Genisa Niederzissen
The Genisa Niederzissen of the former synagogue in Niederzissen , a local community in the Ahrweiler district in Rhineland-Palatinate , is one of the most important finds on Jewish culture in Germany, along with the Genisa finds from Veitshöchheim and Reckendorf .
History and classification
The extensive find was salvaged before the fundamental renovation of the former synagogue in Niederzissen in 2011 and its reopening as a place of remembrance and meeting place. In addition to many single sheets of paper, scraps of paper and textiles, a large number of bundles were discovered in the synagogue's attic, under dust, dirt and mouse droppings, which were tied together with cords or threads and sometimes wrapped in torn cloths. They contained parchment manuscripts , printed matter, worn prayer books and other religious objects that had become unusable.
According to Jewish tradition, ritual objects and liturgical writings that could no longer be used after a long period of use were either buried in the cemetery or placed in a specially designated place. Most of the time - as in Niederzissen - the attic of the synagogue was used. This place is called Genisa (in the plural Genisot ), a word that comes from the Persian language and means treasury , archive , depot . In Yiddish the term Scheimess is used, which is derived from the Hebrew Shemot and refers to HaSchem , which is used to describe the name of God. All documents containing the name of God were filed in a genisa to protect them from desecration.
The finds from the Niederzissen synagogue are assigned to four subject areas by the authors of the documentation Testimonies of Jewish Life in Niederzissen : Religious manuscripts , Jewish printed works , testimonies of social and economic history , and the textile find . The Niederzissen textile finds are the most extensive that have ever been recovered in a Genisa. The oldest object of the pieces evaluated so far is the Torah pennant ( Mappa ) for Alexander bar Jehuda from 1653.
Individual finds are exhibited in the exhibition room adjoining the synagogue.
Religious manuscripts
The pages of three Torah scrolls , which were presumably exchanged from individual scrolls , belong to the discovery of religious manuscripts . The Torah contained the text of the five books of Moses, which was read aloud once a year in the synagogue. A Torarolla was made from parchment of calf, sheep or goat skin according to special regulations and was written on by a trained scribe ( sofer ) with special ink in Hebrew , non-vocalized letters. It was considered a very valuable commodity and was protected by a Torah mantle and adorned with a crown. In order to avoid contact with the hands, a Torah pointer ( Jad ) was used when reading the Torah . Torah scrolls that had become unusable were also buried in the cemetery.
Over thirty parchment manuscripts were phylacteries ( tefillin ) and texts that had been used for doorpost capsules ( mezuzah ). They were made according to the same rules that apply to the Torah scrolls. The phylacteries were written in very small letters on one side on narrow strips of parchment and placed in leather capsules. A distinction is made between phylacteries that are wrapped around the arm and phylacteries that are placed around the forehead. The latter contain four strips of parchment. After use, the leather straps were kept in small cloth bags.
Like the religious manuscripts, marriage contracts ( ketubba ), engagement agreements (tenaim), prayer slips, etc. stored in the Genisa. A text fragment, a paper from the 19th century with one-sided square script, contains instructions for attaching the tassels ( zizit ) to the small prayer shawl and putting on the prayer shawl ( tallit ) in the morning. A decorative leaf with the inscription Misrach (East) in Hebrew letters was intended to indicate the direction of prayer to the Temple of Jerusalem. It was hung in rooms that were used for prayer.
A Kabbalistic Sefirot tree is painted in ink on a torn sheet and annotated. A sheet of paper written on both sides contains the list of daily psalms for the entire year. From a notebook that was previously tied together with a thread, there are still some leaves that have been eaten by mice and on which the morning prayers for Yom Kippur are recorded in practiced handwriting.
A small book contains scriptures copied in square script. The name of the writer, Mordechai ben Susmann from Breisig (real name Max Steinberg, born November 30, 1800 in Niederbreisig) and the year 576 (1815/16) are also recorded. Inserted into a prayer book were four handwritten double pages from a Mohel book in which the circumciser noted names and dates. It contained entries from the period 1795 to 1809.
Handwritten prayer book title pages are particularly common in the Niederzissen Genisa. Since the title pages were usually the first to be worn out, a parishioner probably replaced them with handwritten copies, which he provided with frames and small decorations.
Jewish printing works
As in most of the previous Genisa finds, the majority of the finds in Niederzissen consist of printed works, printed book pages, scraps and parts of books, which, however, have by no means been evaluated. Most of the books date from the 18th and first half of the 19th century and were mainly produced in southern German printing works in Sulzbach , Fürth and Frankfurt am Main . These offered much cheaper editions of religious utility literature than the large Amsterdam printing houses, which dominated the Hebrew book industry in the 18th century and were famous for their lavishly produced volumes.
The Niederzissen Genisa contains an extensive volume of daily prayers (tefillot) with psalms and supplications, which was published by Solomon Proops in Amsterdam in 1729/30 . The title page and opening section have been lost and an unprinted page is provided with scribbles.
Although images were not common in Jewish books, there are several illustrations in the printed works of the Niederzissen find. In the book Sefer Jossipon (Das Buch Jossipon), which was published by Uri Feiwesh ha-Levi in Amsterdam in 1660/61 , a woodcut after Hans Holbein the Younger illustrates the battle of the Israelites against the Amalekites on their way through the desert. In addition to the fighting, Aaron and Hur are depicted, who hold Moses under the arms so that he can keep his hands up, which brings about the victory of the Israelites.
Social and economic history evidence
The Niederzissen Genisa finds also include documents about the trading activities of the local Jews, such as cattle trade agreements, veterinary health certificates and certificates of origin for cattle to be sold. There are “receipts, invoices, reminders, payment and accounting books, as well as goods transport slips and receipts for road customs”, which are mostly in German, more rarely in Hebrew or Yiddish, some also in French.
In addition, there are pages with writing exercises, fragments of a teaching board on the Hebrew language and sheets of a writing and reading primer.
A particularly original document is the letter from 1807 from a Jewish soldier who was obliged to do military service for Napoleon Bonaparte during the coalition wars . The letter has a colored ink drawing depicting the author in a red and white uniform and wearing a high fur hat in front of tents in the background.
The textile find
Linda Wiesner distinguishes the textile finds into two types: those that were in personal use and those that were used in the synagogue. The more extensive part are the personally used textiles. These include many cloth bags in which phylacteries were kept, more rarely tallit bags for the large prayer shawl ( tallit ) and numerous small prayer shawls ( tallit katan ), which were often sewn together from reused fabric scraps. One of the more valuable tefillin bags comes from the second half of the 18th century. It consists of different, color-coordinated blue-green and yellow silk fabrics and is lined with raw linen.
The second genus includes two Torah curtains ( Parochet ) and some narrow transverse curtains (Kapporet). A Torah cloak has survived from the late 18th century , which was probably sewn from a wedding dress. It consists of blue-gray, brocaded silk and has a colorfully printed linen lining.
The Torawimpel can be assigned to both genera. These are the diapers that the infant wore when circumcised. They were washed, cut into four strips, and sewn together. The cloth, which was mostly woven from linen, was painted or embroidered and given the boy's name and a blessing. The Torah pennant played an important role in the bar mitzvah and wedding.
Torah pennant
Torah pennant
Torah pennant for Nathan bar Chajjim from 1888, with a picture of a Torah scroll and the inscription: "This is the Torah that was brought to us from Moshe"
Torah pennant for Nathan bar Chajjim from 1888, with a picture of a chuppah (wedding canopy ) and the inscription: “Voice of exultation and voice of joy. Voice of the groom and voice of the bride "
literature
- Falk Wiesemann , Richard Keuler, Andreas Lehnardt, Annette Weber: Evidence of Jewish life in Niederzissen. Genisa finds in the former synagogue . Kultur- und Heimatverein Niederzissen, Niederzissen 2012, ISBN 978-3-00-039493-5 .
Web links
- Former synagogue Niederzissen Kultur- und Heimatverein Niederzissen eV
Individual evidence
- ↑ Falk Wiesemann: Social and economic history testimonies . In: Falk Wiesemann (Ed.): Evidence of Jewish life in Niederzissen. Genisa finds in the former synagogue . Kultur- und Heimatverein Niederzissen, Niederzissen 2012, ISBN 978-3-00-039493-5 , p. 59.
- ↑ Linda Wiesner: The textile find . In: Falk Wiesemann (Ed.): Evidence of Jewish life in Niederzissen. Genisa finds in the former synagogue . Kultur- und Heimatverein Niederzissen, Niederzissen 2012, ISBN 978-3-00-039493-5 , p. 69.