Objects

A platter that was used as a vessel on which the challah was placed during the Shabbat (https://sztetl.org.pl/en/glossary/shabbat). Such use is proved by the Hebrew inscription placed on the platter, which signifies the blessing of bread spoken during the Shabbat: "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth." There should be two challas because of the memory of the double portion of manna received by the Israelites every Friday so that they could observe the Shabbat.

According to the rabbinical tradition, a vessel with ritual religious functions should have an aesthetic value, because it is intended for God. Therefore, it is not surprising that the dish was signed by the „Bracia Henneberg” [Henneberg Brothers] company, famous for the production of high-quality weighted silver- and bronzeware (you can read about the development and history of the company in the note on the ritual tray: MPOLIN-M152).

The presented dish is a shallow oval platter with a wide lip. It lacks a distinct foot; it has a flat, stepped cover with a protruding decoration in the form of a sitting lamb. There is an engraving at half height of the lid. It is the blessing pronounced before eating the bread, engraved here in Hebrew.

The blessing (from Hebrew b'racha) is an extremely important element in Judaism. Some of the most important blessings are related precisely with eating and drinking. They are intended to express gratitude to God as the Creator of the world. Forms of such thanksgiving were present as early as in the times of the Second Temple.

It is worth emphasising that the frequency of spoken blessings depends on the degree of religiosity in individual people. Lay and secularized Jews will only say them on major holidays, while in orthodox communities the amount and frequency of blessings is really high. There are blessings for leaving the toilet or for seeing a rainbow. A good field for observing the life of Orthodox Jews and their behaviour during holidays is the Israeli series "Shtisel".

The item has been donated to the museum by Jerzy Zając.

Natalia Różańska