Obj. ID: 56254
  Sacred and Ritual  Mizrah, Strasbourg, 1833

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

Mizrah (Hebrew: מזרח "east") is the Hebrew word for "east" and the direction that Jews in the Diaspora face during prayer. Jewish law prescribes that Jews at prayer face the site of the Temple in Jerusalem. In addition, "Mizrach" refers to an ornamental wall plaque used to indicate the direction of prayer in Jewish homes. In a synagogue, that direction would be obvious as it is the side of the building on which the ark was placed. But in a home or Sukkah the direction had to be indicated. It is customary in traditional Jewish homes and the Sukkah to mark the wall in the direction of Mizrach to facilitate proper prayer. For this purpose, people use artistic wall plaques inscribed with the word Mizrach and scriptural passages like "From the rising (mi-mizrah) of the sun unto the going down thereof, the Lord's name is to be praised" (Ps. 113:3), Kabbalistic inscriptions, or pictures of holy places. Such plaques were most often manuscript forms or printed sheets, ranging from the simplest idea of the word only to elaborately decorated pages with a wide range of images and texts. These plaques are generally placed in rooms in which people pray, such as the living room or bedrooms. The four letters of the Hebrew word MiZRaCH are sometimes indicated as the initial letters of the Hebrew phrase Metzad Zeh Ruach CHaim (From this side the source of life).

This design for a Mizrach is found in a number of different examples, apparently, all printed either in Alsace or the adjacent area of Germany, the two areas being tightly bound from a Jewish cultural point of view. While the general form is quite similar, there are sometimes differences in the scenes portrayed, mostly of biblical origin. In the center is a depiction of Jerusalem in the classical style depicting Roman or Greek ruins. On the sides stand the two figures of King David and King Solomon. The figure of King David is taken from one of the biblical etchings produced by Matthaeus Merian in the 17th century. This particular mizrach is unusual in the very early date for this type of object, for the fact that the artist has signed his name and the date in the plate in Hebrew and in that the Mizrach has been engraved by copper plate rather than being lithographed, as are most existing examples. This is apparently the source for this model which was printed in various versions later in the century. See Gross Family Collection 056.011.023 and 056.011.038.