The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life is dominated by items that record the realm of personal and family traditions in the global Jewish Diaspora. These often small, lightweight artifacts were produced in various locations around the world and transported for generations by migrants. Although some families gave individual donations to the Judah L. Magnes Museum, a majority were selectively collected. For example, in 1967, The Magnes bought the Strauss set.



Several elements of Jewish life are combined with personal and family ritual artifacts. Such aspects include the observance of Jewish rituals, kasheruth or diet laws (taharat ha-mishpachah) regulating the marital relationships, the celebration of the life cycle, which is marked by the ritual circumcision of males and celebrations of both sexes' religious maturity (bar and bat Mitzvah), marriage ceremonies, and the observance of Jewish family customs.



The collection includes thousands of ritual artifacts from around the world, including Europe, Asia, North Africa, the Middle East and America, which provide a rare opportunity to research the complexities of Jewish life from a range of perspectives. Ritual objects provide new insight into the daily life, social systems, gender and generational roles, cultures, practice, Jewish relationships to regulatory religions, esthetic currents and interactions between the makers of these objects and the individuals and families in control of them in view of the social and historical dynamics that regulated their creation.

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