Modern Ritual: From Bezalel to Wolpert

This lamp was designed by Ze'ev Raban (1890-1970), born Wolf Rawicki in Lodz, Poland. Raban trained at the School of Applied Art in Munich as well as in Paris and Brussels and emigrated to Palestine in 1912. Beginning in 1914 his designs could be found on many Bezalel creations.

The backplate features two lions crouching above stylized wings that symbolize the angels that guard the Ark of the Covenant, a motif found in other Bezalel works.

The Bezalel School created secular as well as religious items. These included souvenirs, jewelry, vessels, carpets and other types of objects for personal and domestic use. Whether secular or ceremonial, they were decorated with themes connected to the Land of Israel and featured verses from the Bible. Bezalel artists combined Eastern and Western motifs as well as indigenous materials and craft skills. Included on this lidded box, which could have been used for powder, are the phrases: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me?" and "If not now, when?" (Ethics of the Fathers 1:14).

The lid includes lines from Psalm 137: "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither; Let my tongue stick to my palate if I cease to think of you." The spies carrying grapes symbolize abundance and prosperity.

The brass frame is etched with leaves and vines, clusters of grapes and peacocks, as well as Bezalel and Jerusalem in stylized Hebrew characters.

A frequent motif on its products, the School's buildings with their easily recognizable crenellated towers behind a stone wall are depicted on an applied silver emblem on the frame.

This Damascene-work plate features a five-branched menorah and inscriptions of biblical verses in delicately inlaid silver. At the bottom center of the inner circle, Bezalel is written in stylized Hebrew characters.

The plate also features the Bezalel School's familiar buildings which originate from the 1880s.

This lamp was designed in 1939 and manufactured in the 1970s, many years after Wolpert moved to New York to head the Tobe Pascher Workshop at the Jewish Museum in 1956.

Lions, a common ornamental motif on Hanukkah lamps, are integral to Wolpert's design of this modern lamp functioning as part of its structural support to connect the oil holders to the base.

The Hebrew calligraphy at the top of this lamp is integrated into the overall design. The phrase, "It is fitting to praise you," is from "Rock of Ages" (Ma'oz Tzur), a liturgical poem sung on Hanukkah.

This lamp was designed by Wolpert in Israel. Melding art and science, its glass oil containers come from the science laboratory of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

The Hebrew phrase "It is desirable to praise you" is integral to the design of this lamp expressing the sacred and spiritual power of the Hebrew alphabet.