Aim: To bring the spirit of the Sabbath into your classroom.
Materials: Objects from home and Sabbath decorations
Procedure:
1. Have students view and discuss the works of art below. Discuss with students:
- What do all these works have in common?
How would you describe the “Sabbath spirit” as captured in each? - What is it that makes the Sabbath special?
2. In 1899, Isidor Kaufmann created a “Sabbath Room” in the Jewish Museum of Vienna. The room was set up as if prepared for a traditional Sabbath celebration. Kaufmann’s Sabbath Room became the basis for his painting Friday Evening.
3. Turn your classroom into a Sabbath Room. Have students bring in ritual objects, make decorations, and arrange the room to create a feeling of the Sabbath. Afterward, discuss: Were you able to evoke the Sabbath spirit in your room? What objects helped to create the feeling? What does it mean to create sacred space?
Isidor Kaufmann (Austrian, b. Hungary, 1853-1921)
- Oil on canvas
- 28 5/8 x 35 7/8 in. (72.7 x 91.1 cm)
- The Jewish Museum, New York
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. M. R. Schweitzer, JM 4-63
Friday Evening
Friday Evening
Listen
- Linen: sewn and starched
- 78 1/2 x 43 x 12 1/2 in. (199.4 x 109.2 x 31.8 cm)
- The Jewish Museum, New York
- Purchase: Contemporary Judaica Acquisitions Committee Fund, 2004-41
Not on view Sculpture
Linen
