Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Two Words: ‘Plastic Judaica’

Crossposted from Samuel Gruber’s Jewish Art & Monuments

Plastic (phenol formaldehyde) memorial (yahrzeit) lights, replacing candles, in the collection of the Amsterdam Bakelite Collection. Image by Samuel D. Gruber

For the past year I’ve been curator of the Plastics Collection at Syracuse University, and while I have not given up my research and activism vis-a-vis Jewish art and architecture, I have launched into to a new work area. Usually, I just split my interests — plastics by day, and teaching “Art and Architecture of the Synagogue” at night. But occasionally I can bring these two seemingly disparate disciplines together.

One such occasion came last July, when I was in Cologne, Germany, to comment on the ongoing archaeological excavations of the medieval synagogue and Judengasse. I took the opportunity to visit the Amsterdam, and the Amsterdam Bakelite Collection of Reindert Groot, to discuss possibilities of collaboration. Besides showing me hundreds of notable plastic objects, mostly from the 1920s to 1940s, Reindert knew I would want to see the above pictured plastic yahrzeit “candles.” Today we are used to seeing plastic lights, including memorial lamps and Hanukkah menorahs, but these are very early examples.

For the most part, despite its popularity for novelty items and souvenirs, plastic has been slow to find a foothold for religious use. In Judaism, to the best of my knowledge, plastic has not been used in synagogue ritual objects, especially those in association with the Torah. The concept of hiddur mitzvah (beautifying the commandments) encourages the decoration of the Torah with precious materials and unique designs and artistry, and cheap mass produced plastics simply do not fit the bill. In “500 Judaica: Innovative Contemporary Ritual Art” (Sterling Publishng, 2010) I see that only two featured works include plastic — and these are textile works than include polyester fibers.

But there are still plenty of plastic mezuzot on the market, and I would not be surprised to find some plastics — especially hard and bright acrylics — used in some contemporary Ark designs somewhere. Plastics are widely used for celebratory purpose, such as Purim groggers and Hanukkah dreidels, and I recently saw a YouTube video advertising a plastic “shofar.”

For Christians, especially Catholics, there are plastic rosary beads and crosses. In 1935 General Plastics, Inc. manufactured a plastic portable “sick call” kit so priests could easily carry candle bases, a holy water bottle and a crucifix when visiting the sick. These and similar products were widely used during World War II. That war was also the first time, to my knowledge, that plastic crosses were mass produced so that every solider who wanted could have one. Was there any sort of Jewish equivalent? I’d love to hear about more plastics in Jewish and other religious contexts.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.