999 Silver Plated Bronze

1950’s Mabarah

4.5” x 4.5” x 6.5”
This is a portrait of my family in Israel’s Mabaarah. The year is 1950. It is summer and my father is peeling an orange while I am imprisoned within a chair that has been turned upside down in order to feed me. My mom was taking care of the mattress within the tent to prepare for the night.

999 Fine Silver Plated Bronze

The Milkman
5.5” x 3.5” x 5”
During the 1950′s in the Mabaraah neighborhood, the “Milk Man” walks from door to door, and the kids holding buckets run to him to purchase some milk as their parents asked them to bring various amounts of milk back home.

999 Silver Plated Bronze

Alte Zachen
3.5” x 3.5” x 6”
The legendary “Shmates” dealer who went from door to door in the neighborhood, yelling his title “Alte Zachen”. People were inviting him to see the old items they had in their home. In the 50‘s up to the 70’s where the Alte Zachen guys upgraded themselves with a VW at bed pick up instead of horses and wagons.

Dan-Ben-Amotze-Tzedaka-Box
4”x 6” x 2.25”
The Tzedaka box issue of the Jewish heritage was a very intimate tool to collect donations on a daily basis. We would see them in many places such as, people’s houses, as well as synagogues, in grocery stores or any other place you could think of. These “Tzedaka” boxes were placed in such
places that would catch people’s attention, and often times were very
large pieces. “Tzedaka Tatzil Mimavet” means, “Who repeatedly makes a
donation will save the death from himself.”

Kapparot
6.25” x 4.5” x 4.5”
A tradition of the Jewish heritage before Rosh Hashana and Yom Kipur. The father blesses his family members by turning a rooster over their heads so that the rooster would absorb any kind of harm that could happen to his family in the year to come.

Moses Tablets
5.5” x 5”
Moses has been ordered by God to craft new tablets and take them up on Mount Sinai in order for God to tell him how tore-write the previous set of tablets. Moses is old and doesn’t have the physical power. He made Joshua carry the tablets as a backpack in order to reach the top of Mount Sinai. This piece has been created as a comical piece and the idea as you can see the text, which belongs to Moses and expresses the sorrow of breaking two original tablets. On the other hand, Joshua carried the tablets, and slaps his face to do what he was asked and what he is thinking at the time is on the tablet “Oy Vey” this is a Yiddish expression for recognizing coming troubles.

Purim Shpil Noise Maker
In the holiday of “Purim” In the Synagogues at the time the cantors read “The Magilla Ester” and when the cantors read the word “Hayman” one of the pillar characters in the “Magilla” the audience “Boos” the name Hayman, and creates noise with any instrument that they can reach around themselves. The “Raashan” is a Hebrew name, this is the instrument you see in the picture. In order to operate this instrument there is a device in the horizontal part which makes the noise. You do not need the perfect imagination to imagine the total capacity of the amount of noise that these instruments could create. This noise and the “boo” that the people release with it is a metaphor to put down “Hayman” his character and his wishes to destroy the Jewish people at the time in the city of “Shushan” the capital of old Persia of ancient time. This piece represents the story of the “Purim” holiday. We are dealing with ten sounds of “Hayman” which has been hung on the Noose. He prepared to hang “Richous Mordekhy” On the top of the Metaphor tree “Noose” which “Hayman” had planned to hang “Mordakhy.” And on the other side of the Raashan you can see the “Hayman” figure slapping himself on his forehead wondering how his luck had turned around. In the Jewish heritage we know a behavior when you turn a subject around some other subject the meaning is Sacrificing exactly like we sacrifice roosters before “Rash Hashana” above the head of a family member, and send the rooster to be slaughtered. This piece has been casted in Silicone bronze and plated silver. There is also a special stand that would be available in order to display this piece as you see on the screen.

Shema Israel Larger
6.25” x 2.25” x 3.5”
Basic six word prayer, which is the pillar of all the prayers in the Jewish environment. All throughout history the Jewish people who were executed in many ways, carry these six words on their mouths at the time they burn into ash or choke to death in the chambers, this powerful prayers presents the absolute uniqueness of God and the basic believers who insist, no matter what is happening to them, to declare Shema Israel. “Ado nay e lo heno ado nay yechad,” six mystical words which leave no room for doubt which could appear.

Soffer Stam
6.25” x 4.5” x 4.5”
Specialty trained Torah text writer, with the specialty and ability to re-write the text of the torah, and add the different crowns and troops on the top of the words as necessary, these fellows are specially trained, and skilled with a lot of patience who could keep a pure kosher environment on a personal level when they write on the scroll of the Torah.

The Butcher
7” x 6” x 5.5”
The terms of “Kosher” or “Glatt Kosher” are applied to so often, which makethe whole issue, leave a horrible taste in the mouth. In this piece I try to include the variety of symbols, which has been created in the last century about different levels of kosher meat products. At the front of the plate of
this piece you could see two different marks ® © and a big cross on top of them means this is not right mark for kosher. How could decent people rely honestly on such a big gallery of symbols and find himself in proper activity dealing with kosher food?

The Ice Man
3.5” x 3.5” x 7.25”
Early 50’s back in Israel living in a tent or condo without electric power, we used the refrigerator as ice boxes, buying the ice from the ice man who sold ice in the neighborhood. Putting the ice in the freezer and saving the food to be preserved. This is an exact replica of that trader from that time.

Shocket
7.75” x 3.5” x 6.75”
1950’s in a neighborhood grocery center, the Shocket was connected to the butchery stores in the local market center. In order to kill the chicken which people from the butchery store have purchased. In the back of that butcher store, as children we were also eyewitnesses to the work of the shocket. Which time to time people also brought lambs, and goats as well.

The Tailor
4.5” x 4.25” x 4.25”
A typical traditional Eastern European Tailor in the who served everyone. This trade was typically in the hands of men. While working in the neighborhood the tailor would hear large amounts of gossip and rumors of the people. The tailor had a hidden station for privacy, and saw the customers trying on their new
clothes. His position was mainly funded by his attitude, he would hear but never spoke about people’s words anywhere else.

The Watermelon Seller
4.25” x 7.25” x 4”
As children in the neighborhood we spent most of your summer vacation helping the produce traders to increase his sales by delivering melons to be sold from door to door. He would give us a wagon full of melons, knives, and scales in order to present the people how sweet and ripe the watermelons were.