Dear Shaare Family,
Hakarat HaTov Corner
My deepest gratitude to
Charlie Adamski-Caulkins and her staff at Sotheby’s Dallas, for arranging the special guide to the
Codex Sassoon last Thursday at the Bridwell Library at SMU. She was a pleasure to work with and was impressed by the size and knowledge base of our Shaare Tefilla contingent. A special thanks as well to
Sharon Lieberman Mintz who provided a most fascinating and informative overview of the history and uniqueness of the codex. I know everyone who joined us learned a great deal, as did the many of you who went at other times.
Last Week’s MSOTW
In the year 1952, Shlomo Umberto Nahon, a leader in the Italian Zionist movement who made aliyah in 1947, began a campaign to transfer the contents of synagogues in defunct Italian Jewish communities to Israel. Under his leadership, some 40 Aronot kodesh and other synagogue furnishings were relocated to Israel. The process was complicated, requiring considerable financial resources, bureaucratic navigation, artistic expertise and administrative oversight. Among the required steps were included (an article in Hebrew, from which this information is taken,
can be found here )
1) Permits from local and provincial authorities in Italy, as well as from the federal antiquities authority in Rome.
2) Detailed diagrams (in Italian) of the correct assembly of the artifacts, according to the Italian style, as the items were dismantled prior to being brought to Israel.
3) Dismantling each artifact into smaller pieces by professional artisans, made more complicated by the fact that they were often made of older wood that was coated in gold, as well as stone and marble.
4) Packaging each piece in containers that would be resistant to damage, should the ships carrying them encounter stormy conditions on the way (this was still a cause of damage).
5) Oversight of transport, both in Italy and Israel
6) Selection of the shul or institution where the Aron Kodesh would rest
7) Reassembly and repair
This process ended when the Italian government asserted that these Aronot Kodesh were part of the Italian heritage and belonged in Italy, not abroad. Italian Aronot Kodesh can be found in the following places, among others:
