A Rare Passover Plate by the Polish Jewish artist Moshe Leser. Tarnów (Poland), ca. 1930.

A Rare Passover Plate by the Polish Jewish artist Moshe Leser. Tarnów (Poland), ca. 1930.

An original and unique object of Jewish craftsmanship, exhibiting excellent, high-quality carving. This compelling Passover Plate displays six circular receptacles for the traditional components of the Seder plate. Around its edges, the artist carved the Biblical command: "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is a holiday for Hashem". On the reverse of the Seder plate is a carved dedicatory inscription: "An offering to my cousin Jacob Davis by Shimon Teitelbaum".

The Jewish community of Tarnów

Tarnów is considered one of the oldest cities in Poland.

The first record of the existence of a Jewish community in Tarnów is from 1443, in the context of merchants. Most of the Jews made a living from the clothing and hat industry. At the beginning of the community's history, it was religiously and economically attached to the strong religious community of Krakow.

From the middle of the 19th century until the 1930s, Tarnów developed greatly, and the Jews in the town experienced an improvement in both their economic and social status. Until that time, the Tarnów community was an Orthodox religious community. At the end of the 19th century, the Jewish education movement among the community became very strong.

On September 3, 1939, the city was bombed by the Germans. On the one hand, many of its Jewish residents tried to escape to the East, while on the other, many refugees from all over Poland arrived there. On September 8, the city was occupied by the Germans who immediately appropriated all Jewish property and began kidnapping Jews for forced labor. On November 9, Kristallnacht, the Germans burned the synagogues and prayer houses in the city.

The most important relic of the former Jewish life in the city of Tarnów is the bimah of the old synagogue on Zydowska Street: the synagogue itself was destroyed, and only the bimah survived, and is currently on display.

The craftsman:

Very little is known about the artist Moshe Leser. Apparently, this talented Jewish woodcarver lived in the city of Tarnów at the beginning of the 20th century, and was active during this period in creating Jewish art. Only two other items from his hand are known, both of which are displayed and cataloged at the Jewish Museum in London: an impressive wooden Chanukkah Lamp that Leser created for the wedding of his son Yehiel, which was held in the city of London, and a unique carved wooden mezuzah. The craftsman sent these two items from Poland to England as a wedding gift for his son and daughter-in-law. They are part of the Jewish Museum in London's permanent exhibition.

The Seder Plate's Significance:

Before us, then, is a high-quality hand-carved item of Judaica made of wood, by a local Jewish craftsman, who apparently worked in the city of Tarnów in Poland between the two World Wars.

We do not know have details of Moshe Leser's life, and it is very possible that he was murdered in the Holocaust along with thousands of other Jews from Tarnów's Jewish community.

Leser's unique Seder Plate is thus an extremely special artistic relic of Polish Jewish craftsmanship, expertly created by a talented Jewish woodcarver.