Beauty and Ritual: Judaica from the Jewish Museum, New York

Examining Jewish ceremonial objects from antiquity to the present, Beauty and Ritual: Judaica from the Jewish Museum, New York marks the first in a series of presentations from the world-renowned collection of the Jewish Museum in New York. The new, ongoing partnership between the MFAH and the Jewish Museum brings exceptional objects to Houston over a period of years. 

Beauty and Ritual explores the artistic, ritualistic, and cultural significance of more than 140 works. The objects on view derive from Jewish communities throughout the world, spanning Central Asia to North Africa and Western Europe. The exhibition also explores how artists—from different backgrounds—and Jewish communities have creatively adapted traditional forms of Judaica by utilizing a rich array of styles, materials, and techniques, and drawing on broader cultures.

The exhibition comprises three thematic galleries: “The Art of the Synagogue: Adorning the Torah,” “A Day of Rest: The Radiance of the Sabbath,” and “Beyond the Synagogue and the Home: The Light of the Hanukkah Menorah.”

In early 2023, the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Gallery for Judaica opens at the MFAH for the ongoing presentation of objects on loan from the Jewish Museum.

Credit: Overview from museum website