September 21, 2024 author's presentation of the exhibition
In the garden of the Hus Congregation, an author's presentation of Martina Špinková's exhibition YOU WILL HAVE SHOES AND A STAFF IN YOUR HAND took place.
The exhibition is organized by Gallery Výhybka and will last until October 31, Mon - Fri 1 PM - 4 PM (or by appointment).
So come. We look forward to seeing you. ❤️
What can you look forward to? Take a look at the photos from the opening
in color: HERE
or black and white: HERE
The exhibition is organized by Gallery Výhybka and will last until October 31, Mon - Fri 1 PM - 4 PM (or by appointment).
So come. We look forward to seeing you. ❤️What can you look forward to? Take a look at the photos from the opening
in color: HERE
or black and white: HERE
On September 14, Martina Špinková's exhibition was inaugurated
YOU WILL HAVE SHOES AND A STAFF IN HAND
The exhibition will be open until October 31, 2024
There will be a guided tour with the author on September 21 at 4 p.m
The exhibition will be open until October 31, Monday - Friday: 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
at another time if interested
Free admission
at another time if interested
Free admission
About the exhibition:
When we set out on journeys, we put on shoes. Sometimes we take a staff to lean on or to clear our path. We fortify ourselves with food; we are prepared. But after some time, we grow weary and ask ourselves: what is the purpose of this journey we were invited on, why are we toiling here, why us specifically, why must we suffer...? These are thousand-year-old questions that we pose to God repeatedly with defiance and distrust. We reproach Him for being silent, for not guiding us sufficiently, for not existing. Martina Špinková will open these audacious questions in her own way in the space of the Milevsko synagogue - through paintings, drawings, and installations.
Exhibition curator: Tereza Špinková
In cooperation: Galerie Výhybka
More about Martině Špinkové: https://www.spinkova.cz/
We look forward to your visit!
When we set out on journeys, we put on shoes. Sometimes we take a staff to lean on or to clear our path. We fortify ourselves with food; we are prepared. But after some time, we grow weary and ask ourselves: what is the purpose of this journey we were invited on, why are we toiling here, why us specifically, why must we suffer...? These are thousand-year-old questions that we pose to God repeatedly with defiance and distrust. We reproach Him for being silent, for not guiding us sufficiently, for not existing. Martina Špinková will open these audacious questions in her own way in the space of the Milevsko synagogue - through paintings, drawings, and installations.
Exhibition curator: Tereza Špinková
In cooperation: Galerie Výhybka
More about Martině Špinkové: https://www.spinkova.cz/
We look forward to your visit!
Church Night June 7, 2024
Full Evening Program:
- An introduction to the history of the synagogue and the Huss Congregation of the CCHS.
- sale of products from the Mokřice Ecofarm, Krásná Hora nad Vltavou
Program:
17:00 - 17:15 Welcome, prayer
18:00 - 18:25 Christian meditation
20:00 - 22:00 concert
- Jan Dalecký & Lucie Čápová
(harmonium, banjo, guitar, Tibetan bowl)
22:20 - 22:45 Christian meditation
22:50 - 23:00 Goodnight prayer
details here: https://www.nockostelu.cz/kostel/982/
Blessing of Same Sex Couples
Dear Friends,
Based on a recent statement by church leaders, we would like to inform you that the clergy in our Milevsko religious community are prepared to bless same-sex couples if they wish to do so.
We are convinced that love and strangeness between two people deserves blessing regardless of their sexual orientation. We want to be an open community that respects diversity and provides spiritual support for all.
If you are interested in having your union blessed or would like to learn more, please feel free to contact us.
We are here for you.
Based on a recent statement by church leaders, we would like to inform you that the clergy in our Milevsko religious community are prepared to bless same-sex couples if they wish to do so.
We are convinced that love and strangeness between two people deserves blessing regardless of their sexual orientation. We want to be an open community that respects diversity and provides spiritual support for all.
If you are interested in having your union blessed or would like to learn more, please feel free to contact us.
We are here for you.
At the new synagogue on Sokolovská Street, the deacon Vladimír Karbusický of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church was in Milevsko, a geniza was discovered. He therefore contacted the Jewish Museum in Prague, which, as part of the project The Secret of the Soil, is investigating these findings and assesses them. Our editorial team was able to be there when the curator of this project, Mrs. Lenka Uličná, came to Milevsko with her team to examine the geniza. On this occasion we asked her for a short interview.
Mrs. Uličná, can you first explain to our readers what geniza actually is?
Geniza is the habit of putting away objects that no longer serve their purpose in the religious life of the Jewish community. The same term is also used to refer to a closed, publicly inaccessible space where worn-out prayer books, parts of biblical texts, as well as synagogue furnishings and archival material were deposited. And this place was usually the synagogue's attic. The items would lie in the geniza until they completely disintegrated, or could eventually be buried in the Jewish cemetery.
Why can't religious books and ritual objects be thrown away in the regular garbage?
The reason for the geniza is respect for God's name. Items that have one of God's names written on them are primarily put away in the geniza, and we put them away so that we do not destroy God's name with our own hands. I encourage anyone who would like to learn more about geniza to visit the website geniza.cz.
What all was found in the geniza of Milevsko?
And from what period are the objects found?
Most of the fragments found are prayer books from the late 19th century, so they are older than the synagogue itself. Most of them are siddurim, prayer books for everyday life. We also dug a shiviti tablet and its frame out of the rubble pile. These tablets used to be hung at the prayer desk or bimah where the Torah is read from, and they bear the text "I set the Lord always before my eyes" (Psalm 16:8). The discovery of a manuscript memorandum book containing the names of deceased members of the Jewish community is important for genealogical research.
Did you find anything that surprised you?
We were surprised by a beautiful huge chandelier. In the genizahs, we find parts of candlesticks, drip pans, and even craters, but the whole chandelier is really in the genizas. Although we have not yet been able to identify it with the chandeliers in the historical photographs of the synagogue, it is clear that it was used in the synagogue. Parts of the synagogue interior were added to the genizah from the pieties, but a building this size is truly unique.
What will happen next with the find?
We would like to restore and digitize the monument and a few fragments of books with ownership inscriptions at the Jewish Museum in Prague so that they will be accessible to the widest possible circle of researchers and laymen interested in the history of the Jewish community in Milevsko. Most of the findings, however, we would like to in Milevsk and we will be helpful if a display case commemorating the Jews of Milevsk is created in the former synagogue or museum.
Thank you for the interview.
