The Frog, the Demons, and the Jewish Star
Perhaps upholding Leviticus 19:31, which insists, "Do not turn to those who worship Ob or to wizards; do not desire to become defiled by them,"
Lynda Caspe: Biblical Reliefs and Cityscapes
Lynda Caspe’s current exhibition at the Derfner Museum is an extraordinary event. In this show of 12 bronze relief sculptures and 14 cityscape paintings we have the opportunity to see the full scope of her last six years of work that, as least with the sculptures, marked a radical change in subject matter and technique.
Lost Objects Found
As one enters the theater, the stage is seen dominated by three levels of scaffolding that fills the entire proscenium behind a gray scrim.
Ludwig Blum’s Israel
Ludwig Blum (1891 – 1974) was a deeply complex artist who walked the fine line between pure aesthetics and a radical artistic view of the Zionist enterprise. He clearly loved to paint, make beautiful images and provide aesthetic pleasure.
The Memory Alive
The most uplifting aspect of the film was the footage from the displaced persons camps.
A ‘Legend of Destruction’ for Our Time
A new film about the fall of the Second Temple reminds us that our disputes must never be allowed to deteriorate into a rift resulting in destruction.
The Twelve Tribes At The Bialystoker Home
A quiet monument to the courage and determination of hundreds of thousands of Jews sits vulnerable on the Lower East Side of New York City at 228 East Broadway. This location was the former home of the Bialystoker Center, built in 1931.
In Search Of South African Jewish Art
I went to the South African Jewish Museum in Cape Town with high hopes of seeing how South African Jews uniquely approached the fine arts and Jewish ritual objects.
Zaslavsky’s Jews
Jewish artists do the darndest things. The Chassidic Art Institute, expertly directed by Zev Markowitz, is currently showing the works of Venyamin Zaslavsky, a Ukrainian Jewish artist who has devoted the last 20 years to depictions of pious Jewish life in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
A First In Israel: A Major Movie That Is Not Shown On Shabbat
TEL AVIV - In what is considered a breakthrough in Israel's film industry, director Gidi Dar has managed to create a major motion picture depicting the haredi lifestyle in the Meah Shearim district of Jerusalem.
Seforim And Spirituality At Sotheby’s
The sea of people pouring out of the elevators on the tenth floor of Sotheby's varied greatly in their age, dress, and religious associations. But as they entered the exhibit, they shared a universal expression of awe and reverence. Thirteen thousand rare and ancient books looked down from the shelves and the crowd stared back in fascinated silence.
The Blowing Of The Shofar In Sholom Aleichem And The Dybbuk
The blast of the shofar ends one of the most dramatic scenes in "The Dybbuk," directed by Sidney Lumet, in which a rabbinical court excommunicates a dybbuk, while the same sound of the shofar opens the "Sholom Aleichem" story of Bontche Schweig, announcing the Job-like character's arrival in heaven.
In Loco Templum: Amsterdam’s Esnoga/Portuguese Synagogue
One of the aspects of the biblical construction narratives - both those about the Tabernacle in the wilderness in Exodus, and in 1 Kings about Solomon's Temple in the Holy Land - that most troubled and confused me when I was young was the aesthetic status of the structures.
Why Was The Prato Haggadah Left Unfinished?
When the Cistercian abbot Stephen Harding commissioned an illuminated bible in 1109, he wanted to ensure its accuracy. So he did what any good scholar (but very few medieval Church leaders) would do; he sought rabbinic counsel so that he could have access to the original Hebrew. The so-called St. Stephen's Bible, which can be seen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's current exhibit, Pen and Parchment: Drawing in the Middle Ages, represents a rare collaboration of rabbinic and Christian scholarship.
A Light Unto The Nation: Benno Elkan’s Knesset Menorah
While the heart of Israel's democracy is to be found in the Knesset in Jerusalem, just across the road is a quiet but persuasive work of art that sums up the awesome narrative of Jewish history that finally brought us to the Land of Israel.
Photojournalist’s Testimony: Photographs By Jerry Dantzic
Lag B'Omer is a communal sigh of relief. Historically the plague that consumed 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva's students in the second century did not include the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer.
Rembrandt’s Abraham: Etchings At Swann Galleries
"And it happened after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him, 'Abraham.' And he replied, 'Here I am.' "
Is There A Jewish Tradition About The Shape Of The Tablets Of The Ten...
Nearly six and a half centuries before McDonald's first introduced its iconic logo designed by Jim Schindler, artists had already invented the double-humped shape. The Flemish painter Michiel van der Borch's 1332 manuscript illustration "Moses receives the Tables of the Law" shows a haloed prophet, his hair twisted into horns, carrying his staff and wearing a red robe as he reaches out to receive the Ten Commandments from God. Hundreds of medieval manuscript illuminations, as well as dozens of paintings by Chagall, feature the same rounded layout.
Post-Jewish Painting And Its Discontents
Ludwig Schwarz's 2000 assemblage of seven altered thrift store-bought paintings, "Untitled (Born to Be Mild)," can be said to evoke Piet Mondrian's abstract works, which rely heavily upon a simple palette and the grid.
Jewish Enough In LA?
The L.A Story, a selection of works from 10 contemporary Los Angeles Jewish artists currently at the Hebrew Union College - Institute of Religion Museum, poses the question of what exactly constitutes Jewish Art and what is its condition today on the West Coast.
Documenting Real Fiction
What role can a documentary film assume when facts cannot be agreed upon and truth is spelled with a lower case "t"?
The Arch of Titus: Am Yisroel Chai
I walked slowly away from the Coliseum in Rome. Completed in 80 C.E. by the Emperor Titus it was used for almost 500 years for countless gladiatorial games and bloody spectacles.
Jewish Women Artists Talk About Their Work (Part One)
On Sunday, February 18, I attended an opening at the Kraft Center for Jewish Life (also known as the Columbia/Barnard Hillel) for the exhibit Words Within.
Honeybee Songs
Song of Songs is one of the most controversial books in Tanach because of its ambiguity.
A Cat’s Bar Mitzvah (Don’t Worry – It’s A Graphic Novel)
One day, the rabbi's cat gets tired of the constant cawing of the rabbi's parrot, so he eats the bird and acquires the ability to speak.
Painting Trauma And Relief: Hopeful Holocaust Paintings
For American artists, the attacks on the Twin Towers are a particularly difficult subject matter.
Is Judaism Cool?
Much ink and money has been spilt over the topic of "hip Judaism".
Jewish And Non-Jewish Landscape Isaak Levitan, Thomas Cole And George Inness
He sits somewhat accusingly atop a stamp issued in Russia, remembering the 50th anniversary of his death in 1950.
My America – The Long Road
The Jewish Museum has a story to tell in "My America: Art From The Jewish Museum Collection, 1900-1955."
The Jewish Chagall: Marc Chagall Retrospective At The San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art
In his autobiography, My Life, Marc Chagall (1887-1985) recounts a pogrom he witnessed in Russia in 1917.