Ritual objects

 

The objects presented in the exhibition from the collection of the Regional Historical Museum - Pazardzhik introduce Jewish religious ceremony.

The Torah scroll is kept in the synagogue in a special, richly decorated cabinet - a chest that stands in the eastern part of the temple. This casket (in Bulgaria it is called Aron Akodesh) is covered with a special richly embroidered curtain - a parochet -and, in addition to the plant elements, lions or deer holding a crown may be embroidered on it, and on days of fasting, a simple white cloth is laid. 

Parochet from Pazardzhik. Regional Historical Museum - Pazardzhik

 Shofar from Pazardzhik. Regional Historical Museum – Pazardzhik.

Shofar - a musical wind instrument made of ram's or goat's horn. The first mention of the sound of the shofar is in the Sinaitic revelation. The beginning of the year was announced with the sound of the shofar. The shofar is an obligatory attribute for Rosh Hashanah (New Year).

Ritual cups. Regional Historical Museum - Pazardzhik 

Ritual items also include dishes.There are seven fruits with which the land of Israel was blessed - wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates - and their images can be found in synagogues or on ritual objects.

The large wine cup has an important role in Jewish ritual life. There are special glasses for kiddush (Sabbath prayer), havdalah (end of Shabbat), for Passover or for a wedding ceremony. Large and small wine glasses have different shapes - with and without a stem – and are made of silver and decorated with engraved or embossed ornamentation, with views of cities, figures of animals, etc. Special dishes with designated places for symbolic foods are often decorated with scenes from the Passover Haggadah and are used during the holiday meal (Seder). There are also those intended as a gift on the holiday of Purim. The incense vessel (hadas, literally myrtle) is used in the havdalah ceremony, at the end of the Sabbath day, and has a variety of shapes - fruit, flowers, gothic towers, etc.

Synagogue utensils also include a box (bowl) for charitable collections of money, the rabbi's chair, the tablet with the ten commandments, the ritual cups and wash basins at the entrance, decorated with inscriptions and sometimes with ornamentation, the shofar, the Passover and Sabbath covers and napkins , a silver etrog box (citron, one of the four types of plants - arbaah minim, which are used by Jews on the Sukkot holiday), special knives for preparing matzah, wooden rattles for the children when reading Megillat Esther (the children must use them to silence any mention of Haman's name in the festive celebration of Purim).