Object numberM2010/124:018
Creator Ben Apfelbaum (photographer)
DescriptionColour photograph by Ben Apfelbaum of a man performing Kaparot, an ancient and mystical custom connected to Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Taken at the Russian Synagogue, O'Brien Street, Bondi, undated. The custom is generally performed after dawn on the day before Yom Kippur. It is both a ritual of Tshuvah (repentance) and Tzdakah (charity). The ceremony involves taking a chicken (a white rooster for a male, hen for a female) and waving it over one's head while reciting the prayer: "This is my exchange, this is my substitute, this is my atonement. This chicken will go to its death while I will enter and proceed to a good long life, and peace."
From an early age Ben Apfelbaum was aware of a void of family photographs in the home. His parents, both Holocaust survivors, were the only survivors of their families and aside from two small photographs that his father saved from before the war, there were no images of grandparents or extended family. Apfelbaum received a Brownie box camera from his parents when he was seven years old. With no formal training, he has been taking photographs ever since.
For the past several decades, Apfelbaum has focused on photographing Sydney's Jewish community, both for his own documentation and as the honorary photographer of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies during the 1990s.
The visual record of these ancient customs and traditions testify to the continuity of Jewish life in a dynamic multicultural society that is characteristic of contemporary Australian life. He states: "I have sought in my photographs to portray the community with affection and, in some cases, as an unique ethnic group emphasising the symbolism of a festival and the distinctiveness of our people which has helped our survival over thousands of years".
Apfelbaum was a contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera). During Australia's Bicentennial year (1988) he made it a personal project to document the celebrations, published in 1989 as 'Celebrating Australia'. He was a co-photographer on a book entitled Sydney - Discover the City. For two years he was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney's multicultural communities. His work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney's Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. Over 100 of his images are in the State Library of NSW collection. His 2007 solo exhibition entitled Ben's Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum showcased the Sydney Jewish community, following the Jewish calendar of religious festivals, life-cycle ceremonies, communal carnivals, demonstrations and commemorations - documenting secular and religious, private and public Jewish life and culture in a uniquely Sydney context.
From an early age Ben Apfelbaum was aware of a void of family photographs in the home. His parents, both Holocaust survivors, were the only survivors of their families and aside from two small photographs that his father saved from before the war, there were no images of grandparents or extended family. Apfelbaum received a Brownie box camera from his parents when he was seven years old. With no formal training, he has been taking photographs ever since.
For the past several decades, Apfelbaum has focused on photographing Sydney's Jewish community, both for his own documentation and as the honorary photographer of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies during the 1990s.
The visual record of these ancient customs and traditions testify to the continuity of Jewish life in a dynamic multicultural society that is characteristic of contemporary Australian life. He states: "I have sought in my photographs to portray the community with affection and, in some cases, as an unique ethnic group emphasising the symbolism of a festival and the distinctiveness of our people which has helped our survival over thousands of years".
Apfelbaum was a contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera). During Australia's Bicentennial year (1988) he made it a personal project to document the celebrations, published in 1989 as 'Celebrating Australia'. He was a co-photographer on a book entitled Sydney - Discover the City. For two years he was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney's multicultural communities. His work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney's Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. Over 100 of his images are in the State Library of NSW collection. His 2007 solo exhibition entitled Ben's Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum showcased the Sydney Jewish community, following the Jewish calendar of religious festivals, life-cycle ceremonies, communal carnivals, demonstrations and commemorations - documenting secular and religious, private and public Jewish life and culture in a uniquely Sydney context.
Production placeBondi, New South Wales, Australia
Object namephotographs
Materialphotographic emulsion, paper, paper
Dimensions
- height: 150.00 mm
width: 225.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Ben Apfelbaum