This picture, created in the Art Nouveau style by Ephraim Moses Lilien in 1900, has a woman sitting in the middle of the frame, holding a decorated Torah scroll. The name of the picture appears at the bottom in German, Sabbath der Sabbathe (Sabbath of Sabbaths), and it portrays the Shabbat Queen with her hair in a long braid and a crown on her head. Her sleeveless, full-length dress contains the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, while the bottom of her dress finishes with a bold black line and a white panel, possibly imitating a tallit (prayer shawl) typically worn on Shabbat. The Shabbat Queen sits in a throne that displays a big Star of David behind her head. The throne is surrounded by trees bearing fruit, and a forest can be seen in the background. There is a tiny dove on the top of her crown, representing the peace that Shabbat and the Shabbat Queen bring after six weekdays. The tones of the trees suggest that the sun is setting, implying the arrival of Shabbat. The notion of the Shabbat Queen stems from the kabbalistic idea of Shabbat as the spiritual queen of the week, and during the Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat service, it is customary to sing “Lecha Dodi,” a liturgical song which welcomes Shabbat and the Shabbat bride or queen.
This picture was inspired by the poem “Princess Sabbath” by Heinrich Heine, in which the Shabbat Queen is depicted as the “silent princess” who is “rest incarnate.” But unlike the poem, Lilien’s Shabbat Queen makes a statement about femininity and Judaism: for example, her dress is not typically modest and she is holding a Torah scroll, which was unheard of for women at the time. It is also possible that the placement of the letters on her dress stems from Kabbalah. According to philosopher Martin Buber (1878–1965), Lilien’s Sabbath of Sabbaths is an image of what Shabbat will look like in messianic times.
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Ephraim Moshe Lilien – Ephraim Moshe Lilien (1874–1925) was born in Galicia and trained as an artist in Krakow under the Polish artist Jan Matejko. Lilien was a committed Zionist and attended the Fifth Zionist Congress in Basel where he joined Martin Buber and Chaim Weizmann to call on the World Zionist Organization to adopt a program of Hebrew culture and a greater degree of democracy. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) was founded at that congress and Lilien designed its emblem and logo. Lilien was considered the first Zionist artist, and his images portray Zionists as strong new Jews. In 1906 Lilien accompanied fellow artist Boris Schatz to Israel where they founded the Bezalel School of Design. Lilien gave the first lecture at the school. Lilien subsequently moved back to Germany where he died in 1925.
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.
