This is a postcard with a black-and-white reproduction of painting by the Polish Jewish artist Maurycy Trebacz (1861–1941) depicting people mourning over the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. The card bears the name of the artist and the name of the work in Hebrew and French as well as the number of the postcard in the "Lebanon" series, from which its date could be determined.
In the picture, you can see a building going up in flames and people mourning and crying. The main figure – a man with a long beard – is covering his face in a posture of grief. Another figure is also holding his face in his hands and leaning against the stone wall. Other figures around him are standing and sitting, many wearing headscarves while others are shirtless and bareheaded. The anguish in the people’s faces and body language is palpable.
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Destruction of the Temple – The First Temple in Jerusalem, built by King Solomon, was destroyed on the ninth of Av 586 BCE by the Babylonians led by Nebuchadnezzar. The book of Lamentations (Aicha) describes the destruction in detail. After rebuilding the Temple in 516 BCE, it too, was destroyed on the ninth of Av 70 CE by the Romans. Both destructions are commemorated on Tisha B’Av (ninth of Av), which is seen as the saddest day of the Jewish year, and it is customary to read the book of Lamentations (Aicha), to fast, and to practice general mourning customs.
Maurycy Trebacz – Maurycy Trebacz (1861–1941) was a popular Polish Jewish artist. Trebacz was known as a portrait and landscape painter who depicted contemporary Jewish life, much of which was lost in the Holocaust. His subjects included rabbis, family life, and street scenes. Trebacz died of starvation in the Lodz ghetto in 1941.
The Lebanon Company and Postcards - The Lebanon company published postcards featuring Zionist and Jewish themes. It operated out of Eastern Europe in the early twentieth century, a time when postcards were very popular also within Jewish communities. The symbol of the Lebanon company is printed on the reverse of the postcard and comprises an open book, palm fronds, and an agricultural tool, perhaps a plough.
