Mizrach Omer Calender, by Moses H. Henry, Cincinnati, 1850. Ink on paper. Courtesy of the HUC Skirball Cultural Center Museum Collection, Los Angeles. 
A mizrach serves as a symbolic orientation towards Jerusalem, the direction towards which prayer is oriented. This highly complex mizrah illustrates Moses Henry's patriotism with the motif of the American eagle astride a shield and bunting of the Stars and Stripes. The architectural images also make reference to the ideals of Freemasonry, as during the nineteenth century many Jews began to join Masonic orders. This mizrah has a second function as an omer calendar, as the forty-nine roundels in the border count the seven weeks between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot. The legend at the top reads "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither" (Psalms 137:5).
Emil Flohri
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