This is a photograph of a spice box from Kiev, Ukraine created in the 1800s. This ornate object is used in the Havdalah ceremony which separates the end of Shabbat from the beginning of the week. The box is silver and is in the shape of a tower. The main section of the box has six sides and is decorated with a pattern that resembles greenery. One side has a door that opens and has a latch, which is how the spices are put inside. The bottom of the tower is a pedestal which is also intricately decorated. The filigree decoration provides openings which allow the user to smell the spices that are put inside and used in the Havdalah ceremony.
The Havdalah ceremony is performed at the end of the Shabbat to marks the end of the holy day and the beginning of the new week. The ceremony is performed with the spice box, a braided candle, and a glass of wine. The spices, besamim, are traditionally smelled in order to provide comfort over the departure of Shabbat.
Would You Like to Know More?
Jewish Community of Ukraine – Jews first arrived in Ukraine in the ninth century seeking refuge from Byzantium, Persia, and Mesopotamia. Jews were allowed to practice Judaism openly and prospered during this period. In the 1500s, a large influx of Jews from Western Europe arrived in Ukraine, which became an important centre of Jewish life. However, in the ensuing periods, anti-Semitic sentiment grew in Ukraine, and the Cossack uprising of 1648 resulted in the murder of over 20,000 Jews and the departure of many others to more tolerant countries. At the end of the eighteenth century, Ukraine was made a part of the Russian Pale of Settlement. Although this was a difficult period for Ukrainian Jews, new ideas and organisations developed such as Hasidism, the Haskalah (the Jewish enlightenment), and Zionism. As a result of the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Pale of Settlement was dissolved and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian Jews moved to other parts of the Soviet Union. Under communism, Jewish and Zionist activity moved underground as the party did not allow such activity. During the Holocaust, it is believed that a million Jews were killed in Ukraine, including those killed in a large massacre at Babi Yar and others murdered by the Einsatzgruppen. The Germans were joined by Ukrainian collaborators, and according to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, “Ukraine has, to the best of our knowledge, never conducted a single investigation of a local Nazi war criminal, let alone prosecuted a Holocaust perpetrator.” After the war, Jews who returned to their former homes in Ukraine were met with hostility by the local population. In the 1980s and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many Ukrainian Jews emigrated to Israel and other countries. Currently, Ukrainian Jewish life is being rebuilt, with various Jewish denominations active. Today, the Jewish community of Ukraine is the fourth largest Jewish community in Europe and the eleventh in the world, with an estimated population of up to 140,000 people.
Havdalah – Havdalah (separation) is the ceremony that separates Shabbat from the rest of the days of the week. It takes place on Saturday night after three stars are visible in the sky. Three objects are used during the ceremony: a cup of wine, a box of sweet spices, and a multi-wick candle. The Havdala ceremony includes blessings which relate to distinction: Shabbat from the rest of the days, the Jewish people from the rest of the world, and day from night. Blessings are also said over the wine, the spices, and the candle; participants smell the spices and often raise their hands to the candle, curling their fingers in order to create a shadow. Havdalah marks the separation between Shabbat, a time when people refrain from creating, and the rest of the week, and the shadow marks the first act of creation in the new week. At the end of the ceremony songs are often sung, including a song about the prophet Elijah who will announce the coming of the Messiah, and people wish each other a good week. Spice boxes have long been a favourite for artists. The Israel Museum has a wide selection of spice boxes from many countries over the years.
