בידספיריט | Kehillat Ha Kodesh Creating the

Kehillat Ha Kodesh Creating the Sacred Community The roles of the Rabbi Cantor Mohel and Shohet in Jewish Communal Life 1997 Exhibition catalog - Softcover, 8vo, 70 pages, 22 cm. Includes 58 color and black/white images. Kehilat ha-Kodesh was an exhibition which examined the offices of rabbi, shochet (ritual slaughterer) , mohel (circumciser) and cantor. These professionals were appointed by the community to enable Jews to fulfill the basic ritual requirements of everyday life. They served both as leaders and teachers: not only did they perform rituals on behalf of the community, but they trained and certified the next generation of leaders as well, ensuring continuity of Jewish life. The exhibition brought together visually outstanding works that illustrated these dual roles and engaged viewers in an exploration of the material culture created by these professions and preserved by the library. Kehillat ha-Kodesh consisted of magnificently decorated documents, historically significant manuscripts and rare printed books showcasing these professionals as pillars of Jewish communal life. Many of these objects had never before been exhibited; the exhibition allowed a glimpse into a rarely seen segment of the library's outstanding collection of illustrated broadsides. Highlights of this exhibition include lavishly decorated broadsides created in honor of the circumcision ceremony and documents associated with eminent leaders of the Jewish community, such as, a semikhah (rabbinical ordination) issued by Hayyim Yosef David Azulai and a magnificent shechitah and bedikah certificate given to Samuel ben Isaac Luzzato by the Jewish community of Venice, 1768. In addition, a richly detailed portrait of the diversity of Jewish life is clear through such fascinating documents as an extremely rare shehitah kabbalah granted to a woman to practice ritual slaughter in Mantua, 1581 and an unusual milah book written in Barbados in 1765.