Bread is not just an essential staple food symbolizing fertility, prosperity, and protection against evil and providing healing and consolation in times of hardship. It also fulfills a central function in religion and ritual. In this gallery, bread is presented in its role as mediator between the individual and God, with an emphasis on its sanctity in the rituals and holidays of the Jewish and Christian faiths.
In Judaism, bread was first accorded a place in ritual as one of the grain offerings sacrificed on the altar, first in the Tabernacle and then in the Temple. After the destruction of the Temple, the festive family table came to be viewed a symbolic substitute for the altar. The sanctity of bread in Judaism today is thus manifested in the traditional Sabbath and holiday meals.
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Hanna Fuad Farah, Moon Skin, 2004
Mixed Media, Variable dimensions
Collection of the Artist, Kfar Biram |
Christianity sees itself as the successor of Judaism, and the ceremonies held in the various churches strive to recreate the Temple ritual. Here, however, the sanctity of bread carries a different meaning, since devout Christians believe that a miraculous "Divine Incarnation" takes place each day anew during Mass, with the holy bread actually becoming the flesh of Christ. |
