Exhibit Links Tarot Cards to Medieval Jewish Practice

Why this is here: Appel identified card number twelve, Le Pendu (The Hanged Man), as potentially depicting Haman from the Purim story, noting the figure wears a 14-buttoned outfit and hangs from a tree with 10 branches—corresponding to Haman and his ten sons.

Researcher Stav Appel presents his theory at the Vilna Shul in Boston, claiming medieval Jews embedded Jewish scripture into tarot cards. Appel noticed patterns in the Major Arcana cards, connecting imagery and details to Hebrew letters, biblical stories, and Jewish holidays. He suggests the cards served as a secret means of preserving Jewish faith in medieval France, where Jewish practice was outlawed for over 200 years.

The exhibit displays prints of a 1650 tarot deck, alongside Appel’s interpretations. He points to specific elements—like a figure resembling the Hebrew letter lamed or a depiction of a circumcised penis—as evidence of hidden meaning. Appel acknowledges the unconventional nature of his claims, as fortune-telling is traditionally forbidden in Judaism.

However, Appel’s work remains open to further investigation, particularly regarding the influence of 19th-century occultist Éliphas Lévi on the interpretation of tarot and kabbalah. He continues to research the historical connections between tarot, Judaism, and kabbalah, seeking to fully reveal the cards’ potential secrets.