M is the letter of the day on ABC Wednesday.
Metal shutters blowing in the wind?
Menschelach to the rescue! Little people made of iron!
Known by their Yiddish name, these sweet menschelach are collectors items today.
I always kind of feel sorry for her when she has to hang upside down, not needed, if the shutters are shut. .
Menschelach were brought to Israel by the Templers .
The Templegesellschaft was a German sect of Protestants expelled from the Lutheran Church in 1868. They came to Eretz Israel in the 19th and 20th centuries and founded settlements.
Jerusalem's beautiful German Colony was built by the industrious Templers, beginning in 1878.
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So sweet :).
ReplyDeleteInformative!
ReplyDeletethank you
I like the photo of window, it is so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLearning something new. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, again.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post, love your photos! Enjoyed the history as always!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words, Dina.
ReplyDeleteThe Menschelach are so interesting: I suppose there are not many of them on the windows in Israel.
I love the shadow on the mensculah (oh, I know I spelled it wrong here). I can see why they are collector's items today.
ReplyDeleteThat was very special - another item learned.
ReplyDeletein the old days, we used to have shutters too (my grandparents' house still has them), but i've never seen an item like this .... if there is, i wonder what they'd be called.
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing, Dina.
oh, and the top photo is beautiful!
They are so nice and I can see why they are collected. I just hope to remember what they are called. :)
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother's house had exactly the same ones!
ReplyDeleteMenschelach! A new word and a new object! I didn't know that! It looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI've seen them on shutters before, but never knew there name. Quite a nice name they have! Good M.
ReplyDeleteYou always find wonderful, rich, little surprises to delight us on so many levels, Dina!
ReplyDeleteAloha, Shalom & WELL DONE!
Comfort Spiral
..they are sweet...
ReplyDelete{just another Mirae}
hugs.
Fascinating, as always!
ReplyDeleteWe have something on our shutters that performs a similar function, but it's not as sculpturally charming.
ReplyDeleteOy, that menschelach should come from folks who didn't exactly turn out to be mensches.
A very informative post, Dina! I've never heard of these before, but they are certainly as creative as they are practical. The information on the Templers was also new to me.
ReplyDeleteShalom, Dina! Looks like a great place to relax with a coffee, pastry and a friend!
ReplyDeleteAs I read from the link, it seems that the Templers are Jews and they were sent back to Germany after the WWII. Any still lives in Jerusalem?
ReplyDeleteIf I lived in Israel I'd be collecting these. This probably comes as no surprise. If I ever find one curbside I'll let you know
ReplyDeleteWow, those must be really heavy! Metal shutters but plastic chairs? Isn't that kind of a mismatch! What caught my attention the most was the bit of the refelction behind the bars in the window!!! Interesting Photo!
ReplyDelete- Pixellicious Photos
Wow, those must be really heavy! Metal shutters but plastic chairs? Isn't that kind of a mismatch! What caught my attention the most was the bit of the refelction behind the bars in the window!!! Interesting Photo!
ReplyDelete- Pixellicious Photos
It just amazes me that you're able to find all these interesting, colorful items with stories behind them. It seems every rock and flower and stone has a story to tell and you've been finding them. Thank you, Dina!
ReplyDeleteShalom everyone and thanks for sharing your reactions to the little menschelach. :)
ReplyDeleteThe old house is where my neighbor-friends live.
Grace and Bradley, no, the Templers were pious German Protestant Christians. There was a problem during World War II when a few of them had ties to the Nazis in the Old Country. Many of their descendants today live in Australia and America.
Petrea, but our Templers were great pioneers, building beautiful houses and improving society in pre-State Israel.
I will have to do some posts on the Templers.
Kay, you are right, every stone etc. has its story here.
Spacedlaw, cool! Your grandmother had the same shutter holders?! Where?
Eki, really, I wonder what you would name the little people in Indonesia. :)
My grandmother's house was (still is) in France, about 70 kilometer to the east of Paris. It was an old farm. All the downstairs shutters had those exact Menschelach (with the cocked beret on their head, they are hard to miss and I was fascinated as a child).
ReplyDeleteI learn so much from visiting you! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteSherry
Fascinating! I have never seen sculpted shutter holders, much less know that there's actually a word for them. Thank you, Dina.
ReplyDeleteOH! How interesting! I'd never heard of these! :-D
ReplyDeleteThe Menschelach - what mensches!
ReplyDeleteI bet that we get the word munchkin-meaning little person-from this Yiddish word. They're cute, and the post is interesting. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful photos. Informative post, as always.
ReplyDeleteThe textures are fantastic in the photos.
Those are wonderful - I've never seen anything like them! A perfect combination of efficient and adorable :)
ReplyDeleteLovely shot. I want to make some lemonade and sit next to that window!
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