The Song of Songs (1923): A Gem from Our Collection

This 1923 edition of the Song of Songs, published in Berlin by SD Saltzman Hasefer Verlag, is a work where text and image intertwine with rare artistry. Its illustrations, created by Ze’ev Raban (1890–1970), reflect a unique style: a dialogue between Art Nouveau, biblical motifs, and the artistic traditions of the Middle East. Trained in Munich, Paris, Brussels, and later at the Bezalel School in Jerusalem, Raban developed an aesthetic at the crossroads of these diverse influences.

Founded in 1906, the Bezalel School quickly became a major artistic hub, producing works, decorative objects, and prints. The Song of Songs is a shining example: 26 chromolithographs, enhanced with gold and silver, where every detail tells the story of the fusion between Eastern and Western traditions.

A Donation Steeped in History

This book was acquired by our donor at a market in Liège. The seller, a concierge in Brussels during the war, had received it from a rabbi who asked her to keep it safe. No one ever came to claim it. Its origins remain uncertain, but it may have been looted during the antisemitic persecutions of 20th-century Europe.

Who Owns Culture?

Who owns culture? How can museums address past looting? This donation highlights the urgency of provenance research and restitution.

Hidden Stories: Richard Moszkowicz

What if you started painting at over 50 years old, without rules, without training, just with the urgent desire to bring out what’s inside you? That’s exactly what Richard Moszkowicz did.

For this fourth episode of “Hidden Stories,” we introduce you to a striking canvas created in 2018, recently added to the collection of the Jewish Museum of Belgium after the exhibition “Passage. Textiles & Rituals“

Saturated colors, vertical gestures, words scribbled like fragments of an intimate diary. Moszkowicz’s canvases don’t tell stories; they reveal an inner tension. Born in Brussels in 1945, he joined the Créahmbxl workshops in 1997, where he continues today to build a body of work that is as powerful as it is unclassifiable.

Watch the video to discover more about this unique artwork and the artist who created it.

Hidden Stories: Stéphane Mandelbaum

For the third episode of our Hidden Stories series, discover Composition à la figure rouge, a recent acquisition by the Jewish Museum of Belgium.

Created by Stéphane Mandelbaum (1961–1986), this double-sided work combines gouache, ballpoint pen, and felt-tip marker. It explores powerful themes such as identity, sexuality, violence, and memory.

Watch our video to learn more about this striking piece.

We are delighted to present the second episode of our Hidden Stories series, a unique format in our digital museum.

In this new episode, we shed light on a rare photographic archive: Jewish holiday camps after the Second World War. These holiday camps, organised under the impetus of the AIVG (Assistance to Jewish Victims of War), by associations such as Solidarité Juive and the CCSJ (Centre Culturel et Sportif Juif), offered surviving children a space for reconstruction, transmission and resilience. Far from being mere leisure camps, they were places of cultural rebirth, where young people could rediscover an identity that the war had tried to erase.

Hidden Stories invites you to explore objects and archives that go beyond mere testimonies of the past, revealing powerful narratives that shape identity and collective memory.

🎥 Watch our video to discover these exceptional archive images.

We are excited to present the first episode of our new series, “Hidden Stories“, a unique format of our digital museum. Through this series, we offer you a glimpse into the objects in our collections, each carrying untold and precious stories of Jewish cultures.

In this first episode, we focus on a recently acquired piece that carries a little-known story. Introducing the “Garden of Eden” Prayer Set, which joined our collection in 2023. This set, including a tallit, matching bag, and kippah, was created in Jerusalem by Yair Emanuel in 2023.

Watch the video to discover the story behind this remarkable set. Curious about other objects or stories? Feel free to ask questions in the comments!