JEWISH HERITAGE AND HISTORY
A Quilt by The Jewish Community of the Palouse
By Aviva Suchow

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As I grew up attending Jewish services in a synagogue in California, I expected to continue to worship in an environment that reflects our Jewish heritage.  However, I now live in the Palouse where there is no synagogue owned by or for the Jewish Community here.  Thus, I have felt the Jewish Community needed something to help us make our place of worship amongst other faiths.  We often hold our services in churches instead of a traditional Jewish synagogue. 

From my background as a quilter, I thought it would be appropriate to suggest to our community that a group of us create a special quilt reflecting our heritage to be hung in the front alter area where we pray -- giving a focus to our ceremonies and celebrations.  During the last two years (September 2000 through October 2002) six women have come forth to create our statement.   

Diane Baumgart, Donna Dwiggins, Mary Loewus,

Pam Rosenman, Aviva Suchow, and Leah Wherland

Our quilt was inspired from a beautiful album quilt, "Threads of Tradition", shown on the front cover of a book, The How To Handbook For Jewish Living (Olitzky & Issacs; KTAV Publishing House, Inc.). The theme of the original quilt is "Jewish Holidays and Festivals, Ritual Objects and Symbols" on Jewish lifestyles.  The quilt on this book cover was completed March 4, 1990 by Jews and non-Jews alike and donated to the Jewish Community Center in Binghamton, New York.  Sandy Paston instructed the quilters while Flora Rosefsky coordinated the individual block designs. 
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