History of the crypto-jews
The survival of Jews despite endless attempts to exterminate them is not only a miracle but also a result of one of the most distinguishing features of Jewish life-hidden identity. From biblical times, through the early modern period, until the modern era, jews have developed the art of masking their symbols and patterns of life to survive. Driven by a history of fear and persecution, Jews were forced to live under the blanket of fake identities.
Flor Aviv tells the fascinating story of Jewish identity concealed behind false wall. The exhibition, composed of dozens of artistic silver symbols, reveals the secret practices of Jews across ages to maintain Jewish tradition.
Under the cover of a piggy bank, one finds a Star of David. One the back of a thermometer, one discovers a Mezuzah.
The exhibition presents an important aspect of Jewish history and a lesson that is crucial to contemporary western societies.
Liav Orgad
Prof, Uriel Richman University Herzliya
Company
Flor Aviv - a story linking Florence and
Tel Aviv. Two cities with different stories, but united by the "flower".
Tel Aviv, in Hebrew, means "hill of spring" and Florence, in Latin,
means "city of the flower". The story starts in 2018 when Roberto
Pampaloni, belonging to the homonymous family of silversmiths since 1902, moved
from Florence to Tel Aviv to study at the Uriel Richman university.
This is the inspiration to make
collections of Judaica inspired by “the cities of flowers”, Florence and Tel
Aviv. A Judaica that tries to address the issue of Jewish identity in
lighthearted way, as the joyful spirit of Tel Aviv, through naturalistic
representations of Jewish symbols or through the recapturing of ancient Jewish
stories, interpreted in a playful way.
Flor Aviv combines the modern spirit of
Tel Aviv with the the ancient skills of Florentine workshops, working with
silver, gold, crystal, wood, and precious stones.
Collections
Flor Aviv, with its first three collections
of Judaica, recaptures the ancient crypto Jewish tradition to explore the
problem of Jewish identity today. The inspiration for Flor Aviv
lies in the liturgical objects of the Marranos, crypto Spanish Jews forced to
convert publicly to Catholicism during the Middle Ages, who, however,
maintained their Jewish faith in private.
The Marranos developed ingenious
strategies of mystification and disguise of symbols related to Judaism. This
"Jewish ingenuity” inspires Flor Aviv in creating objects with a double
identity: one that shows the Jewish identity and one that hides it, where
circumstances require.
The
story of Marranos is still relevant today because the rise of antisemitism in
many countries all over the world. However, FlorAviv
takes up this ancient Jewish crypto tradition not as an invitation to the Jews
of today to hide, but instead by way of celebration of the spirit of survival
that has characterized Jews over the years.
