Warsaw Walicow 14 St. | Bronze Mezuzah
- Description
This isn’t just a mezuzah, it is an art piece that exists as a witness to the history of Warsaw Jews. This mezuzah is a bronze cast, of an imprint of the mezuzah trace found at the old tenement at Walicow Street in Warsaw.
Part of a series by MI POLIN of over 160 entry doors catalogued throughout Poland, Ukraine, Romania, and Belarus; this mezuzah imprint from the doorpost at 14 Walicow St. has a special legacy to share.
The designers behind MI POLIN created a new mezuzah out of bronze to make the history tangible. Touching the mezuzah activates a link between past and present. The address 14 Walicow St. has been laser engraved into one side of the mezuzah and the Hebrew letter “Shin” is engraved on the opposite side. Read below to find out more about this fascinating art piece!
- Dimension: 4.33” long x 1.18” wide
- Material: Bronze
- Note: Mounting screws and parchment scroll are not included.
LEARN MORE ABOUT | MEZUZAH FROM THIS HOME SERIES
THE HOME
From November 1940 until August 1942, during the German occupation of Poland the building at 14 Walicow St. was located within the grounds of the Warsaw Ghetto. Many distinguished persons lived in the tenement house at 14 Waliców St. in Warsaw before WWlI.
One of them was Dawid Szulman, a lawyer who during the war was a member of the Jewish Military Union. As a lawyer he judged traitors and Jewish members of Gestapo - SS and Wehrmacht collaborators. Together with Bert Braudo and Sara Granatsztejn he executed a death penalty on the director of the Judenrat economic department, Izrael First, for collaborating with the Germans. All three of them were killed in the Holocaust.
Wtadystaw Szlengel, a poet, a song and cabaret text writer, was another famous inhabitant of the house. In 1941 he lived in the Warsaw Ghetto and participated in theatrical performances in Janusz Korczak's Orphanage. He and his wife were shot dead by the Germans in 1943. Menachem Kipnis, a famous photographer, singer, satirist and journalist also lived there. He and his wite, Zmira Zeligteld, died in the Warsaw Ghetto.
WARSAW UPRISING
During the Warsaw Uprising Waliców St. was the area for fighting battles by the Home Army "Sowinski" battalion. A participant of these battles, Jerzy Wozniak "Spila" reported: "On 24th September the German infantry, supported by two tanks, attacked our positions at Waliców St in Warsaw. The attack was preceded by the explosion of a huge bomb, that destroyed the façade of the building at 14 Waliców St. After heavy fighting, the attack was repulsed."
THE TRACE
No proprietary claims regarding the building have ever been filed. The tenement house was partially inhabited until the year 2000. In 2015 the city authorities issued the order for the house to be demolished. The order was suspended after intervention from the local authorities. In 2017 a group of municipal activists applied to the conservator - restorer to register the house at 14 Walicow St. in the Polish National Registry of Historic Buildings. It is one of the very few tenement houses from the former ghetto area that survived to this very day, bearing witness to the history of Warsaw.
Complete the look:
Kiddush Cup | Graphite
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We always try to deliver #JewishJoy.
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About Us
Who is behind Jewish Joy?
In 2016, Channan Tzvi (Kenny) started collecting Hamsas and began his journey reconnecting to his Jewish culture via the appreciation of this ancient symbol from a design based approach.
Hamsas of Munkatch, his design studio was founded in 2020 as a way to explore a personal connection to Judaism; and through his research he amassed an extensive collection of Judaica objects that Kenny realized could be shared with others, to allow them to experience some of the same joyful connection to the traditions - hence jewishjoy.co.
Why no Challah Boards?
There are many ways to celebrate Judaism - and this website is a bit different than your classic Judaica store that might only carry silver kiddish cups and wooden mezuzahs. These types of items already exist at other retailers or might be something that you may have inherited from a family member. We hope to compliment those pieces that you may already have in your homes with a variety of Judaica enhancements.
Our mission is to provide artistic items to our customers that inspire a personal connection to the joys of Judaism. We aim to achieve this by focusing our efforts on common traditions and cultural highlights of Judaism and celebrating them in an inclusive manner.
We try to source from other small businesses and Judaica artists who create one of a kind items.
A Bissle Ungepatchka | a little over the top
An important part of the joy that Channan Tzvi (Kenny) found in Judaism stems from the artistic imagery that can be seen throughout history on a variety of artifacts. People have always celebrated their love for Judaism through art and design and we continue that tradition.
With that in mind, we also embrace some of our Hungarian heritage and acknowledge that sometimes you need a bissle ungepatchka to liven up an otherwise contemporary living environment and reinvigorate your mind.
We know that not everyone will appreciate all of our pieces, but we hope that those of you who enjoy them LOVE THEM!