Objects

The brooch was made to order from a mezuzah that Pola Najder had received from her sister Bela as a gift from Israel. A mezuzah is a term for a small case containing a roll of parchment with the verses from the Torah (Dt 6: 4-9 and 11: 13-21) – a fragment of the daily prayer Shema Israel– handwritten by a sofer. According to the Jewish tradition, the mezuzah is hung on the outer frame of the front door so that people crossing the threshold of the house can touch it with the fingers of their right hand as a sign of love and respect for God's omnipotence. The object, despite its low material value (a souvenir made of metal alloy), has a great emotional value and tells us about Pola's attachment to Jewish tradition and culture, the manifestations of which were completely absent in post-war Poland.

Marta Frączkiewicz