Shavout and paper cutting, a forgotten Jewish folk art form

CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
By Sara Horowitz

Jorge Jaramillo FLICKR

CANADA---When I first met the wonderful American Jewish poet Marge Piercy, she asked me about Shavuot and paper cutting. One way that Ashkenazi Jews beautified their homes for Shavuot was by creating and displaying paper cuttings. Called in Yiddish, shevuoslakh (or shavuosl) and royzalakh (or raizelach) – literally meaning little Shavuots and little roses – the paper cuttings were mounted on windows, so they would be visible both indoors and out. In Judaism, we call this hiddur mitzvah, the beautification of a commandment. [More]