Are family heirlooms artifacts?
I do not think so. I think that they are just very dear family memories—objects that give you a good feeling because of the story they tell.
Many years ago, I donated such an heirloom to our Museum. Frankly, I had forgotten about it until I received an email telling me that a photograph of the object was going to be in this coming year’s printed calendar.
My mom gave me a challah cover about 60 years ago. Challah covers are used to cover the two loaves of challah that we use for our Shabbat meal on Friday nights. This one was a special cover; it had belonged to my grandparents and to my grandmother’s parents before that. It was obviously made at home during the late 1800s when women often occupied themselves with embroidering things for the home. Challah covers were not purchased like they are today, but were made by hand.
This cover was made of a silk material and the embroidery was stitched with silver thread. The Hebrew quote that was embroidered on it comes from the Bible, Ecclesiastes 9:7, and translates to: “Eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a good heart.”
All family heirlooms tell a story; the challah cover tells the story of my great-grandparents, who celebrated Shabbat every week. They set a beautiful table, and a beautiful table deserves a beautiful challah cover. For that reason, they made it extra special using the silver thread, the beautiful quote, and, of course, the hand-stitched image of a wine carafe. Wine is used for the blessing, the kiddush, just before the motzi, the blessing of the bread.
My grandparents buried some of their Jewish heirlooms in their backyard during the war. When they were found again, after the war was over in 1945, they saw that moisture had gotten into the box they had used. Some of the silver thread had stained the fabric and it had turned green-blue.
When I received the cover, I cleaned it, and we used it on Fridays. When my husband Sidney and I went to Israel in the 1970s, we bought a beautiful new challah cover. It was easy to clean every week, and the family heirloom stayed in the linen closet.
We donated my family’s challah cover to the Museum in 2010, and now it has found new life in the calendar.
It is still such a beautiful and meaningful piece. I can almost picture my family sitting happily together around the Shabbat table. I can almost smell the delicious freshly baked challah.
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