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Pope Pius XII
Letters
I often receive interesting letters addressed
to the Museum Curator. Recently, a student from Sacred Heart College
researching the topic of Pope Pius XII wrote asking for views on the
hypothesis that Pope Pius XII was instrumental in protecting the Jews during
the Second World War. I replied with a "sorry, can't comment; this is not my
field of expertise" letter. The student did not go away, but sent another
letter, this time a questionnaire. Did the Vatican's silence during the war
save lives from persecution, or could speaking out have saved more lives?
This time I couldn't ignore him, and entered "Pope Pius and the Jews" into
an Internet search engine and was surprised to discover that there are over
40,000 articles on the topic. Ambivalence surrounds the role of the Vatican
during this period. There are testimonies that he spoke out against
anti-Semitism, as clearly as he dared under the circumstances, working
behind the scenes to save Jews, and there are those that condemn him because
he failed to publicly condemn anti-Semitism. Could speaking out have stopped
or prevented killings? I may be closer to an answer if I continue to read a
few more of those articles.
Transient object
During the week of Succot Rabbi Engel
was clutching a magnificent silver container, housing an unblemished
specimen of an Etrog, imported from Italy where they grow in the Kalabria
region at the Southern tip. There is an ancient Jewish tradition, that has
been passed on from generation to generation, that when Moshe was enjoined
by Hashem for the Israelites to take an Etrog, he sent off messengers to
Kalabria in Italy from where they got Etrogim for all of Israel.
Even if I'd wanted to exhibit this perfect specimen I couldn't, as it has
been promised back to Customs Department as part of the condition of
importing a fruit for religious purposes into the country. It is one of the
four species at the core of Succot observances: the citron, myrtle, willow
and lulav. The Etrog itself may be an enchanting non-permanent object, but
the rareness and beauty of the Engel's Etrog Box is another matter
altogether. It makes me want to run to that Judaica shop and buy one for the
museum. If only New York were not so far away.
Decorated Kiddush Cups
Wine, as we know, is an
integral part of Jewish ritual and almost every ceremony involves drinking
it. In the contemporary world of secular wine drinking, wine lovers use
unadorned transparent wine glasses so that the beauty, colour and texture of
the wine is visible. However, it is quite acceptable to drink wine for
religious purposes from a decorated cup.
This was the motivation to provide an opportunity for some of our Jewish
youth to paint images of Judaica on ceramic goblets. A painting workshop to
produce wine cups took place with the children at a Habonim meeting in
August, and the cups are now on public display in the AHC foyer.
I am still obsessed with the freshness and creativity of children's
paintings, and have one last project on the go for this year. Once again
painting on ceramics. This time the object is a Channukah menorah, sourced
from Hillary Brenner who is a well-known local ceramic painter. Students
from years 3 to 7 are welcome to contact me if they wish to participate.
Personal stories
The Adelaide Jewish Museum website is
continuously being updated with stories, and I continue to encourage or
harass, whichever way you look at it, the community to write stories. This
is what Garry Rogers wrote: "I just got your letter regarding the Jewish
Museum in Adelaide and certainly agree with you on the need for it. I am 78
years old and my time is running out. All the more reason to remember the
past". His story was one of the first to appear on the website.
Jeanie Susman comments on the most recent story entered onto the website:
"Just to say how delighted I was to find the Solomon Story on your Jewish
Museum site. It is certainly a very fascinating account of a great person,
told of course with delightful touches of humour".
To make sure that your family's heritage is recorded for posterity, contact
me, or simply start writing.
Friends
The newly founded Friends society supports the
Museum in promoting and preserving Jewish life in South Australia. Thank you
sincerely to those members of the community who responded to the request to
subscribe to the Friends of the Adelaide Jewish Museum.
R Sugarman
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