Dedication of the Amsterdam Sefard synagogue built in 1675. Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde. By Bernard Picard. Paris, 1807. (Volume I. Page 4)
Prayer garment: tallit - Jewish prayer habit; tefillin - leather boxes attached with little straps to the forehead and arm, and containing scrolls with Torah extracts. Jew in tallit and tefillin at morning prayer (Volume I. Page 5)
Tzitzit (tallit katan) - Jewish prayer garment; candles lit by women on the Shabbath, matzoh; Arba'at Ha-Minim (4 species of plants for Sukkoth celebration rituals - willow, myrtle, palmtree branch, and etrog); mezuzah ("door jamb" in Hebrew) - a parchment scroll containing an extract from the Shema and fixed to the outer door jamb (Volume I. Page 6)
The Kohanim, descendants of Aaron, blessing the people during prayer. Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde. Bernard Picard. Paris, 1807. (Volume I. Page 7)
The bringing and the reading of the Torah scroll is the most solemn part of a divine service in a synagogue. The first to be called up to the Torah is a Kohanim, then a Levit, after which several more Jews are called up in due order. To be called up to the Torah is a great honor. (Volume i. Page 7)
The key moment of Rosh Hashanah is the blowing of the shofar (the ram horn). The shrill sound awakens the Jewish soul, making it shudder. Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde. Bernard Picard. Paris, 1807. (Volume I. Page 8)
Jews in Germany on Yom Kippur (Judgment Day) - it is the most important day of the year, a day of fasting and repentance. It falls on the tenth day of the Tishri, closing a decade of penitence (Volume I. Page 8)
The lady of the house leaves bread crumbs everywhere, and the rest of the family gather them - it is a Jewish tradition in the preparation for the Passover. Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde. Bernard Picard. Paris, 1807. (Volume I. Page 9)
Pesah Seder in a family of Portuguese Jews. Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde. Bernard Picard. Paris, 1807. (Volume I. Page 9)
Prayer in the synagogue during the Sukkoth celebration. The worshippers hold the Arba'at Ha-Minim (the Four Species - willow, myrtle, palmtree branch, and etrog) (from Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples ... (Volume I. Page 10)
A Jewish family at supper in the sukka on the Sukkoth holiday (the Booths Holiday). During these celebrations, traditionally, one must leave the house and live in the sukka - a temporary dwelling as a tribute to the Jews' walkings in the Sinai Desert (Volume I. Page 10)
A Jewish family at supper in the sukka on the Sukkoth holiday (the Booths Holiday). During these celebrations, traditionally, one must leave the house and live in the sukka - a hut, as a reminder of the Jews' walkings in the Sinai Desert (Volume I. Page 10)
Jews going to the synagogue on the Simhat Torah holiday. The annual Torah reading cycle is closed on that day, and a new one immediately begins (Volume I. Page 11)
Page top - circumcision tools. Page bottom - a Torah scroll and attributes (from Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde Volume I. Page 12))
Berit milah (circumcision rite) in a Portuguese Jewish community. The sandak is the man who holds the baby when he is being circumcised; the mohel is the man who carries out the circumcision rite (Volume I. Page 13)
Pidyon ha'ben (Redemption of First-Born). A ceremony held on the 31st day after the baby is born, when the father must offer a symbolic buyout amount for his baby boy to the Kohanim (Volume I. Page 13)
Marriage in a Portuguese Jewish community (from Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde by Bernard Picard. Paris, 1807. (Volume I. Page 14)
Marriage ceremony in a German Jewish community: the groom puts the ring on the bride's finger. Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde. Bernard Picard. Paris, 1807. (Volume I. Page 14)
Akkafot (the going round - a ceremonial act in Judaism) at a funeral. Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde. Bernard Picard. Paris, 1807. (Volume I. Page 15)
Jewish funeral. Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde. Bernard Picard. Paris, 1807. (Volume I. Page 15)
Megilat Esther (Esther's Scroll) reading on the Purim holiday (from Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde by Bernard Picard. Paris, 1807. Volume I. Page 17)