The Museum

Jewish life and festivals

At the second floor of the synagogue building the most recent part of the museum can be found.
This section is aimed to present all the visitors with the main aspects of Jewish life, by using original pieces inserted into didactic sets.
Beyond the didactic purpose, this area of the museum wants to convey a feeling that in Casale an alive Jewish community still exists. Each room or corner illustrates a Jewish Holyday or a Jewish special occasion.

A room is dedicated to Pesach, the Passover festival: a typical dinner family table is arranged for the Seder, the highly suggestive ceremony that celebrates the exodus, the exit of the Jewish people from the Egypt slavery towards freedom.

The special athmosphere of Shabbat, the saturday holy day of rest, is conveyed by a table, with the wine for the Kiddush prayer, the candles which are lit to begin the Shabbat and the Challah, the special plaited bread for the Shabbat.

A small Succah recalls the festival of Sukkot; it is like those kind of huts
in which Jews should dwell during this festival, in autumn.

In the section dedicated to the family occasions, the Jewish wedding ceremony occupies an important place. The groom, wearing his tallith, and the bride are under the Chuppah, the traditional canopy under which every Jewish wedding takes place.

This part of the museum intentionally ends with marriage, a stage of life ideally projected towards future and growth; thus in order to convey the visitor a feeling that in Casale an alive Jewish community can still be found, not only a museum.