OCTOBER 31 • 2024 | 21
J
N
L
ongtime Metro Detroiters Dr.
Harry and Rachel (Ray) (z”l)
Maisel met and married in
South Africa more than 75 years
ago. When Ray, Harry’s beloved
wife, passed away in 2014, Harry
protected her interesting collection
of textiles from the ancient Jewish
city of Bukhara (in present-day
Uzbekistan), where Ray’s family,
including prominent local rabbis,
called home.
Ray’s family journeyed from
Bukhara to Jerusalem to London
(where Ray was born) and then to
South Africa. Accompanying the
family was a unique collection of
colorful Bukharian silk and cotton
robes, leather boots, kippot, shawls,
scarves and embroidered tallit
corners.
At the time of Dr. Maisel’s 90th
birthday, he began to search for
a home for this beautiful and
cherished textile collection. It is
now housed with JHSM (Jewish
Historical Society of Michigan).
JHSM Executive Director
Catherine Cangany, Ph.D., said she
is “thrilled JHSM can steward this
exquisite and unusual collection.
Most Jewish historical societies and
museums do not have Bukharian
dress among their holdings.”
JHSM and Dr. Maisel developed a
plan with Adat Shalom Synagogue,
where Harry served as president
and Ray was the first woman to
lead the ritual committee, to create
a permanent installation of pieces
from the Ray Maisel Bukharian
Jewish textile collection. An old
telephone booth in the synagogue
lobby was transformed into a lighted
display case. A nearby wall outlines
a short history of Bukharian Jews
and their location on the Silk Road.
Rabbi Blair Nosanwisch said the
congregation feels “fortunate that
Dr. Harry Maisel, in loving memory
of his wife, has founded an exhibit
to celebrate the particular culture of
the Bukharian Jewish community.
Bukharian Jews are Mizrahi Jews,
and the majority have emigrated to
Israel or the United States.”
The community is invited to
attend the exhibit’s dedication at
Adat Shalom on Friday night, Nov.
22, prior to religious services. The
dedication is part of a weekend
of events highlighting Bukharian
Jews, including a talk by scholar-
in-residence Ruben Shimonov, an
educator based in Detroit by way of
Uzbekistan. Shimonov will speak on
“Global Jewish Diversity” and the
role of Hebrew, Persian and Arabic
script in Bukharian Jewish life.
“We hope that the Ray Maisel z”l
Bukharian Jewish textile exhibit
will facilitate learning about global
Jewish diversity for many years to
come,” Nosanwisch said.
A Focus on
Bukharian Jews
Ray Maisel z”l Bukharian Jewish Textile
exhibit to open at Adat Shalom.
JEANNIE WEINER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
ABOVE: The Maisel
Exhibit at Adat Shalom.
LEFT: Dr. Henry Maisel
with the exhibit.