A Rare Decorated Sukkah Plaque, [Germany]: 1796

On the festival of Sukkot, Jews erect a temporary structure known as a sukkah (booth) in which all meals are eaten. In many communities, it is customary to decorate the booth with a variety of ornaments. This extremely rare hand-colored engraving is a remarkable example of an eighteenth-century print intended to be hung on the sukkah wall. Almost no other eighteenth-century examples of this genre are extant, since the plaques’ exposure to the elements over the weeklong holiday usually resulted in their deterioration.

A biblical verse relating to the holiday of Sukkot—“You shall live in booths seven days” (Lev. 23:42)—is inscribed in the central panel, and the Hebrew date 5557 (1796) is penned in the cartouche at the top. The figures of Moses and Aaron framing the central panel are a common decorative motif found on the title pages of many Hebrew books, as are the winged angels who hold the cartouche with the Hebrew date aloft.

Two fragmentary plaques with identical frames are extant. The first was discovered in a genizah in Bergheim, Germany, and is inscribed with the text of the berakhah aharonah, a shortened version of the grace after meals. The second, also dated 5557, is inscribed with the words zeh ha-shulhan (“This is the table;” see Ezek. 41:22) and is associated with the Sabbath and festival tables.

Physical Description

Ink and gouache on paper (9 1/2 x 6 1/2 in.; 241 x 165 mm). Framed. Small portion of upper-left corner lacking.

Literature

Héritage inespéré: Objets cachés au coeur des synagogues (Strasbourg: Musées de la Ville de Strasbourg, 2016), 152-153.