American Girls was one of my favorite series of books as a girl, because they were so history-based and took on monumental social issues of the day. I was so saddened to read this article and to hear that the franchise has changed for the worse!
And lastly, this is incredible. "Marranos" is the term for Jews in Spain and Portugal who hid their Jewish identity during the Inquisition (and where my dad traced our name from, as well). The item below is not an original piece of art, but recreated from that time period. It's seemingly an innocuous teapot, but in reality contains everything a Jewish family would need to practice the religion and observe the holidays. I'm copying the photos of the original link here in full because it's stunning. It makes me proud to be part of such an industrious people... but also sad that such items were necessary throughout history. No matter what emotions it brings up though - it's just a downright brilliant design!
The complete teapot
Remove the top…
It's a hidden dreidel
Remove the next layer
A perfume/spice holder [for Havdallah, the close of Shabbat]
Opened
The Hebrew word on the bottom says בשמים (basmim), “spices or perfumes”
The next layer is…
The eternal flame.
The Front View - The inscription reads, “The light of God is man’s soul.”
But there’s another secret:
A complete megilla (the scroll containing the biblical narrative of the Book of Esther, traditionally read in synagogues to celebrate the festival of Purim.)
The main body is designed to hold an etrog, the yellow citron or Citrus medica used by Jews on the week-long holiday of Sukkot.
The words say “pri etz hadar” (the fruit of the majestic tree), a biblical reference to the etrog.
Inside
Candlesticks for Shabbos
Closeup of candlesticks
Remove the flowered tray, and under the candlesticks is…
A Seder plate for Pesach.
Complete
But there’s one more thing.
A menorah for Hanukkah.
With the shammash (“servant”), the 9th light of the menorah used to light the other 8 candles.
Reassembled
Wow! that is both utterly amazing at the ingenuity (and beauty!) and distressing at the necessity for it.
ReplyDelete