The first section is dedicated to the theme "The Jews are the people of the Book." Here are exhibits that tell about the holy scripture of the Jews – Torah or the Pentateuch of Moses.
In the showcase 1.01 one can see the tablets of the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. These commandments became the moral basis for both Judaism and Christianity. They have been translated from Hebrew to many languages of the world. There are different language versions of the commandments. In the middle there is a copy of the famous sculpture "Moses", created by Michelangelo Buonarroti in the early 16th century. In this piece of art, Moses is depicted with tablets and the horns on his head. In fact, the horns appeared because of the mistake of translator who translated Torah from Hebrew to Greek and later to Latin. According to the text of the Bible, when Moses spoke to God and then transmitted his words to the people, his face radiated light. In Hebrew, the word "keren" is a homonym, and has two meanings: "ray" and "horn", which are written and pronounced in the same way. Thus, the translator confused the two meanings. In a later translation of the Bible, this error was corrected.
The 10 commandments that Moses received are sacred not only for Jews but also for Christians. In Christian tradition, the text of the Torah is called the Old Testament, and it is included in the Bible. In addition, some stories from the Torah were included in the Koran, the holy book of Muslims.
Interestingly, besides of 10 commandments, Judaism assumes 613 ones, which Moses got from the Lord on Mount Sinai. They are set out in Sefer Ha-Brit, the Book of Union. You can find it in the info-box opposite the showcase.
Showcase 1.02 contains the collection of the Babylonian Talmuds printed in the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. They were published in Eastern Europe, in particular in Lemberg (Lviv), Vilna (Vilnius), Warsaw, Zhytomyr and other cities. The Talmud is a collection of legal and religious-ethical provisions of Judaism, commentary on the Torah that were designed as follows: the fragment of Torah text was highlighted by the printing type and the Talmudic commentaries were placed on different sides of the highlighted text. Thus, there was a discussion around of each Torah position, that Talmudic tradition had fixed for future generations.
Showcase 1.03 contains a collection of items designed to decorate the largest shrine for the Jews - the sacred Torah scroll. Two Torah crowns, placed one below the other, symbolize the rule of law recorded in Scripture. Such crowns are put on the folded Torah scroll and fixed on its wooden handles. You can see two crowns made of silver in the 19th century. Notice that they have bells. During the process of taking out of the Torah scroll, at the liturgy, they announce with their bell about this solemn moment.
To the right is a special Torah Mantle, or Torah Case. This specific object has a dramatic history. The case was made in the early 20th century in Poland, and during the Nazi occupation its owner, a Polish Jew, was deported to one of the largest death camps in Treblinka, where he died in a gas chamber. He handed this family heirloom, a velvet case to the Torah, to neighbors who had kept it for more than 6 decades.
Just below you can see a collection of pointers for reading the Torah. In Hebrew, this thing is called "Yad" in literal translation, a hand. The Torah scroll itself is sacred and it is not desirable to touch it with your hands. Therefore, Yad is always used in the synagogue when reading the Torah.
On the bottom shelf is a collection of Mezuzah cases. The Mezuzah is a piece of parchment with the text of the prayer of Shma Yisrael, which is traditionally placed on the right door jamb at the entrance to the premises where Jews live or work. The presence of the Mezuzah sanctifies the room. One of Mezuzah cases you could notice at the entrance to the Museum.
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