Objekte

Judaica Stadtmuseum Trier

Fragment of a Torah scroll from the old Trier synagogue on the Zuckerberg

Parchment

The Hebrew word torah means ‘teaching’, but the concept is used to mean a number of different things. In its narrowest sense, it refers to the Five Books of Moses, which the Israelites received on Mount Sinai, as the Torah describes. A Torah scroll is a fundamental accoutrement of every synagogue. Passages from the Torah are read aloud during religious services. This fragment was rescued when Trier’s synagogue on the Zuckerberg was desecrated and destroyed on 9 November 1938.

Stadtmuseum Simeonstift Trier, lent by the Jewish community of Trier

Curtain for a Torah ark

Textile, 1950s

The custom of keeping Torah scrolls in a Torah ark dates back to antiquity. The ark is usually recessed into the eastern wall of the synagogue, facing Jerusalem. As seen here, it is covered by a curtain known as a parochet. For special occasions (the three pilgrim festivals and the Ten Days of Repentance), the normal parochet is replaced by a white one, while on the annual fast day, known as Tisha B’Av, it is removed altogether. Popular decorative motifs are the crown, symbolising God, lions, referring to the tribe of Judah, the Tablets of the Law, and the twin pillars of the Temple of Solomon.

Stadtmuseum Simeonstift Trier, lent by the Jewish community of Trier

Torah wimpel

Textile, 19th century

Velvet or silk Torah wimpels embroidered with blessings were given to boys at the age of about three to signify their entering the Jewish congregation. Crowns, commandment tablets, and lions are typical decorative motifs. The wimple was used to decorate the Torah when a boy celebrated his bar mitzvah and later at his wedding.

Stadtmuseum Simeonstift Trier, inv. no. VII 829

Mizrah wall plaque with wreath of oak leaves

Coloured etching, 19th c.

To show worshippers the direction of Jerusalem, which Jews must face while praying, many synagogues and private houses had mizrah plaques hanging on their east-facing walls. Pious Jews would gather to pray in front of these plaques three times a day. The Hebrew inscription on this example reads: “Psalm 113 / From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the Lord’s name is to be praised. / EAST / The direction from which the Holy Spirit comes. / Psalm 16 / I have set the Lord always before me.”

Stadtmuseum Simeonstift Trier, inv. no. V 997

Shabbat lamp

Brass, 19th c.

In Jewish households, Shabbat lamps are lit for the traditional Sabbath meal on Friday evenings. Made of bronze, brass, or silver and suspended from the ceiling, they are often star-shaped, with multiple nozzles and a drip pan hung below.

Stadtmuseum Simeonstift Trier, inv. no. X 724

Passover Seder plate

Pewter, 1748

The Passover Seder marks the beginning of the Jewish Passover holiday, as Jewish families commemorate the Exodus from Egypt with a highly ritualised evening meal. The table is laden with dishes with symbolic meaning, recalling the Israelites’ escape from captivity in Egypt: matzah (unleavened bread, symbolising their hasty departure), saltwater or vinegar (symbolising their tears over the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem), a Seder plate filled with more symbolic foodstuffs, and a beaker of wine for the Prophet Elijah.

Stadtmuseum Simeonstift Trier, inv. no. X 979

Roman oil lamp with seven-branched candelabrum (menorah)

Replica of an original in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier

This ancient oil lamp, which probably came originally from North Africa, was found in Trier in 1901 during drain-laying work on the corner of Hauptmarkt and Judengasse. In 1930 it was examined by Trier’s chief rabbi, the Jewish scholar Dr. Adolf Altmann (1879–1944), who interpreted it as evidence of the existence of a Jewish community in Trier in Roman times. Dr. Altmann was later murdered by the National Socialists.

„Stolperstein“ for Esther Wolff, née Levy

Brass and cement, 2004

The Cologne-based artist Gunter Demnig has been laying „Stolpersteine“ in memory of the victims of National Socialist terror since 1996, including in Trier since 2005. There are now more than 200 in the city. The example on display in the Simeonstift City Museum in Trier is a „trial stumbling block“ that Gunter Demnig brought with him as a demonstration object when he presented the project in Trier.

Stadtmuseum Simeonstift Trier, inv. no. X 954

Gravestones

Jacob’s gravestone

Trier, Dietrichstrasse, erected between 16 September 1262 and 5 September 1263

Five surviving lines of Hebrew inscription, translation after E.L. Rapp:

This stone / was erected / at the head of the boy / called Jakob, son of Herr Samuel, / who was buried in the year 5023. / [---].

Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Sandstone – inv. 1911,422 (Rapp no. 1)

Frau Belkin’s gravestone

Trier, corner of Viehmarktplatz and Viehmarktstrasse, dated 9 February 1349

Twelve-line Hebrew inscription, translation after E.L. Rapp/W. Binsfeld:

This is / the gravestone of Frau / Belkin, the daughter of Herr Salomo, / who died with a good name / on Monday, the 20th day / in the first month of Adar in the year / 109 of the / 6th millennium. May her soul rest in peace / be bound up in the bond of eternal life with the other righteous men and women of the world. / Amen, Amen, / Sela.

Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Sandstone – inv. ST 6510a (Rapp no. 6)

Jewish gravestone, subsequently re-shaped into a cross

Trier, Jüdemerstrasse, dated 25 January or 24 February 1346

Only the lower right-hand section of the gravestone survives, with traces of the last four lines of a Hebrew inscription, translation after E.L. Rapp:

[---] / to whom they gave rest [---] / at the beginning of the month of Adar [---] / in the year [5]106 of the [shortened] calendar. / Amen, [Sela].

After the desecration of the Jewish cemetery, the gravestone was reshaped into a cross, probably to demonstrate the supremacy of Christianity over the Jewish faith.

Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Sandstone – unnumbered (Rapp no. 3)

Gravestone of a female martyr

Find site unknown, erected between 6 September 1347 and 24 August 1348

Fragment of an eight-line Hebrew inscription, translation after E.L. Rapp/A. Haller:

[This] monument, / [erected] at the head of Frau / [--- who] was killed / [--- for] sanctifying God’s name/ [in the year 10]8 of the [shortened] calendar / [--- in the] 6th [millennium] / [---] Amen, / [---] Amen.

The words “for sanctifying God’s name” show that the deceased was a martyr, murdered for her faith.

Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Sandstone – no number (Rapp no. 5)

„Complete practical cookbook for the Jewish kitchen“ by Bertha Gumprich

Printed in Trier by Kaufmann & Co, first published in 1888

A bestseller at the time - the Jewish cookbook by Bertha Gumprich. Published in Trier, the book is a living symbol of the rich Jewish everyday culture in the city and countryside, as it succeeded in popularizing Jewish cuisine and regional dishes. The book was also very popular as a birthday present for girls from Christian families!

With regard to the initially self-published work, Gumprich ambitiously states that despite the large number of books, »there is a decided lack of a good Jewish cookbook«, because: »The ... existing cookbooks are either not Jewish or not practical«.

BETE'AVÓN - Bon appétit!

Scientific library of the city of Trier, shelfmark: 23 A 557 (fifth, significantly enlarged and improved edition, ca. 1901) / contribution as object of the month July 2023

Moving Mishnah - a product of the Jewish art of printing

A book from Italy, rarer than the Gutenberg Bible

In cosmopolitan Sabbioneta, Jews and their artistic creations were also welcome, but they were spared the autodafés of Jewish writings: in the 16th century, experts from half of Europe worked in the workshop of the printer Foà, their printed products were an intercultural project, Christians and Jews complemented each other. For example, reprints of burnt Hebrew books were produced, including a Mishnah (the basis of the Talmud).

After Jewish culture was also destroyed in Sabbioneta, the craftsmen scattered to different parts of the world, which is why the Mishnah, a copy of which the city library also owns, was completed in Mantua.

You can find out more about the elaborately designed, rare print and its role in Jewish culture in Trier in the Object of the Month April 2021.

Scientific Library of the City of Trier, shelfmarks: Ju 6 to Ju 8 (individual volumes, work incomplete) / Object of the Month April 2021

Hebrew fragments from the city library

Hidden texts from Trier and Eberhardsklausen

Several hundred handwritten fragments comprise the collection of Hebrew text fragments in the scientific city library. The fragments, most of which come from the bindings of the Eberhardsklausen holdings, are considered the most important such collection in Germany - including important new discoveries.

Together with the few fragments from the Trier monasteries and the cathedral, the question arises as to why these leaves and strips, which were intended to stabilize the binding, are so often found in the library: Since orthodox Jews were forbidden to sell their texts, it can be assumed that the destruction and loss of Jewish literature occurred after pogroms, for example.

Manuscript fragments from the Scientific Library of the City of Trier, described in: »Fragments of medieval manuscripts in the vault of the Trier City Library« and the »Hundred Highlights« (there No. 15 et al.)

»For the pure love of science«: prints from the Maas and Mayer brothers in Trier

Media start-up in 19th century Trier: colonial goods, paper trade, printing works, publishing house

Starting out from what was then known as a colonial goods shop, the entrepreneurial sons Maas and merchant Adolph Mayer from Trier founded a kind of start-up in 1867, as one might say today. Business areas: Paper production, book printing and publishing - they specialized in Jewish literary history.

And so a three-volume anthology of 'Jewish literature since the end of the canon' (1894/96) was published in the company's environment, or more precisely in the publishing house of Sigmund Mayer, A. Mayer's younger brother, which was spun off from it.

It can be found in the City Library under the shelfmarks 20 A 489 to 20 A 491 and underlines the publisher's self-image: according to S. Mayer in the preface to an earlier publishing production, they printed »without any material purpose out of pure love for science«.

Scientific library of the city of Trier, shelfmarks: 20 A 489 to 20 A 491 / object of the month March 2021