Symbols and Forms in Jewish Art 46. ISBN: 978 83 89831 35 4Description: hardback, 210 pp. (26x20cm), ills. Condition: newWeight: 845g. Rachel Wischnitzer Bernstein, Symbols and Forms in Jewish Art, Irsa, Krakow 2022This is an English translation of a classic study on the iconography of Jewish art by Rachel Wischnitzer Bernstein (18851989), originally published in Berlin in 1935 as Symbole und Gestalten der jdischen Kunst. The outbreak of the Second World War prevented the book from spreading, and its uncirculated print run was almost entirely destroyed by the Nazis. The few surviving copies of the book that circulated among specialists, gained this highly innovative work on Jewish iconography a position of a classic study. The present English edition will make the legendary book by Rachel Wischnitzer Bernstein available to wider audiences of international readers for the first time.Against all odds, two years after the Nazi party and Hitler rose to power, Symbole und Gestalten der jdischen Kunst appeared in Berlin in the mid 1930s. Presenting the visual art of the Jewish people as a sophisticated humanistic achievement, this handsome, beautifully produced volume illustrates the deep meanings and the powerful symbols of the Jewish people over the ages. Moreover, the books thesis and the materials gathered in it are underlined by an implied aspiration: to strengthen Jewish identity and make the Jews of the time conscious and proud of their rich heritage. The author of this courageous book [], Rachel Wischnitzer (18851989), a modest woman, small in size, [] contributed more than any other scholar of the first half of the twentieth century to the establishment and development of a new field of academic study the history of Jewish art.Shalom Sabar(from the biographical essay)IntroductionI. Divine RevelationII. KingdomIII. DoctrineIV. PriesthoodV. JudaismVI. Festivals and CustomsVII. Messianic HopeVIII. Time and the UniverseShalom Sabar Rachel Wischnitzer: Life and Work