The Museum’s latest exhibition, A Celebration of Family, features the acclaimed traveling collection, Growing Up Jewish – Art & Storytelling. This Inspiring collection from artist Jacqueline Kott-Wolle is on view through September 1, 2024, and it includes a series of 40 contemporary oil paintings and personal narratives exploring one family’s North American brand of Jewish identity.
While the personal narratives with the paintings add depth and context, this exhibition also allows us to familiarize people with Jewish holiday celebrations. Fortunately, two of the Museum’s Jewish docents were kind enough to share their experiences with these traditions, so everyone can better understand this vibrant culture.
When Mira Visited the Sukkah
When Mira Visited the Sukkah
By Jacqueline Kott-Wolle
Oil on Canvas, 16×20, painted 2019
Original photograph taken – 1972
What’s happening in this painting?
When Mira Visited the Sukkah depicts a family celebrating Sukkot outside in their sukkah. A sukkah is a hut-like structure topped with branches and often decorated with autumnal, harvest, or Judaic themes. It is a symbolic wilderness shelter, commemorating God helping the Israelites in the wilderness after they were freed from slavery in Egypt in the 13th century (1200s) B.C.E.
What is Sukkot?
A major Jewish festival in the autumn that commemorates the sheltering of the Israelites in the wilderness. The seven-day holiday involves many traditions and it is common to eat and spend time in the sukkah, while some even sleep in the sukkah.
Modern Shabbat
Modern Shabbat
By Jacqueline Kott-Wolle
Oil on Canvas, 20×24, painted 2016
Original photograph taken in 2016
What’s happening in this painting?
Modern Shabbat shows a young girl looking at Shabbat candles in a home. The lighting of Shabbat candles is an ancient Jewish custom that occurs before the beginning of Shabbat. In some households, additional candles are lit for each of the children in the family.
What is Shabbat?
Some consider Shabbat to be the most important Jewish holy day. It takes place every Friday at sundown and ends on Saturday evening at sundown. It is a day of rest that celebrates creation and provides a break from the week’s busy pace. The word Shabbat comes from the Hebrew word for “ceasing [from work]” and is the origin of the English word “sabbath.”
The Four Questions on Jeanne Mance Street
The Four Questions on Jeanne Mance Street
By Jacqueline Kott-Wolle
Oil on Canvas, 18×24, painted 2019
Original photograph taken in 1968
What’s happening in this painting?
In The Four Questions on Jeanne Mance Street, you see a family celebrating the Jewish holiday called Passover. This is a special celebration that commemorates the Exodus, the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. In many ways, the dinner celebration works to recreate the lived experiences of the Israelites as they escaped Egypt over 3,400 years ago.
In the personal narrative accompanying the painting, Jacqueline Kott-Wolle notes: “As the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors there was something about our generation. The older relatives regarded us as nothing short of a walking miracle on earth and to see us participate in our Jewish rituals (in the safety of Canada) was a victory for them after everything they’d been through.”
What is Passover?
Passover, or Pesach (PEH-sach) in Hebrew, ultimately celebrates the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt and the “passing over” of the Jewish people by the 10th Plague of Egypt. A central ritual of Passover is the Seder (SAY-der), a special meal that takes place on the eve of Passover at home with family and friends or with the community. The Seder begins by reading the Haggadah (Ha-ga-DAH), a 2000-year-old book that retells the story of the Exodus from Egypt in detail. Often the youngest children are asked to read “The Four Questions” as is shown in the painting.
The Haggadah says that Jewish people should experience the exodus from Egypt personally as if they themselves have been freed from Egypt. That’s why an essential part of the Seder is eating ritual foods symbolic of the journey from slavery to freedom:
• Wine (four cups): Act as symbols of joy
• Bitter herbs: A reminder of the suffering of slavery
• Green leafy vegetables: Representing renewal of life—and the Jewish people
• Matzah (a thin, crisp unleavened bread): The bread of slaves and the symbol of our freedom.
Our docents also shared that the Haggadah booklet used in the celebration comes in many designs and styles, both contemporary and ancient.
Shoftim (Judges)
Shoftim (Judges)
By Jacqueline Kott-Wolle
Oil on Canvas, 22×28, painted 2019
Original photograph taken in 2015
What’s happening in this painting?
In Shoftim (Judges), a young girl prepares to read the Torah at her Bat Mitzvah. She is using a pointer called a “yad” or hand in English. A yad helps one keep track of where they’re reading and prevents touching the actual scrolls. Scrolls aren’t touched with bare hands to avoid damaging the lettering or the scroll itself and out of respect for the Torah scroll. A portion of the Torah is read each week throughout the year, Shoftim is the name of one of these Torah portions.
In the personal narrative accompanying the painting, Jacqueline Kott-Wolle notes: “My daughter was the first girl in the history of my family to read Torah at her Bat Mitzvah. When my daughter came of age in 2015, I was filled with pride. She prepared for her Torah reading (Shoftim) with discipline and a measure of seriousness I did not know she possessed.”
What is a Bar or Bat Mitzvah?
Coming of age for Jewish people happens at age 13 for boys and 12 for girls. The Hebrew term for this is bar and bat mitzvah. Reaching the age of bar or bat mitzvah signifies becoming a full member of the Jewish community, being responsible for one’s own actions, and being knowledgeable in Jewish laws. Traditional ceremonies involve being called upon to read from the Torah in front of their congregation and participating in religious services that day.
In the past, only boys were permitted to be called up to the Torah in this coming-of-age ceremony but over time more progressive denominations of Judaism have emerged, allowing for girls and boys to participate equally. Beyond religious services, many families also host parties to celebrate with family, friends, and the community.
Join Us for A Celebration of Family
The Museum’s Celebration of Family combines two art exhibitions with interactive children’s activities, on view from June 1 to September 2, 2024. Growing Up Jewish – Art & Storytelling and Love Makes a Family: Portraits of LGBTQ+ People and Their Families presents paintings, photographs, and interviews—all that take visitors on a creative journey that celebrates families from all walks of life.
