This brass Seder plate, from the collection of the Jewish Museum in London, contains numerous biblical images, mostly figures and scenes from the Book of Genesis and the beginning of the Book of Exodus.
At the top of the plate there is an inscription in Arabic that tells the story of Moses’ rescue by Pharaoh’s daughter. Immediately underneath there is a depiction of the Binding of Isaac (Akedat Yitzchak). In the centre of the plate are images of the forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and underneath a picture of three men and a young girl. There is then a picture of an eagle with the Hebrew verse: "I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to Me" (Exodus 19:4) The image at the bottom of the plate seems to be Moses leading the Israelites toward the Red Sea. (Moses is pictured with horns on his head, holding a staff out over the sea.) Around the perimeter of the plate are the symbols of the twelve tribes of Israel, which also appear above the images of the forefathers. The large figures on the left and right of the plate are Aaron and Moses. Moses is carrying the Ten Commandments and has horns on his forehead. This is a reflection of a mistaken translation of the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible at the time. The Biblical verse reads "And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he held the two tablets of the testimony, and he knew not that his face was karan from the conversation of the Lord." Whilst the Vulgate translates this word as horned, the accurate and more accepted modern translation is shining. Despite this many artists depicted Moses with horns, the most famous of whom, Michelangelo's Moses statue at the San Pietro church.
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Seder – Seder night is a special evening on the first night of Pesach (and the second night in the Diaspora). The Seder is often celebrated in large groups and with extended families and involves the telling of the story of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and their delivery from slavery. The story is detailed in the Haggadah which includes quotes from the biblical narration of the Exodus and from other Jewish sources, many of which are sung using traditional melodies. The Seder includes drinking four cups of wine, eating traditional symbolic foods such as matzah and charoset, and playing games that are directed to helping the children present understand the story. Towards the end of the Seder a festive meal is served, usually with foods that are kosher for Pesach and do not include hametz (leavened foods). The Seder has evolved throughout history, and many new traditions have been added, for example, keeping a seat empty for persecuted Jews, interfaith Seders, and special feminist Seders.
Biblical Stories in Art - Biblical stories, particularly the story of Jacob and Rachel, have long been a subject for both Jewish and Christian artists. Despite the facts that in many Jewish artworks, faces were not painted due to an interpretation of the commandment prohibiting “graven images”, human images can be found in many texts depicting biblical stories and the life of the Jewish people. Art can been found in synagogues, such as in the ancient Dura Europos synagogue found in Syria, in medieval Christian and Jewish sacred texts, such as bibles, haggadot, ketubot, and megillot. Many famous non-Jewish painters painted biblical stories such as Rembrandt, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Rubens, and Michelangelo. Jewish artists such as Daniel Moritz Oppenheim, Marc Chagall, and E.M Lilien started painting biblical stories only in the nineteenth century.