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MFAH Director Gary Tinterow, from left, Abigail Rapoport, curator of Judaica at the Jewish Museum and Warren Klein, guest curator tour the "Beauty and Ritual: Judaica" exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

A Hanukkah lamp with the Hebrew inscription, “Who is like you, O Lord, among the celestials?” that was created during the Holocaust is on exhibit in the "Beauty and Ritual: Judaica" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

A spice container arrangement by Mierle Laderman Ukeles is exhibited in the "Beauty and Ritual: Judaica" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Laid Table with Etrog Container and Pastry Molds by Beth Lipman is exhibited in the "Beauty and Ritual: Judaica" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Torah Ark from the 18th century is exhibited in the "Beauty and Ritual: Judaica" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

MFAH Director Gary Tinterow talks about the Torah Ark Curtain from Italy while touring is exhibited in the "Beauty and Ritual: Judaica" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Abigail Rapoport, curator of Judaica at the Jewish Museum and Warren Klein, guest curator tour the Beauty and Ritual: Judaica from the Jewish Museum at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Thursday, July 7, 2022, in Houston.

Abigail Rapoport, curator of Judaica at the Jewish Museum, and Warren Klein, guest curator provide a tour of the Beauty and Ritual: Judaica from the Jewish Museum exhibiting at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

For several years, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston patrons have asked MFAH Gary Tinterow director a persistent question: "Where's Judaica?"

"Art of the Islamic World," the Museum's inaugural, interfaith initiative, turns 15 this year. Following the success of that now-permanent and robust collection, requests for Jewish ceremonial art have grown increasingly vocal.

So when an opportunity presented itself, Tinterow made his move. "Beauty and Ritual: Judaica from the Jewish Museum" is the first joint project between the two institutions as part of an ongoing partnership. The exhibition runs through Sept. 18 in the Audrey Beck Building.

"Beauty and Ritual" is just a taste of what's to come. In early 2023, MFAH's new World Faiths Initiative progresses with the opening of the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Gallery for Judaica. A grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. made it possible.

MFAH has long housed a treasure trove of sacred, religious objects. Now leadership is embracing the faith aspect instead of shying away from the it. "The interfaith initiative provides an ongoing exploration of the spiritual," Tinterow says. "It allows us to recover the inspiration that led to these works of art."

Abigail Rapoport, curator of Judaica at the Jewish Museum, and Warren Klein, curator of Herbert & Eileen Bernard Museum of Judaica, Temple Emanu-El, New York, surveyed more than 30,000 ceremonial objects and fine artworks before selecting 140 items for "Beauty and Ritual." They weighed historic significance against artistic importance, chronology, stories of survival and considered diversity within Jewish communities, the role women played and works with inscriptions to honor the proud family/owners of those pieces.

'Beauty and Ritual: Judaica from the Jewish Museum, New York'

Where: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet

Details: Included with general admission, $12 and up; mfah.org

"You can't show it all," Rapoport concedes. "But what we've created are essentially three little worlds."

Judaism, Christianity and Islam are widely accepted as Abrahamic religions, centered around readings of the laws written by the Hebrew patriarch and prophet. What connects those three faiths is their reliance on a book.

"First came the Torah, the Old Testament, then the New Testament, and for Muslims, the seventh century Quran, which refers back to both," Tinterow explains. "'Adorning the Torah' celebrates and gives reverence to that book."

If "Beauty and Ritual" is a miniature solar system, then "Art of the Synagogue" is the most traditional and straightforward world. There are starry constellations throughout. Sterling silver finials and Torah crowns, some flecked with turquoise and bells, twinkle from their cases. Textiles made from luxurious fabrics remind visitors of the essential, although sometimes invisible, contributions of Jewish women in communal life.

A cross-cultural theme and spirit of collaboration connects them all.

To follow the thread, Solomon Alexander Hart's "The Feast of the Rejoicing of the Law at the Synagogue in Leghorn, Italy" (1850) is an ideal starting point. The substantial oil on canvas stands apart in the gallery filled with display cases and tapestry. It depicts congregants carrying Torah scrolls in procession during the holiday Simhat Torah (Rejoicing of the Law) in Livorno, a magnificent Italian synagogue. Women are notably absent from the scene and would have celebrated separately from the men in a dedicated balcony or section.

"It's a good place to orient," Rapoport suggests. "There are crossover objects produced in the synagogue."

She's referring to the painting's visible ornaments and textiles. Most of the silver objects were made by Christian craftsmen, as Jews were not permitted membership into European craft guilds until the 19th century. But Jews in Islamic lands could practice as silversmiths. 

Neighboring Jews living in the Ottoman Empire often reached across borders to help each other. Spanish Jews were welcomed after being expelled from their country in 1492. For that reason, "Torah Ark Curtain" (late 18th or early 19th century), woven from knotted wool and cotton, resembles an Islamic textile.

"At first glance, it looks like a prayer rug. As you get closer, all of these Jewish scriptures and texts become clear," Klein says. "It was likely constructed in the same workshop that made Islamic prayer books."

A trio of Torah Binders fill a display case nearby, ranging from the mid-17th century to 1991. One, by Rikah Polacco (1662-63) from Verona, Italy, illustrates how women often commemorated the milestones of male relatives by creating and inscribing textiles. The practice became so popular that synagogues eventually added a special acknowledgement of "every daughter of Israel who makes a mantle or cover in honor of the Torah."

Look closely, and visitors will notice that inscriptions grace nearly every textile in "Beauty and Ritual." They note special dedications, blessings and donations. 

"In Judaism, it's not about being rich, but about being remembered. And it has to be written," Tinterow explains. "When Judgment Day comes, God willlook for the names of the righteous. It's helpful to have your name inscribed."

The most lavish examples can be found on ceremonial cups, shields or crowns. Moshe Zabari's abstract "Torah Crown" (1969), silver and pearls on strings, is a palate cleanser for the next gallery.

"People approach it and say, 'Wait, that's a Torah crown!" Klein shares. "Because of its contemporary style, it's almost unrecognizable. The modernist aesthetic is pure, kinetic and ethereal. It's about stripping things away."

In the next space, two paintings orient the viewer: "Friday Evening" (1920) by Isidor Kaufman and "The Conclusion of the Sabbath" (1866) by Moritz Daniel Oppenheim.

"A Day of Rest" is curated to commemorate the seventh day of the week after the biblical creation of the world. The multi-sensory experience ushers in the Sabbath with abundant candlelight, and marks the closing ceremony "havdalah," meaning separation," with spices. Here, contrast between modernized interpretations versus historic artifacts intensifies.

"Spice Container" (1550) occupies a far wall. "It's likely the earliest one in existence, which is pretty remarkable," Rapoport says.

Hugging the parallel corner is a reimagined version for the 21st century. "I'm Talking to You: a Scent Garden: Three Different Voices from Nature Version II" (2009) by American artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles and ecologist Steven Handel explores the physical act of smelling. Their creation takes a more deconstructed approach; scientific vessels -- including petri dishes, beakers and flasks -- contain spices, oils, dried fruits, seeds, flowers, and herbs. 

It's a fragrant pit-stop in the exhibition -- for now, at least. Early visitors may catch a whiff of cinnamon. The scent garden is also one of "Beauty and Ritual's" rare commissioned works.

Another is Beth Lipman's "Laid Table with Etrog Container and Pastry Molds" (2012). Hers is a stunning and delicate table set with glass objects. Festivity gleams and overflows, exquisitely frozen in time.

"Beth studied Dutch still-life," Rapoport says of the composition. "The artist walked into a storage vault and picked objects that spur connection to her own family."

"Laid Table" features an assortment of depicted possessions which include her father's prayer shawl and mother's hand-washing cloth. A case behind Lipman's work, "Firm of Fraget" contains "Sabbath Candlesticks" and "Yiddish Cups" (both late 19th or early 20th century), items that inspired her from the Jewish Museum's vault.

Established in 1904, the Jewish Museum has since evolved into a repository or think tank hub, according to Rapoport. The institution boasts the largest collection of Hanukkah menorot (menorahs) in the world, spanning five centuries and nearly the globe.

"Beyond the Synagogue," the exhibition's final gallery, is in some ways the most thought-provoking. Rapoport and Klein utilize the- ancient definition of the menorah as, in the simplest terms, a lamp. Casting such a wide net afforded the duo generous interpretation.

"What does a menorah look like in North Africa versus Italy? And what does Renaissance Italy look like compared to Morocco or the presence of tulips in a Dutch motif?" Klein asks. The answers are show-stopping.

Marc Chagall's "Aaron and the Lamp" (1966) hangs discreetly on a back wall; it's near "Burial Plaque" (4th or 5th century), an incised marble tombstone in Italy for a Jew named Flaes. There's an impossible-to-miss display case lined with 32 menorot; many are traditional and decorative to reflect local styles and trends of the time while others such as Marit Meisler's "CeMMent Menorah" (2006) are wildly creative and unconventional.

Mae Rockland Tupa's "Miss Liberty" (1974) questions American patriotism in satirical fashion. She wraps a wooden base in fabric crafted from dime-store flags, recalling the assemblage movement of the 1950s and 60s; the platform is inscribed with closing lines from Emma Larazus' poem, "Give me your tired, your poor..." Eight, plastic Statues of Liberty atop the piece alternate facing away from the viewer to illustrate how the ideals of freedom turn their back on some Americans.

Another case, this one in the middle of the room, holds a collection of three menorot from the U.S. White House. President Barack Obama lit "Menorah" (1945) during Hanukkah 2011; the copper alloy and wood cast was previously dedicated to Gen. Joseph McNarney, commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces in Europe from 1945 to 1947. And Vice President Kamala Harris displayed Kurt J. Matzdorf's "Menorah" (1963) in her office for Hanukkah 2021. Matzdorf escaped the Nazis as a child in 1939, and migrated to the U.S. in 1949 where he later became a sculptor and goldsmith.

Unassuming and modest, "Menorah" (1942) tells the miraculous efforts of two young men to preserve sacred ritual. Architect and sculptor Arnold Zadikow and Leopold Hecht were deported to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp and Jewish ghetto. Zadikow, tasked with making decorative arts for the Nazis, and Hecht, who stole a piece of wood from their German captors, together made "Menorah" to celebrate Hanukkah with their cell-mates and teach others about Judaism.

Hecht survived; Zadikow did not. Their lamp, hidden within the camp, was recovered after the war and acquired by the Jewish Museum in 2018. 

Wax is still visible on the wood, as is the other-worldly inscription, "Who is like You, O Lord, among the celestials?"

Amber Elliott covers arts and society for the Houston Chronicle.

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