Crains New York, The Post`s PAGE 6, and The New York Times. The

MY THREE SONS (FROM L. TO R.) MAXWELL, 11,
JOEY, 13, AND ISAAC, 9, RECITING THE BLESSING
WHILE RAISING THEIR ANTIQUE KIDDUSH CUPS.
Friday night, each holding the
kiddush cup I acquired for him.
They know that these cups are
endowed with kedusha (holiness), having been used for
more than 150 years by Jews
living in the very lands from
which our family emigrated to
the United States.
Owning a piece of Judaica
that you can both display and
use connects you with your
mesorah (heritage). And when
you know an object’s history,
you can almost feel the call of
your ancestors.
♦♦♦
Perhaps because of the emotional power of these cultural
heirlooms, buyers are wise to
exercise due diligence before
making a purchase. A cautionary
tale: After about a year of buying
Judaica objects from Israel
which he had previewed electronically, a trusting friend invited me to his home in New Jersey
THIS KIDDUSH CUP (FROM POLAND, C.1880), IS MADE FROM SHMIRAH
♦♦♦
to see his 40-piece collection.
SILVER—A REFERENCE TO THE PRACTICE WHEREBY A REBBE’S FAVORITE STUDENT OR SUPPORTER, HAVING RECEIVED SILVER COINS
Then there was the 19th-cenAs we stood side by side in his
OR EATING UTENSILS FROM THE REBBE, WOULD MELT THEM DOWN
tury etrog container (used to
dining
room, I asked, “Do you
AND USE THE SILVER TO FASHION A RITUAL OBJECT. THE RHIZHINER
house the citron, the first of the
want to know the truth about
REBBE OWNED A SIMILARLY DESIGNED KIDDUSH CUP; THIS ONE WAS
four species, on Sukkot) from our LIKELY MADE BY A DISCIPLE. APPRAISAL: $25,000–$35,000.
your collection? Or should I go
January 2010 auction. I knew this
out now for kosher Chinese?”
was going to be a sought-after piece
vah with art. Traditionally, to fulfill this
“Tell me the truth,” he said, wanting
when I spotted it (and arranged for its
mitzvah during Sukkot, Jews purchased to know immediately.
consignment) a few months earlier in a
specially crafted silver etrog containers.
“Thirty-three of the pieces are recent
New York antique gallery. The only oth- This one was made in Germany around
forgeries with fake markings.”
er time I had ever seen this model was in 1830 by an unknown artisan. Unlike
Crushed, the novice collector listhe Furman family collection (pictured
painters, silversmiths generally did not
tened as I reviewed each piece with
in Treasures of Jewish Art: The Collec(and do not) mark their pieces with
him, explaining why, both technically
tion of Jacobo and Asea Furman).
their names, only the town hallmark.
and historically, these objects were
In Judaism there is a concept known
The auction started with an $18,000
as hiddur mitzvah, beautifying the mitz- bid. Two zealous Judaica collectors
waged a fierce bidding war, knowing
such a piece would probably never
again come on the auction block. The
hammer finally went down at $32,500.
♦♦♦
THIS ARTS & CRAFTS CHANUKIAH (PALESTINE,
C.1930) WAS CRAFTED FROM A RIFLE BUTT AND
ITS SHELL CASINGS FROM A LARGE-CALIBER
BULLET. WHEN TURNED UPSIDE DOWN, IT CAN
ALSO BE USED FOR SHABBAT CANDLES. IN JUDAISM, MUNDANE OBJECTS MAY BE CONVERTED TO
RITUAL USE. THE PIECE SOLD FOR ONLY $1,000,
BUT IT MADE FOR GREAT CONVERSATION.
You do not have to be wealthy to
collect Judaica. Many of the collectors
I work with have built fine collections
over time by purchasing beautiful
objects in the $500–$5,000 range.
I find no greater pleasure in life than
seeing my three sons make kiddush on
reform judaism
JL_Judaica_su10F.indd 8
8
THIS RARE ETROG HOLDER (FROM GERMANY,
EARLY 19TH CENTURY), FEATURING A REALISTIC
ETROG-SHAPED BODY STANDING ON AN OVAL
PLATFORM, SOLD FOR $32,500.
J O N AT H A N G R E E N S T E I N ( H I S S O N S ) ;
M E N A C H E M A D E L M A N ( C U P, M E N O R A H , E T R O G H O L D E R )
Crains New York, The Post’s
PAGE 6, and The New York
Times.
The June 2009 auction, featuring the two Schindler items, garnered worldwide interest.
The Torah crown opened at
$7,000, rose in $500 increments,
and sold for $9,000 to the Jewish
Museum of Berlin, its tribute to
the legacy of Rabbi Schindler,
who was born in Munich, Germany in 1925.
Starting at $6,000, the Torah
pointer was bid up to $15,000
within the first few seconds—and
ended at $23,000! Its new owner,
an anonymous New York collector,
was not only touched by the pointer’s beauty and its intrinsic value,
but by its illustrious provenance.
Unfortunately, people sometimes need to sell Judaica. In
this instance, I could assure the
Schindler family that the new
owners would treat these sacred
objects with the utmost reverence.
summer 2010
4/15/10 6:51 AM