Yesterday, we went to the Israel Museum. We had already been there to see the Dead Sea scrolls and a model of the Old City, but this time we went to an exhibit about Jewish life in the Middle Ages. We went inside multiple reconstructions of synagogues from different parts of the world. What I saw that interested me the most was a painted sukkah. The deller family commissioned the artwork in the nineteenth century, and held on to it for decades. A picture of the sukkah can be found here on the Israel Museum website. http://www.english.imjnet.org.il/popup?c0=13557
In 1935, it was smuggled out of Germany in order to preserve it. I have never seen a sukkah that has been painted before, so it was very new to me. It's a very interesting look into the traditions of Jews in Europe. The paintings depicted the city of Jerusalem. It's pretty cool to think that while these Jews were living in Germany, they were creating images of the holy city, and now here I am living just outside of it. It was one of many moments that made me feel so lucky to be here. I also think it's really special that the sukkah was saved. During the holocaust, many Jewish artifacts were destroyed, making it harder to gain an understanding of what life was like before. But thankfully, some things made it out, and we can go to museums to learn and see actual objects that were part of Jewish life during that time.