Gallery 4: The Jewish Town, 1648–1772
This beautifully bound prayer book might well have been an engagement or wedding gift. Bound into one volume are two prayer books (1734 and 1763) and a tkhine, a supplicatory prayer. Women would use such fancy prayer books on holidays and for special occasions, such as the first visit to the synagogueSynagogue(Yiddish: shul) – house of prayer. Traditionally, men and women sit in separate sections. after giving birth. From the 16th century, as women began attending synagogue services more often, a women’s section was added to existing synagogues or included in the architectural plan for new ones. A learned woman might lead the prayers for those in the women’s section who had difficulty following the HebrewHebrewboth the Jewish sacred language of prayer and study (Yiddish: loshn-koydesh) and modern Hebrew (Hebrew: ivrit), which developed in the 19th century and became the official language of the State of Israel..