vermont
Ulrich Knufinke, Wall Paintings in the Synagogues
of Displaced Persons in Germany, 1945-1950
Visit to the Synagogue Route in Israel Museum
Tania Coen-Uzzielli, Exploring Synagogues in Context
14 September, Wednesday
10:00 - 11:00 Session 4
Artist: Tradition and Responses to Modernity I
Chair: Rudolf Klein
Zvi Orgad, Seeing the Elephant: Repetition
and Invention in the Eighteenth-century
Synagogue Paintings
Tamar Shadmi, Who were the Synagogue Artists?
Signatures as Biographic Sources
11:00 - 11:30 Coffee Break
11:30 - 13:00 Session 5
Artist: Tradition and Responses to Modernity II
Chair: Rina Talgam
Riva Arnold, Geometric Surfaces in
Oriental-Styled Synagogues
Rudolf Klein, Wall Paintings in the Subotica Synagogue
Sergey R. Kravtsov, The Artist's Destiny in
Jewish Collective Memory: From Traditional Society
to Avant-garde
13:00 - 14:30 Lunch
14:30 - 17:00 Session 6
Paintings: Program, Reception, and
Signification
Chair: Shalom Sabar
Batsheva Goldman-Ida, The Imagery of
King Solomon's Throne
Thomas Hubka, The Tent and Tabernacle Symbolism
in the Wall Paintings of the Polish Wooden Synagogues
Bracha Yaniv, Multiple Meanings of the Bestiary in
Synagogue Ceiling Paintings of Eastern Europe
Ilia Rodov, Synagogue Space, Its Dimmed Images,
and Their Elusive Meanings
Closing remarks, Vladimir Levin
Research Interests: History, Folklore, Iconography, Art History, Jewish Studies, and 17 moreArchitecture, Art Theory, Liturgy, Renaissance Studies, Jewish Mysticism, Modern Art, Jewish History, Jewish Thought, Baroque art and architecture, Medieval Jewish History, Modern Jewish History, Jewish Cultural Studies, Synagogues, Ritual Practices, Architecture and Public Spaces, Conservation and Restoration of Wall Paintings, and Synagogue Architecture
Fondazione per i Beni Culturali Ebraici in Italia and the Center for Jewish Art invites you to attend the online conference "Jewish Crossroads: Between Italy and Eastern Europe." The conference will take place on 22 July 2021, at 12:00... more
Fondazione per i Beni Culturali Ebraici in Italia and the Center for Jewish Art invites you to attend the online conference "Jewish Crossroads: Between Italy and Eastern Europe."
The conference will take place on 22 July 2021, at 12:00 Central European Time (13:00 Israel time).
You can follow the conference on the Facebook of Fondazione per i Beni Culturali Ebraici in Italia or attend the Zoom session: https://huji.zoom.us/j/82333267284?pwd=amNyVXZZSUxacXYxZWRDVmhqVGlOZz09
The conference will take place on 22 July 2021, at 12:00 Central European Time (13:00 Israel time).
You can follow the conference on the Facebook of Fondazione per i Beni Culturali Ebraici in Italia or attend the Zoom session: https://huji.zoom.us/j/82333267284?pwd=amNyVXZZSUxacXYxZWRDVmhqVGlOZz09
Research Interests: Jewish Studies, Eastern European and Russian Jewish History, Jewish History, Modern Jewish History, Jewish Art History, and 15 moreItalian Jewish history, Art History, Jewish Art History, Synagogue Art History, Jewish architecture, History of Halakha and Jewish Law, East European Jewish History, Polish Jewish history, Polish-Jewish History, storia degli ebrei d'Italia, Modern European Jewish History, Jewish History In Eastern Europe, Architecture of Jewish Synagogues and Jewish History, Russian and Eastern European Jewish History, storia degli ebrei in Austria e nell'est d'Europa, Italian-Jewish Studies, and Storia degli ebrei in Italia
The Foundation for Jewish Cultural Heritage in Italy and the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are pleased to announce a one-day international (online) conference “Jewish Crossroads: Between Italy and Eastern... more
The Foundation for Jewish Cultural Heritage in Italy and the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are pleased to announce a one-day international (online) conference “Jewish Crossroads: Between Italy and Eastern Europe.”
The close contacts between Italy and eastern Europe have evolved over the centuries and Jews have been an integral part of this relationship.
The most known examples of Italian influences on eastern European Jews are the construction of synagogues in Poland and Lithuania by Italian architects; Jewish medics from Italy practicing in noble east European courts; or the selling of Hebrew books printed in Italy.
The interaction obviously was in the opposite direction: many Polish and Lithuanian rabbis moved to Italy or transferred their texts to be published there; the Council of the Four Lands sent emissaries to Rome; and many eastern European Jewish artists spent years in Italy. The conference is planned to concentrate on those contacts and interactions, during the Early Modern and Modern periods.
The conference will take place online on July 22, 2021 and will be conducted in English. The keynote lecture will be given by Prof. Ilia Rodov of Bar-Ilan University.
Please send an abstract of your paper (maximum 300 words) and a CV (maximum two pages) to cja@mail.huji.ac.il by May 28, 2021.
The close contacts between Italy and eastern Europe have evolved over the centuries and Jews have been an integral part of this relationship.
The most known examples of Italian influences on eastern European Jews are the construction of synagogues in Poland and Lithuania by Italian architects; Jewish medics from Italy practicing in noble east European courts; or the selling of Hebrew books printed in Italy.
The interaction obviously was in the opposite direction: many Polish and Lithuanian rabbis moved to Italy or transferred their texts to be published there; the Council of the Four Lands sent emissaries to Rome; and many eastern European Jewish artists spent years in Italy. The conference is planned to concentrate on those contacts and interactions, during the Early Modern and Modern periods.
The conference will take place online on July 22, 2021 and will be conducted in English. The keynote lecture will be given by Prof. Ilia Rodov of Bar-Ilan University.
Please send an abstract of your paper (maximum 300 words) and a CV (maximum two pages) to cja@mail.huji.ac.il by May 28, 2021.
Research Interests: Jewish Studies, Eastern European and Russian Jewish History, Jewish History, Modern Jewish History, Jewish Art History, and 8 moreItalian Jewish history, Russian Jewish history and culture, Eastern European Jewish Studies, Jewish Art In Italy, Lithuanian Jewish Culture, Italian-Jewish Studies, Polish Jewish History and Culture, and Storia degli ebrei in Italia
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In this paper I would like to question the concept of fortress synagogue or fortified synagogue, that is a building of a synagogue that was built in such a way as to repel enemy's attack.
Research Interests:
Program for The Center for Jewish Art's International Workshop on
'Synagogue Wall Paintings: Research, Preservation, Presentation,"
which will take place at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at September 13-14, 2016.
'Synagogue Wall Paintings: Research, Preservation, Presentation,"
which will take place at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at September 13-14, 2016.
Research Interests:
Vladimir Levin is a leading Israeli historian, and since 2011, he has been the director of the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He earned a PhD in Russian and East European Jewish Studies from the Hebrew... more
Vladimir Levin is a leading Israeli
historian, and since 2011, he has been the director of
the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem. He earned a PhD in Russian and East European
Jewish Studies from the Hebrew University in 2007. Levin
is the author of From Revolution to War: Jewish Politics
in Russia, 1907–1914 (2016) and many articles on Jewish
history, including synagogue architecture. He is a coeditor
of Synagogue in Lithuania: A Catalogue (2010–2012),
and his latest two-volume book is titled Synagogues in
Ukraine: Volhynia (2017) which he wrote together with
Sergey R. Kravtsov. At the Center for Jewish Art, he mainly
deals with research and documentation of synagogues,
cemeteries and Jewish ritual objects. The great success
of the Center is the Bezalel Narkiss Index of Jewish
Art which now includes c. 340,000 images of objects
belonging to the field of Jewish visual culture.
historian, and since 2011, he has been the director of
the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem. He earned a PhD in Russian and East European
Jewish Studies from the Hebrew University in 2007. Levin
is the author of From Revolution to War: Jewish Politics
in Russia, 1907–1914 (2016) and many articles on Jewish
history, including synagogue architecture. He is a coeditor
of Synagogue in Lithuania: A Catalogue (2010–2012),
and his latest two-volume book is titled Synagogues in
Ukraine: Volhynia (2017) which he wrote together with
Sergey R. Kravtsov. At the Center for Jewish Art, he mainly
deals with research and documentation of synagogues,
cemeteries and Jewish ritual objects. The great success
of the Center is the Bezalel Narkiss Index of Jewish
Art which now includes c. 340,000 images of objects
belonging to the field of Jewish visual culture.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In The Making of Jewish Revolutionaires in the Pale of Settlement, Inna Shtakser presents the story of Jewish working class youth at the time of the first Russian Revolution of 1905–1907. It tells of the emotional journey of revolutionary... more
In The Making of Jewish Revolutionaires in the Pale of Settlement, Inna Shtakser presents the story of Jewish working class youth at the time of the first Russian Revolution of 1905–1907. It tells of the emotional journey of revolutionary workers: the abandonment of the Jewish community, the adoption of a new identity as a working class revolutionary, and the return to that community at a time of trouble – during the anti-Jewish pogroms. It is the identities and feelings that are at the center of the author’s attention. The research is substantiated by two main types of sources, both held in the State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF). The first type consists of the letters of young Jews involved in revolutionary activities, which were intercepted and copied by the Russian political police and have thus survived to our times. The second source is autobiographies лингвистическая группа рассеялась по миру после распада СССР. В настоящее время абсолютное большинство бухарских евреев живет за пределами Средней Азии: большинство в Израиле, где достаточно активно участвует в политической и общественной жизни еврейского государства,7 а также в Соединенных Штатах, Германии, России и других странах. Работа Кагановича восстанавливает сложный имперский контекст эволюции этой общины в диалоге и противостоянии с центральной, региональной и локальной властями, различными конфессиональными группами, экономическими сетями и агентами модернизации. Таким образом, эта книга задает модель для дальнейшего изучения эволюции бухарских евреев в советском и постсоветском контексте.