Events

The opening of another temporary exhibition at the Jewish Historical Institute is approaching! Starting June 6, 2025, we invite you to visit “Sacred Masterpiece. The Torah Scroll as Object and Symbol.”

The protagonist of the exhibition is the Torah scroll – the most important ritual item in Judaism. Its Hebrew name is Sefer Torah* or the “Book of Torah.” Here, “Torah” refers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) revealed to Moses by God on Mount Sinai, the tradition shared by Jews and Christians. The Torah scroll is a sheet of animal skin wound on two rods, hand-inscribed with the original Hebrew text of the Pentateuch.

The exhibition goes beyond this concise definition. It delves into the ritual and symbolic dimensions of the Torah scroll, treating the Sefer Torah as a religious work of art. Following the suggestions of Jewish sages contained in the Talmud, the exhibition tells the story of the Torah scroll, starting from its soul, or symbolism, and ending with its body, or materiality. Between these poles, it presents works of art and Judaica that speak, in their own language, about the life of the scroll and its cultural meanings. In the exhibition, works by Jewish and non-Jewish artists are displayed side by side, usually on a complementary basis, less often for the sake of contrast.

The exhibition takes the visitors on a journey starting with the spiritual meanings inscribed in the Torah scroll and its birth in antiquity all the way to the mass desecration and destruction of its material form in the 20th century. Above all, however, it attempts to capture the essential and timeless symbolism of the scroll whose life did not end with the Holocaust and which continues to play a key role in Jewish ritual today.

Exhibition curator: Michał Krasicki