Pride symbols of Italian Judaism, the exhibition at Nahon Museum of Jerusalem

In 1620, Rachele Olivetti embroiders a beautiful parochet (curtain that covers the Aron Kodesh, chamber where the Tora is kept) in view of her wedding. In the center, between different ornaments, she places her family’s coat of arms and that of her husband-to-be, Yehuda Montefiori, matched with an elegant and romantic rhymed description. As a matter of fact, when referring to Montefiori’s coat of arms, a lion holding a lily, she describes it as “beautiful and charming”. “It’s quite clear that we are dealing with a wordplay: the lion is not only the symbol of Montefiori family, but it is also Yehuda’s Italian name. A beautiful yet unusual embroidery on a Parochet. That is the perfect example to explain the meaning of our exhibition that, through symbols and coats of arms, tells a peculiar aspect of Italian Judaism”. This exhibition, named “Family Matters”, has been recently inaugurated at Nahon Museum of Jerusalem. Daniel Niv, curator of the museum and the exhibition, explained the meaning to our periodical Pagine Ebraiche. “The idea came from my studies. Some years ago, I attended a course at the Jewish University with professor Shalom Sabar, expert in Jewish art, and I analyzed the theme of symbols and coats of arms used by Jewish families over the centuries. Having also some ancestors from Ferrara, I mainly focused on the Italian reality”.
It is a very peculiar reality in this regard, explains Niv. Especially referring to the large diffusion of these symbols. “The Italian Jews, at their peak, didn’t exceed 50.000 units, yet there is evidence of around 250 families linked to at least one family symbol. Such a high number is not found in any other country and could be an interesting perspective to understand the Jewish Italian society.
It was from here, that the idea of introducing this topic to the visitors of Nahon Museum in Jerusalem through its objects came. The symbols on the kettubot, the parochot and the hannukiot can convey information on the social and cultural reality of single families, as well as the context in which they lived”. Repeated symbols, like the rampant lion, are the evidence that there was not the exclusive right on the choice of the symbol itself. “There are some objects that are passed on from one generation to another and others who are passed from one family to another without necessarily being linked together. Concerning this, as in the case of a Meghillat Esther, where the coat of arms and the owner’s name do not correspond. Hence the question: how were these objects passed from one owner to another? Conversely, there are other examples of coats of arms still used by the same families. “Bemporad Family (Ben Porat) is above all known as the owner of the ‘Bumford & Sons’ publishing house, but another branch of the family dealt with banks, especially in Florence and Siena. – As explained in the exhibition – The publisher side of the family didn’t opt for a publishing trademark, unlike Jewish pressmen did in the past centuries, while the banks owners opted for a symbol that can still be seen today on the building of two banks in Florence and Siena, financed by the members of the family. The name of the family, as well as its symbol, come from the blessing of Jacob to his son Joseph, describing a pouring fountain besides tall trees”. Now the symbol of Ben Porat family can be seen engraved on a ring in the exhibition. “What is significant – explains the curator of Nahon Museum – is that women of the family, both in Israel and Italy, wear proudly a ring with that coat of arms still today. The exhibition aims to show this connection that goes beyond the centuries and reaches the present”. The exhibition at Nahon Museum, claim Niv, is divided into four sections. The first introduces the meaning of the symbols and stresses the fact that they often are the same as in Christian societies, and only partially recall Jewish themes. The second one examine the difference between the use of symbols in private and public spaces, between the house and the synagogue. “In general, coats of arms appear more on personal objects used at home, while those given to the synagogues bore the giver’s name rather than their family symbol”.
The third part of the exhibition is dedicated to weddings, with the above-mentioned parochet embroidered by Rachele Olivetti. “Lastly, the fourth exhibition explains to Israeli visitors the importance of family in the Italian Jewish society, which is an aspect that is certainly shared by all Jews, but with the peculiarity of tracing ancestors who lived many centuries earlier in the family tree. Something to be proud of, as different coats of arms narrate”.

Translated by Alice Pugliese and revised by Gianluca Pace, students at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of the University of Trieste, interns at the newspaper office of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities.