THE LIFE OF THE SYNAGOGUE
— from the William A. Rosenthal Judaica Collection —
Marlene & Nathan Addlestone Library, College of Charleston
view the exhibition here
The Life of the Synagogue is an online exhibition curated by 2006 Fitch Fellow Samuel Gruber for the College of Charleston. Now live, the official launch is May 3rd, 2015.
The Life of the Synagogue is a tribute to both the central role of the synagogue in Jewish life and the man whose passion for collecting made this exhibit possible. Curated by Samuel D. Gruber, Sarah Glover, and Amy Lazarus, the exhibit contains 76 items selected from the William A. Rosenthall Judaica Collection at the College of Charleston, one of the largest accessible collections of imagery related to synagogues and other aspects of Jewish life and culture around the world. The exhibit is divided into nine sections, exploring topics ranging from synagogue building and dedications to the celebration of life cycle events and festivals to the varied contributions of women. These images offer a broad understanding of the history of synagogue architecture and design, in addition to shedding light on the lives, customs, and religious practices of the people within the four walls of the synagogue.
In engravings, lithographs, postcards, newspaper illustrations, and other formats, the history, religious practices, customs, and daily activities of Jewish communities around the world appear with indelible clarity. The strength of the Rosenthall Collection lies in postcards and prints, but there is a similar wealth of other materials, such as periodicals, clippings, philatelic materials, greeting cards, photographs, textiles, and medals drawn from every continent except Antarctica, including more than a dozen languages, and spanning five centuries. The synagogue is a major focus of the collection. To make a selection for the exhibit, thousands of postcards, hundreds of prints, and all sorts of ephemera were examined, along with other materials that illuminate the design of synagogue buildings and the activities that took place within and around them.
Visit the online exhibition to learn more.
Photo: “Die Synagogue zu Coeln” Lithograph by J. Hoegg after a watercolor by Carl Emanuel Conrad; Printed and published by lith. Inst. v. Levy Elkan, Bäumer & Co., Düsseldorf1861