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Shevirat ha-Kelim (Breaking of the Vessels)

Unusual Objects From Our Permanent Exhibition Tell Stories of Jewish Life

Anselm Kiefer’s artwork Breaking of the Vessels interprets the kabbalistic teaching of Isaak Luria (1534–1572) about the catastrophe that took place during creation:

Sculpture of a library made of lead with inserted glass fragments, above a semicircle with the name of the infinite god

Shevirat ha-Kelim (Breaking of the Vessels) by Anselm Kiefer (born 1945), 1990–2019, lead, iron, glass, copper wire, charcoal, Aquatec; Jewish Museum Berlin, accession L-2019/29/0, owned by the artist, photo: Roman März

In order to make space for creation, the omnipresent God (Hebrew Ain Sof, literally: “without end” or “infinite”) contracted. In the empty space that resulted, God sent a ray of light that was to initiate the actual act of creation. Ten vessels (Hebrew sefirot) symbolizing the harmony of the universe were to catch the ray. However, they were unable to contain the powerful current of light and the seven lower vessels shattered. Their shards united with sparks of divine light and fell into the abyss. The breaking of the vessels is interpreted as a symbol for a world in a state of disharmony, one in which evil has entered.

“In this piece, Kiefer has latched onto something crucial in Judaism, namely the relationship between scripture and tradition.” (Peter Schäfer, scholar of Judaism)

Kabbalah

Kabbalah is an esoteric method, discipline, and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. 
More on Wikipedia

Detailed view of the artwork Shevirat ha-Kelim by Anselm Kiefer

What is the Kabbalah? And how can the world be restored after the breaking of the vessels? Audio track from our JMB app

Read along: the Kabbalah

The Kabbalah is a complex system of Jewish mysticism, esoteric method and discipline that examines the mysteries of creation, the nature of God and the mission of humans in the world.

The Kabbalah originated in the south of France, Spain and Palestine in the middle ages. One of its most important proponents is Isaac Luria, who lived in Egypt and Palestine in the 16th century.

His basic idea is this: God, Ain Sof or the Infinite in Hebrew, fills the entire universe, without limit. In order to give space to creation, he had to withdraw into himself. Into the primordial space he created, he sent light that was to be collected in ten vessels. But the light was so strong that seven of the vessels broke and fell into the abyss. A counter world of evil arose from these vessels. The “breaking of the vessels” is thus a primordial catastrophe in the process of creation: the world has taken a wrong course.

The task of people is the restoration of the world or Tikkun Olam in Hebrew. Through good deeds, intense piety and fulfillment of the commandments, the original state of balance is returned to the world.

The idea of the shared responsibility greatly contributed to the popularity of the Lurian Kabbalah.

Selected Works of Art: Art at the Jewish Museum Berlin (5)

  • Art at the Jewish Museum Berlin

    The Jewish Museum Berlin houses a collection of works of art which we would like to introduce to you.

  • Close-up of faces cut into metal discs.

    Shalekhet by Menashe Kadishman

    This installation can be found in the Memory Void which is located on the ground floor of the Libeskind Building.

  • Four people standing next to each other

    Mesubin (The Gathered)

    The video installation by Yael Reuveny brings the polyphony of contemporary Jewish together. On our website you can see four short films from the footage.

  • View of a black glass display case.

    Gallery of the Missing by Via Lewandowsky

    On display in the Eric F. Ross Gallery on the ground floor of the Libeskind Building

  • Sculpture of a library made of lead with inserted glass fragments

    Shevirat ha-Kelim (Breaking of the Vessels)

    Anselm Kiefer, 1990–2019, lead, iron, glass, copper wire, charcoal, Aquatec

  • Behind a glass wall lies a stack of oversized books.

    Rustling Papers

    Installation by Judith Raum in the entrance area of the W. Michael Blumenthal Academy, with six audio works online

Core Exhibition: 13 Objects – 13 Stories (13)

  • 13 Objects – 13 Stories

    A Torah shield, a sculpture, a cushion: 13 unusual objects of our core exhibition tell 13 stories of Jewish life. What would a museum be without its many objects, some small, some big, each rich in meaning? You can get a sneak peek of the objects here on our website.

  • Sculpture of a library made of lead with inserted glass fragments

    Shevirat ha-Kelim (Breaking of the Vessels) by Anselm Kiefer

    This installation can be found in our core exhibition in the Libeskind Building, on level 2

  • Female statue with traces of rust, missing the head

    L’amitié au coeur (Friendship of the Heart)

    by Étienne-Maurice Falconet (1716–1791), Paris, 1765, marble

  • Various crumpled documents with Hebrew letters, a shoe and a bag

    Finds from the Memmelsdorf Genizah

    Memmelsdorf (find site), ca. 1725–1830, paper, ink, fabric, leather, porcelain

  • Silver Torah shield with gilded columns and lions holding law tablets

    Torah Shield

    donated by Isaak Jakob Gans (1723–1798), Hamburg, 1760–1765, silver

  • Oil painting with a family scene

    Manheimer Family Portrait

    by Julius Moser (1805–1879), Berlin, 1850, oil on canvas

  • Puppet with a crown and moving parts, which are connected with rivets

    Puppet Show

    King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Käte Baer-Freyer (1885–1988), Berlin, ca. 1924, plywood, metals

  • White pillow with blue script

    Decorated Cushion

    “ISRAELI, JEW, and now SEVERELY DISABLED ...,” Daniel Josefsohn (1961–2016), Berlin, 2014/15, textile

  • Glass showcase full of tableware, cutlery and other silver objects

    Silver Formerly Owned by Jews

    Provenance: up to 1939 unknown Jewish owners, 1939 Hamburg Tax Authority

  • Opened album with pictures of the Chicago skyline, a skyscraper, a painting, and handwritten text

    Going-away Present

    Bruno Heidenheim, Album to bid farewell to Margot (1913–2010) and Ernst (1898–1971) Rosenthal, Chemnitz, 1936

  • Silver washbasin with flowers and ornaments, in the middle a Hebrew inscription

    Hand Washbasin

    Manufacturer: S. & D. Loewenthal, Frankfurt am Main, 1895/96, silver

  • Membership card with a heart-formed photo

    No Longer in the Country

    Unclaimed membership cards for the Jewish community Frankfurt am Main, 1949

  • Abstract painting in blue, black and yellow tones

    Composition

    by Otto Freundlich (1878–1943), 1938, tempera on cardboard

  • Yellow star with the word Jude (Jew) on it

    Yellow Star

    of the Lehmann family, Berlin, 1941–1945

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