Plastic Judaica

Plastic Judaica
by Samuel D. Gruber

Plastic (phenol formaldehyde) memorial (yahrzeit) lights, replacing candles, in the collection of the Amsterdam Bakelite Collection. Photos: Samuel D. Gruber 2011.

As some of you know, for the past year I've been curator of the Plastics Collection at Syracuse University, and while have not given up my research and activism vis-a-vis Jewish art and architecture, I have launched into to a new work area. Usually, I just split my interests - plastics by day, and teaching "Art and Architecture of the Synagogue" at night. But occasionally I can bring these two seemingly disparate disciplines together.

One such occasion came last July, when I was in Cologne, Germany, to comment on the ongoing archaeological excavations of the medieval synagogue and Judengasse. I took the opportunity to visit the Amsterdam, and the Amsterdam Bakelite Collection of Reindert Groot, to discuss possibilities of collaboration. Besides showing me hundreds of notable plastic objects - mostly from the 1920s-1940s, Reindert knew I would want to see the above pictured plastic yahrzeit "candles." Today we are used to seeing plastic lights, including memorial lamps and Hanukah menorahs, but these are very early examples.

For the most part, despite its popularity for novelty items and souvenirs, plastic has been slow to find a foothold for religious use. In Judaism, to the best of my knowledge, plastic has not been used in synagogue ritual objects, especially those in association with the Torah. The concept of Hiddur Mitzvah (embellish the commandment) encourages the decoration of the Torah with fine art of precious materials and unique design and artistry, and cheap mass produced plastics simply do not fit the bill. But there are still plenty of plastic mezuzot on the market, and I would not be surprised to find some plastics - especially hard and bright acrylics - used in some contemporary Ark designs somewhere.

In 500 Judaica: Innovative Contemporary Ritual Art (Sterling Publishng, 2010) and I see that only two featured works include plastic - and these are textile works than include polyester fibers.

Plastics are widely used for celebratory purpose, such as Purim graggers and Hanukah dreidls, and I recently saw a youtube video advertising a plastic "shofar."



For Christians, especially Catholics, there are plastic rosary beads and crosses, and beginning in 1935 General Plastics,Inc. manufactured a plastic portable "sick call " kit so priests could easily carry candle bases, a holy water bottle and a crucifix when visiting the sick, and these and similar products were more widely used during World War II. That war was also the first time to my knowledge that plastic crosses were mass produced so that every solider who wanted could have one. Was there any sort of Jewish equivalent?

I'd love to hear about more plastics in Jewish and other religious contexts. Send me information, pictures, or even consider donating the objects to the Plastics Collection at Syracuse University.

Ruth Ellen Gruber's JTA column about our friend Maros Borsky:

Ruth Ellen Gruber's JTA column about our friend Maros Borsky:

In Slovakia, being strategic about preserving Jewish heritage

By Ruth Ellen Gruber · August 28, 2011

Maros Borsky, vice president of the Bratislava Jewish community, standing in the Orthodox synagogue in Zilina, Slovakia. The shul is one of the sites on his Slovak Jewish Heritage Route. (Ruth Elen Gruber)

RUTHLESS COSMOPOLITAN

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (JTA) -- In 1989, on the eve of the fall of communism, the American poet Jerome Rothenberg published a powerful series of poems called "Khurbn" that dealt with the impact of the Holocaust on Eastern Europe.

In one section, he recorded conversations he had had in Poland with local people who had little recollection of the flourishing pre-war Jewish presence.

"Were there once Jews here?" the poem goes. "Yes, they told us, yes they were sure there were, though there was no one here who could remember. What was a Jew like? they asked.

"No one is certain still if they exist."

I often think of this poem when I travel to far-flung places in Eastern and Central Europe, and it was certainly on my mind on a trip to Slovakia this August.


That's because yes, there are still Jews here, and the post-Communist revival has reinvigorated Jewish communities in the region.


But also, despite this, numbers are still so small that even in many places where Jews once made up large parts of the population, Jewish history and heritage have been, or run the risk of being, forgotten.


"Look," my friend Maros Borsky reminded me in Bratislava. "Kids who were born after 1989 don't even remember communism."

Borsky is trying to do something about this -- which is why I was in Slovakia.


Read the entire story here.

Belarus: Ivenetz Update - Synagogue Adaptive Reuse Begins

Ivanetz, Belarus. New door and window shutters on former synagogue. Photos: Jewish Heritage Research Group in Belarus

Belarus: Ivenetz Update - Synagogue Adaptive Reuse Begins

In May 2009 I wrote about the need to save the wooden synagogue of Ivanetz, Belarus. At that time local Jewish activists and preservationists were determining the feasibility of the project.
The building was used as a movie theater from the 1950s to the 1980s, and then as a dance club. Ironically and tragically, given the fate of the Ivenetz Jewish community, the last tenant was a private business which produced tombstones. The Belarus Jewish community obtained the building last year, and now the Jewish Heritage Research Group in Belarus is restoring it for use, probably as a Jewish research center and archive of Ivenets and region, as well as a Holocaust educational center.

I am happy to report that Yuri Dorn, Coordinator of Jewish Heritage Research Group in Belarus writes that the restoration project of the Ivenetz synagogue is moving forward. This summer a front door has been replaced and exterior protection blinds have been installed on part of the windows of the building. The next phase is to build the fence and to restore the original facade of the building.

Contributions are welcome to continue this work. Even small amounts can make a difference.

For more information about Jewish heritage sites in Belarus or to contribute to this project go to:www.jhrgbelarus.org

USA: Claudia Gould named new Jewish Museum director

(Almost) breaking news...almost all my memories of New York's Jewish Museum are of Joan Rosenbaum's Jewish Museum (true, I worked more with Judaica curator Vivian Mann, whose priorities and vision were somewhat different than Joan's). I'll write more about Joan's legacy for Jewish art, for Jewish museums and for New York City at a later date. She'll be a tough act to follow!

Claudia Gould named new Jewish Museum director

August 24, 2011

NEW YORK (JTA) -- The Jewish Museum of New York has named Claudia Gould as its new director.

Gould, director of the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, will succeed Joan Rosenbaum, who has served in the position for the last 30 years.

The 107-year-old museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan is dedicated to “the artistic and cultural heritage of the Jewish people," according to its mission statement.