A Papercut Shiviti [Poland: ca. 1900]

Papercuts were an especially popular form of folk art among the Jews of Poland in the 19th and 20th centuries. Plaques such as these were hung in synagogues and Jewish homes to serve as a constant reminder of God's presence. This decorative wall hanging, known as a Shiviti, derives its name from the Hebrew verse prominently inscribed in the center of the plaque: Shiviti ha-Shem le-Negdi Tamid ("I have set the Lord before me always," Psalms 16:8).   Beneath this verse, is a stylized illustration of the menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum used in the Temple in Jerusalem. A distinctive element found incorporated in most Shiviti plaques, the menorah is typically inscribed with the words of Psalm 67. The depiction of the psalm in this form is designed to remind the worshipper of the Temple and its implements, and to encourage the anticipation of its eventual restoration and redemption. The rampant lions, the image of the menorah, and the variety of biblical, kabbalistic and moralistic texts found on this papercut, are all standard decorative motifs of Eastern European Jewish folk art.