These things occurred on Sunday September 8, 2024 in Prague, Czechia
Sunday morning Chaim and I had originally planned to take the boys to visit a “must see” city outside of Prague. However, Chaim was still hacking away all night long, which meant he and I were not sleeping, and Matanel came in at 4:00AM just as I was finally falling asleep. We made an executive decision to scrap our plans and lay low with a low-key outing to the iconic Charles Bridge instead. (Chaim maintains that we made this decision independent of feeling unwell.)
Charles Bridge was built in the 14th century by King Charles IV of Bohemia after flooding damaged a previous bridge in the same location. Every few meters are sculptures of saints adorning both sides of the bridge from one end to the other. One of the sculptures caught my attention. Large, golden Hebrew words Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh Adonai Tzva’ot/Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts– a prayer Jews say daily as an expression of faith – surrounded Jesus on the crucifix . I was curious about this. It’s not infrequent one finds Hebrew inscriptions in Christian spaces. However, to see these words displayed so prominently on this sculpture seemed strange. I didn’t have time to read the explanation listed next to the sculpture. The crowds were too large and the boys wanted to move on. After a cursory search on the internet, I came across a radio station in Prague that posted the following explanation:
The golden Hebrew text on the crucifix was added in 1696. It was placed there as punishment for a Prague Jew, Eliass Backoffen, who has been convicted of debasing the Holy Cross. The text is derived from the words of the prophet Isaiah and reads, in English, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts. These words, which are the origin of the Sanctus in the Mass, are an important confession of faith in the Jewish tradition as well; their placement in this context has been perceived by some as offensive. A bronze tablet with explanatory text in Czech, English and Hebrew was mounted under the statue by the city of Prague authorities in 2000.
Yet another occasion to talk about antisemitism. This was not a conversation I had to have with my children because I found out the history of it afterwards. Though it could be seen as a missed opportunity, the sad truth is that antisemitism was and remains so rampant that we encounter plenty of opportunities to have these kinds of conversations as we travel the world. The one thing I always make sure my children know is that we remain proud of who we are and stand up for our beliefs.
With the crowd pushing us along, we continued crossing Charles Bridge and wound our way through a new area of Prague we hadn’t explored. An obligatory ice cream stop and then we walked to the Kafka Museum. We did not go into the museum. That would have been too much for a low-key day. Instead, we stood outside in the square and stared at the “Piss” (yes, that's it's name) sculpture by David Černý. The statue captivated our boys’ attention with its moving penises and urine fountain.
After several hours in the sun we all agreed it was time to go home. Chaim gifted me four hours of writing time that afternoon. I walked to a gelato and coffee shop that looked like a good spot to hunker down and write. There I ordered a gelato and tea. I must have been craving time to myself in a coffee shop because I was so moved by the way the tea was served that I took a picture of it. Then I took a picture of the tea set next to my laptop showcasing that I was in the midst of writing. Those who know me know that I am not the kind of person who takes pictures of food or of me working. It was an important moment of self-care and a great energy boost after a week of feeling off.
