2008 Woodie Awards
Memorbuch from Auras on Gottesman Display
Oliver Rosenberg
Issue date: 12/6/04 Section: Features
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The Yeshiva library is more than just five floors of books, study areas, and computer terminals. It is, in fact, a location of culture and history. Witness the fourth floor of the Mendel Gottesman library, where there is a new exhibit called "Auras: Memorbuch of a Jewish Community," which displays elaborate illustrations of Jewish life and history.
A memorbuch is a manuscript that consists of liturgy. Memorbuchs generally have an attached appendix that lists the names of the people of the community that have passed away, and it is periodically updated.
Rabbi Dr. Louis Lewin owned the memorbuch as part of his own Jewish rare book and manuscript collection. In 1939, his son Daniel went to London, England with the manuscripts and after World War II, they were purchased by Yeshiva.
This is just the second exhibit that has ever been displayed solely by the library. Years ago, when the library also housed the Yeshiva University Museum (YUM), displays were exhibited under the charge of outside curators. Last year's exhibit, "New World-Old Books," displayed books of Jewish interest made in the United States when the American Jewish community was still in its infancy.
The current memorbuch was completed in Breslau in July, 1765, and was later used by the nearby community of Auras. The community, originally known as Silesia, Germany, is presently known as Uraz, Poland. Shulamith Berger, one of the exhibit's curators, said that this manuscript was a possession of the community that they valued highly and that the community took with them when as they moved between Breslau and Auras.
The Auras memorbuch's illustrations were drawn by its scribe, Binyamin Ze'ev (Wolff Jacob) ben Elyakim Getsel Kats of Kempen. Rhoda Terry-Seidenberg, a curator of the exhibit, pointed out that the drawings are very representative of the time period utilizing the earlier Baroque style.
Aside from the memorbuch's illustrations, there is a careful usage of societal groupings to help illustrate the Jewish themes. For example, the dedication page has large drawings of the Bible's Moses and Aaron with the city of Jerusalem below and an eye on top. Moses has two rays of light (also known as "horns") emanating from his head. The city of Jerusalem shows ruins of Roman columns; it also has a clock tower and other buildings that appear very European. Additionally, the eye resembles the eye on the One Dollar Bill, which is interesting to note since the Declaration of Independence was written only one year later.
A memorbuch is a manuscript that consists of liturgy. Memorbuchs generally have an attached appendix that lists the names of the people of the community that have passed away, and it is periodically updated.
Rabbi Dr. Louis Lewin owned the memorbuch as part of his own Jewish rare book and manuscript collection. In 1939, his son Daniel went to London, England with the manuscripts and after World War II, they were purchased by Yeshiva.
This is just the second exhibit that has ever been displayed solely by the library. Years ago, when the library also housed the Yeshiva University Museum (YUM), displays were exhibited under the charge of outside curators. Last year's exhibit, "New World-Old Books," displayed books of Jewish interest made in the United States when the American Jewish community was still in its infancy.
The current memorbuch was completed in Breslau in July, 1765, and was later used by the nearby community of Auras. The community, originally known as Silesia, Germany, is presently known as Uraz, Poland. Shulamith Berger, one of the exhibit's curators, said that this manuscript was a possession of the community that they valued highly and that the community took with them when as they moved between Breslau and Auras.
The Auras memorbuch's illustrations were drawn by its scribe, Binyamin Ze'ev (Wolff Jacob) ben Elyakim Getsel Kats of Kempen. Rhoda Terry-Seidenberg, a curator of the exhibit, pointed out that the drawings are very representative of the time period utilizing the earlier Baroque style.
Aside from the memorbuch's illustrations, there is a careful usage of societal groupings to help illustrate the Jewish themes. For example, the dedication page has large drawings of the Bible's Moses and Aaron with the city of Jerusalem below and an eye on top. Moses has two rays of light (also known as "horns") emanating from his head. The city of Jerusalem shows ruins of Roman columns; it also has a clock tower and other buildings that appear very European. Additionally, the eye resembles the eye on the One Dollar Bill, which is interesting to note since the Declaration of Independence was written only one year later.