Genre Painting by Brian Shapiro
Two Jewish holidays particularly command us to be connected with our vast history. Most notably the Passover Haggadah demands that we feel as if we too went out of Egypt with the Jewish masses. Less obvious is Tisha b’Av.
A Mohel’s Siddur by Aryeh ben Judah Leib
Imagine you are a mohel and, thank God, business is booming. It’s a good living and you even have time to sit and learn in between the jobs that seem to crop up at least once a…
Paintings by Lloyd Bloom
Upon entering Lloyd Bloom’s exhibition at the Chassidic Art Institute one is confronted by a sweet beautiful image of a lamb skipping through the air in a puffy cloud landscape. Right next to it is an image of a goat kid…
Sculpture and the Bible
Ark of the Covenant, wood, metal, mixed media by Howard Lerner, courtesy the artist
Walking into Howard Lerner’s studio is like falling headfirst into a Tanach made of sculpture. Right near the door is a 10-foot-high Tower of Babel. Partially hidden behind…
The 42 Letter Name by Robert Kirschbaum
God’s Names. What an odd notion. And yet they provide us with a means of knowing Him better and, simultaneously, distancing us from the unfathomable enormity of His essence. The Bible ascribes approximately nine appellations, including "Lord," 'The…
To Serve My People: Part II
Arthur Szyk saw the face of Haman. It was Hitler. And he knew what had to be done. His only tools were his art and he labored mightily against the terrible enemy. In the early 1930’s Szyk took up…
To Serve My People: Part I
Arthur Szyk believed that Art can change the world and he spent his life trying desperately to prove it. In 1934 he stated “…I am resolved to serve my people with all my art, with all my heart, with…
Ma’ayan: Zalman’s Suite
Yisgadal v’yisgadash sh’mai rabba b’alma dee v’ra chir’usay.
For many Jews a time will come when we will say these words in minyan every day, many times a day, for 11 months as part of mourning a parent. We bravely declare, “May His…
Auschwitz: A Graphic Novel by Pascal Croci
Pascal Croci's graphic novel, Auschwitz, begins with a question to a witness from Auschwitz-Birkenau; “How long have you been keeping all this to yourself?” The answer, “Fifty-two years,” is shocking. The novel that follows provides a glimpse into…
Kupferminc’s Wanderings
Mirta Kupferminc is an artist who has made her artistic mission a search for meaning in a world profoundly unstable, problematic and filled with the terrors of memory not entirely her own. As the child of Holocaust survivors, uprooted from Europe and planted…
Rosh Hashanah Love Letters: Illuminations of David Moss
How should we approach Hashem at this time of teshuvah? Surely with fear because we understand that our lives hang in the balance. But another element needs to be incorporated. Love. Yes, love must define our relationship…
Brighton Beach Bible
“We are in effect changing the rules as to what is aesthetically acceptable…. It is exciting precisely because we are changing the discourse [about Jewish visual expression and contemporary art].” Joel Silverstein made this startling proclamation in these pages three months ago…