The picture on the postcard portrays a Jewish family resting and studying in the dining room on Shabbat afternoon. Both the mother and father have books open and are studying. The grandfather appears to be sleeping, while the child stands nearby reading some papers. Their clothing, the decor, and their activities indicate an affluent, cultured, and intellectual family. The text on the bottom of the postcard is in German and includes the title of the picture, Shabbat Afternoon, and information about the origin of this image, namely, “After the original painting of Prof. M. Oppenheim.” This postcard was printed around 1904 and, as mentioned in the title, it is based on a picture by Moritz Oppenheim, which was originally in black and white and included another figure.
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Shabbat – Shabbat is the Jewish name for Saturday, the Jewish day of rest. According to Jewish tradition, this day commemorates the final, seventh day of God’s creation of the world. Shabbat is observed from just before sunset on Friday night until the appearance of three stars on Saturday night. The Talmud devotes an entire tractate to the rules of Shabbat and derives 39 types of forbidden activities. These include using electricity, writing, and other actions that are considered forms of creating. Shabbat is, instead, a day for family, community, prayer, and reflection. Traditionally Shabbat is ushered in by lighting candles, reciting the blessings over wine, Kiddush, and over the two loaves of special Shabbat bread, challah, and enjoying a festive meal. Shabbat is marked in the synagogue by a special additional prayer, known as Musaf, and the reading of the weekly Torah portion. The end of Shabbat is marked by the Havdalah ceremony. In Israel, secular Jews also enjoy Shabbat by eating Friday night dinner with their family and friends and spending time together in the countryside or on the beach. Most workplaces are closed on Shabbat.
Moritz Oppenheim – Moritz Oppenheim (1800–1882) is considered the first European Jewish painter, since he was the first to receive a classical art education and to gain recognition from non-Jewish German society. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Oppenheim was very connected to his Jewish background and sought to depict it in a positive light through his paintings. He worked during a complicated period for German Jewry: on the one hand, they were trying to become emancipated, free-thinking Jews who were assimilated into German society, while they were also striving to retain their Jewish identity. Oppenheim’s paintings reflect the pre-Emancipation world of the ghetto in a positive light for both his non-Jewish and Jewish audiences. Jewish life in Oppenheim’s paintings is a warm, family experience filled with books and learning in which children look to their elders for guidance and inspiration. Copies of Oppenheim’s works appeared in books and on postcards and porcelain and pewter plates.
German Jews in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries – After many centuries of oppression, segregation from the general population, and poverty, the German Jewish community went through major changes. Germany, together with other European countries, began to adopt liberal ideas about religious equality and civil emancipation. This was also the time of Enlightenment, and many German Jews received a secular education and began to integrate into general German society. The late eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries mark the transition of the Jews to modernity and the integration of many into Germany’s cultural, scientific, and financial elite. Moses Mendelssohn is an example of an Enlightenment thinker who aspired to bringing secular culture into Jewish life. These social changes also brought about a transformation in the identity and practices of the German Jews, as exemplified in a famous saying of the time: “Be a man abroad and a Jew in your tent.” Due to these changes, this period saw both the foundation of Orthodox Judaism and the birth of the Reform Movement in Germany, a movement that aimed to adapt traditional Judaism to modern times. This period did not, however, see an end to the discrimination or riots against the Jews, as can be seen by the 1819 Hep Hep riots, tax legislation against Jews, severe limitations on marriages, dismissals from public office, anti-Semitic literature and preaching, more. This discrimination led to many Jews emigrating, in particular to the United States.
