{"id":94614,"date":"2022-04-18T17:05:24","date_gmt":"2022-04-18T15:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=94614"},"modified":"2022-04-18T06:27:53","modified_gmt":"2022-04-18T04:27:53","slug":"26-00-71","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=94614","title":{"rendered":"Arthur Szyk\u2019s Haggadah and the Jews of Lviv"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Arthur Szyk\u2019s Haggadah and the Jews of Lviv<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Irvin Ungar<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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An image from \u201cFamily at the Seder,\u201d from the 1935 Haggadah by artist Arthur Szyk (b. 1894, Lodz, Poland\u2014d. 1951, New Canaan, Connecticut). Photo: courtesy Irvin Ungar<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This Passover, we are sickened by the degradation, oppression, and murder of Ukrainian civilians at the hand of a hardened, modern pharaoh, as we witness a new exodus of those seeking refuge. We are commanded, then, to enforce the directive of the Haggadah narrative \u201cLet all who are hungry, come and eat,\u201d by feeding the needs of our fellow human beings and being sensitive to their plight.<\/span><\/p>\n

Arthur Szyk\u2019s Haggadah art of the 1930s speaks directly to the Jews of Lw\u00f3w (now Lviv, Ukraine, a.k.a. Lemberg), providing a measure of affection and inspiration, awareness and vigilance, in another time of need.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"Family at the Seder. Image: \u201cThe Haggadah,\u201d Arthur Szyk, 1935.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

At the top center of the above image lies the emblem\/coat of arms of the Polish city of Lw\u00f3w. Additionally, on the fluttering ribbon, Szyk inscribed the Latin words\u00a0Semper Fidelis<\/em>, meaning \u201cAlways Faithful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why did Szyk include this coat of arms in his Haggadah, both to the Jews of Lw\u00f3w and its local government, at a time when Hitler had come to power in neighboring Germany? The answer: Jews from that city had formed a cooperative to support the artist\u2019s work, and he reciprocated with recognition and appreciation.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Lwow medallion: Szyk draws iconic images on his chest as a proud Jew and Pole for the cooperative seal. Image: Lw\u00f3w Medallion, Arthur Szyk, 1933<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Out of this consortium \u2014 following a 1936 visit by Szyk to the Lw\u00f3w home of Herman Horowitz, in which he showed the Haggadah drawings to a group of his fellow citizens \u2014 the\u00a0Beaconsfield Press<\/em> in London was established for the sole purpose of publishing \u201cThe Haggadah.\u201d These Lw\u00f3w Jews would enable the Lodzer Jew, Arthur Szyk, to declare through his visual Haggadah commentary a heroism in the face of evil during their own day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\"\"The Great Halleil: One of Szyk\u2019s many heroic warriors featured in his Haggadah. Image: \u201cThe Haggadah,\u201d Arthur Szyk, 1935.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In honor of one of the easternmost cities in Poland (now a western city of Ukraine), Szyk even considered calling his masterwork\u00a0The Lemberger Haggadah<\/em>, in honor of its former name, as witnessed in an unpublished dedication page.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Yiddish and Polish text there reads: \u201cWanting to pay tribute to my ancestral homeland, the residence of my forefathers, I dedicate with great devotion and affection this particular Haggadah. And in honor of the notables of the city of Lemberg, who were stimulated by my work, I am calling this book\u00a0The Lemberger Haggadah<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\"\"Dedication to the Jews of Lw\u00f3w page. Image: Arthur Szyk, 1936. Unpublished.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually, two other dedication pages were chosen to be included in the 1940 First Edition, published in London. One was dedicated in English to King George VI, with Szyk identifying himself as an \u201cIlluminator of Poland. A second was dedicated in French, beginning with the words, \u201cI am but a Jew praying in art\u2026\u201d and signed by Szyk as \u201cImagier d\u2019Israel<\/em>\u201d \u2014 painter of Israel. Still, Szyk never forgot the Jews of Lw\u00f3w and its city, combining both his Polish and Jewish identities, with the placement of its coat of arms at the beginning of his Haggadah.<\/span><\/p>\n

While he had numerous, shifting\u00a0identities during his lifetime<\/strong><\/span><\/a>,<\/strong><\/span> one thing remained the same: Arthur Szyk\u2019s unwavering loyalty and commitment to pursue freedom and justice wherever and whatever the place-name, while enabling us through the spirit of his Haggadah to inspire, uplift and support our brothers and sisters in every age.
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Irvin Ungar, a former pulpit rabbi and antiquarian bookseller, has devoted the past quarter-century to scholarship on Arthur Szyk. He has curated and consulted for numerous Szyk museum exhibitions and is the author of \u201cArthur Szyk: Soldier in Art,\u201d the co-producer of the documentary film, \u201cSoldier in Art: Arthur Szyk,\u201d and the creator and publisher of the luxury limited edition of The Szyk Haggadah. He has also served as the curator of The Arthur Szyk Society in Burlingame, California.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Arthur Szyk\u2019s Haggadah and the Jews of Lviv Irvin Ungar An image from \u201cFamily at the Seder,\u201d from the 1935 Haggadah by artist Arthur Szyk (b. 1894, Lodz, Poland\u2014d. 1951, New Canaan, Connecticut). Photo: courtesy Irvin Ungar This Passover, we are sickened by the degradation, oppression, and murder of Ukrainian civilians at the hand of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94614"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=94614"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94654,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94614\/revisions\/94654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=94614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=94614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=94614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}