In every neighborhood, there is one house where children know they are always welcome to play. These are households where it seems that the couch is forever being made up for an out-of-town visitor. And these are homes where it just isn't Friday night without guests at the table. Children who grow up in these homes learn the challenging pleasures of serving and sharing, and the joys of offering hospitality.

For Jews, hospitality is not simply a matter of good manners; it is a moral institution. Judaism defines hospitality as a sacred obligation; it is the mitzvah called hachnasat orchim, literally, "the bringing in of guests." The patriarch Abraham is the biblical exemplar of hospitality; it was said that he kept his tent open on all four sides so that strangers would always know they were welcome. In the desert, of course, the offer of water, food, and a place to sleep could be a life-saving act.

In the Middle Ages, Jewish communities ran charitable associations that provided meals and shelter for Jewish travelers who were unwelcome, if not in danger, in the non-Jewish world. Likewise, it was considered a special honor to provide a bed and meal for scholars studying at a yeshiva, an academy of Jewish learning.

In the small communities and tight-knit ghettos of the past, everyone knew which families could be counted on to make room for one more guest, and these people were considered praiseworthy and holy. There is a rich folk literature about poor folk who, because they provided shelter and a crust of bread to a stranger, were rewarded with great wealth. The prophet Elijah, the legendary harbinger of the Messiah, is often portrayed as a beggar in search of a meal and a place to sleep, testing the practical morality of the Jews he encounters.

Today, hospitality tends to be the work of institutions. Jewish organizations provide help to newcomers to town, to Soviet immigrants, and to college students. However, there are still many opportunities for individuals to perform the mitzvah of hospitality for strangers. For example, volunteering at a shelter for the homeless can be seen as an extension of hachnasat orchim—as can helping to settle a Soviet Jewish family, or inviting students from a local college or university for a Friday night meal or a Passover seder.

Beauty and Holiness

Home decoration is part of all known human cultures. But Judaism's tendency to blur the distinctions between sacred and secular, and its definition of the home as a holy place suggests a special set of aesthetic considerations. Displaying Jewish art in a home or office is an act of identification and connection. Shopping for ritual objects and artwork can be a way of exploring Jewish identity, a way of deciding how to express Jewishness in concrete terms.

There is a long tradition of Jewish art, based both in custom and religious tradition. According to the rabbinic principle of hiddur mitzvah, when a physical object is needed to fulfill a commandment, the object should be made as beautiful as possible. Thus, while it is perfectly all right to make a blessing over wine in a paper cup, it is even better to use a beautiful goblet especially created for that purpose. Over the centuries, Jewish artists and artisans fashioned ritual objects not only for large synagogues, but also for the homes of ordinary Jews. Embroidered and brocade cloths have covered loaves of challah used in weekly Sabbath home rituals as well as synagogue Torah scrolls.

Generally speaking, there are two kinds of Jewish decoration for the home: ritual objects and works of art.

Ritual objects have a religious as well as purely decorative function. They include: the mezuzah (a small container affixed to the doorposts of a home containing apiece of parchment inscribed with biblical text); the hannukiah (the candelabra or menorah used at Hannukah); Passover seder plates; candlesticks used for Shabbat and holidays; and special goblets for blessing wine (kiddush).

Some families use ritual objects as decorative elements, for example, displaying the family hannukiah year-round, or framing the challah cover Grandma embroidered in the old country. Some people collect and display spice boxes or the elaborate braided candles used for havdalah, the ceremony that marks the end of the Sabbath.

The presence of ritual objects in a home, though not necessarily a sign of observance, acknowledges the religious and ritual aspects of Judaism. A mezuzah on the door, no matter how beautiful in its own right, says more than "this family enjoys lovely things." It is a sign and a symbol of identification.

Jewish works of art are more difficult to categorize and far more varied than ritual objects, and include everything from fine art photographs of Israel to framed examples of Hebrew and English calligraphy, from coffee table art books and illustrated calendars to fine oils, lithographs, and sculpture. Although the works of Marc Chagall, Ben Shahn, Chaim Gross, and others have been identified as "Jewish art," many other Jewish artists produce work that would never be labeled "Jewish." On the other hand, works on a theme from the Hebrew Bible might be considered Jewish art, regardless of the artist's religion.

And of course, Jewish art exists in the eye of the beholder. Some pieces might be immediately identified as Jewish, e.g., a painting of Moses. However, an abstract rendering of the creation story may appear like nothing but a pleasing collection of shapes and colors to a guest unless you choose to explain your understanding of it. Perhaps the best definition of Jewish art is that which engages the viewer not only on an aesthetic level, but also in particularly Jewish emotional, intellectual, or spiritual ways.

There is a large and growing selection of Jewish art created especially for children, including special mezuzot (plural of mezuzah) decorated with kites and Teddy bears, mobiles that feature Jewish symbols, and posters of the Hebrew alphabet illustrated with bright, funny pictures. Children can help create their own Jewish ambiance by being permitted to buy a poster, or by having one of their own Jewish drawings or paintings framed and hung.




Copyright © 1991 by Anita Diamant and Howard Cooper

From Living a Jewish Life: Jewish Traditions, Customs, and Values for Today's Families (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1991). Used by arrangement with HarperSanFrancisco, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.