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Area families love collecting Jewish art, and
Alicia Nelson understands exactly why.
FRANK PROVENZANO SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
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hen Holocaust sur-
Mr. Feldman's house is filled
vivors came to Ameri- with Jewish art. Much of his col-
ca, many had made a lection of paintings, glass and Ju-
pact with those they left daica was gathered from his
behind at Auschwitz, Birkenau, travels throughout Israel with his
Buchenwald, Dachau and wife, Marcy.
Bergen-Belsen. The covenant
Nearly every month, the Feld-
was to never allow history to for- mans buy Judaica pieces as en-
get the horror. And, part of the gagement, wedding or bat and
pact was to no longer hide those bar mitzvah gifts.
pieces of Judaica that once
It's no wonder that Judaica
brought a cruel punishment if galleries have been flourishing
found in one's possession.
over the last several years.
"Some Jews came to this coun-
Six years ago, Alicia R. Nelson
try without anything, just
holding onto their silver
candlesticks," said Phyllis
Schwartz, a Bloomfield
Hills resident who has a col-
lection of dreidels, Seder
plates and mezuzot in her
home. "We've had to create
new heirlooms since the
Holocaust."
As Passover began last
Friday, Mrs. Schwartz was
preparing a meal for more
than 20 relatives. She
pulled out her Kiddush cups
and the Seder plate, kept in
a cabinet near a colorful A creative Bencini menorah.
painting that hangs on her
living room wall.
Mrs. Schwartz not only
Robert Lipnick's
proudly displays her Ju-
Noah-inspired mezuzah.
daica, she shows them as
pieces of art.
was in her "mid-life crisis,"
It wasn't until 10 years ago she said. After 14 years as
when her children were grown a seventh-grade English
and moved away from home that teacher at Hillel Day
Mrs. Schwartz began her collec- School, she was looking for
tion. And, like many Jews, began a new career. She decided
to view Judaica as art to be ap- to focus on what she knew
preciated, not just used at the hol- best: Judaica.
idays or for rituals.
Shortly thereafter, she
"Every time I need to buy a gift opened a gallery, Tradi-
I think about Judaica," Mrs. tion! Tradition!, in her
Schwartz said. "Each piece has Southfield home. After all,
so much meaning, and it's some- Mrs. Nelson explained,
thing we can hand down to our "Judaism is home based."
children."
Three years of part-
time hours soon grew into
a thriving full-time busi-
ness by appointment only.
Mrs. Nelson has shown a
knack not only for finding
local artists, but her
gallery displays some of
— Alicia Nelson the most innovative Ju-
daica creators in Israel
and around the world, including
Any piece of Judaica repre- candlesticks by Frank Meisler,
sents a range of life stages — the textile-styled mezuzot of
from birth, to bat or bar mitzvah, Wendy Rabinowitz and the over-
to marriage, to parenthood, to old lapping design sculptures of
age. With Judaic art, history and David Lipnick, whose work fre-
ritual come together in an en- quently consists of Noah's Ark
hanced representation of Jewish motifs.
life.
One of the latest internation-
"It symbolizes a significant al artist's work at Tradition! Tra-
event in the context of Jewish dition! is Lorna Sakalovsky, who
life," said Michael Feldman, a recently immigrated from South
Huntington Woods resident.
Africa to Israel. Her tiny clay
sculptures of multi-racial, multi-
cultural rabbis holding a differ-
ent symbol for each Jewish
holiday reflects a "universal Jew-
ish brotherhood" theme.
Mrs. Nelson, whose husband
David is rabbi at Congregation
Beth Shalom, said she runs her
business from her home for sev-
eral reasons.
"Judaica belongs in the home,
so it's only natural that my busi-
ness is here, in my home," she
said. "And, because I operate by
Dealers "don't see
each other as
competitors."
appointment, I find that I can
give all the time it takes, espe-
cially if they're interested in ke-
tubahs."
Ketubot (wedding contracts),
which date from the second cen-
tury C.E., are individualized,
matted and framed by Mrs. Nel-
son.
Though there are other Ju-
daica businesses in the area, Mrs.
Nelson said "We don't see each
other as competitors. All of us