The Haggadah and the Talush

While several of us had done a preview of the Nelson-Atkins Museum prior to the conference, we were pleased to have another opportunity to explore it within the retreat.  We headed to the museum to see one of its treasures: the Barcelona Haggadah.  The original of the Barcelona Haggadah  is housed in the British Library, but there are 500 copies of which the Nelson-Atkins holds one.  Rabbi Mark Levin reviewed the history of haggadahs noting that prayer books were originally all one book. The haggadah became a separate book in 1100 C.E. and artwork was added in 1300.

The haggadah does the very important work of telling the children of the deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt.  There are many passages in Exodus (13:3, 13:14, 12:26-27) as well as in Deuteronomy 6:20-23 that exhort us to do so.

The Birds' Head  (or Griffin Head) Haggadah was from around 1300 and was Ashkenaz from Mainz, Germany.  Because of the second commandment against representation of faces, human faces were disguised as bird heads.  Only Jews have facial features while non-Jews have blank, oval faces representing idolators.  Heads are a combination of lions and eagles, representing strength and speed.  Our theme of disguise continues with official Jewish endorsement.

Levin shared images of Sephardic haggadot that were illuminated with biblical picture cycles.  The entire text was read at the Seder, often with commentary. The forms of art were often borrowed from Catholics and adapted to eliminate Christological subject matter.  Syncretism was used, a form of cultural borrowing and cooperation.  The same model books were employed but symbols were reinterpreted. Matzah became a symbol of gaining access to God's presence.  It was a manifestation of shekhinah and illuminated in gold in the Barcelona Haggadah.

At the conclusion of our visit, we had an opportunity to study the Haggadah closely and then to tour the museum with a guide.  We then arrived at the nearby Kansas City Art Institute housed in the striking Vanderslice Mansion. As we awaited our next event we savored an impromptu dance exercise led by Kate Mann of Milwaukee.  We all welcomed that opportunity to revive both physically and mentally for our next talk.

Refreshed, we gathered to hear Dr Milton Katz share the art created by artists during the Holocaust.  Their efforts represented spiritual, cultural and psychological resistance. Their goals were survival and to record and tell their story.  Creation was just one part of the story.  They then had to find a place to hide it.  One rather clever artist hid their work in a hollowed-out copy of Mein Kampf.   Thirty thousand works have been uncovered and it is estimated that one out of ten survived.

We closed our day with a meal at the Buddhist Center where Rabbi Waldoks discussed his experience with the Dali Lama who has an approach of pulling together experts on a call when he wants to learn about a subject. Waldoks noted that Tibetan Buddhism and Judaism have several things in common:   chanting, commentary and dialectic study.

The following day we began with a discussion by Jody Hirsch and Marc Tasman on the Artist as Other.  Jody began with some word meanings, always one of my favorite concepts.  He advised us that Hitnakrut means "Alienation" and the root "nakr" means "a foreigner".  Yet another variation means "a foreign land".  "Talush" means uprooted.  He noted the oft-told theme of a Jewish artist or intellectual who doesn't fit into either the Jewish or non-Jewish world.   Such a person is called a "talush". He offered some examples from Overture to Glory, a 1939 movie that tells the story of a talush that ends in tragedy.

We then shifted to Arnold Schoenberg who was born in Vienna and studied with Mahler, a Jewish convert to Christianity.  Schoenberg followed Mahler's lead and also converted.  He was later hired at the Prussian Academy of Art until the rise of Hitler when he was fired for being Jewish and then returned to Judaism.  He immigrated to America in 1934 and is known for creating a new form of music that doesn't focus on Western tonalities.  His ability to create something new arose in large part because he didn't fit in.

Mark spoke of the work of R.B. Kitaj who was an outsider on many levels. He was Jewish and his step-father was a survivor.  Although he was born in Ohio he moved to London and was part of the London School.   He was hard of hearing and suffered from Parkinson's.  Many of his artworks dealt with themes related to Jewish history as hiding, transport or refugees.

Other artists who focused on outsider themes were Diane Arbus who photographed those on the margins and Art Spiegelman who serialized Maus to tell his father's story.

We then broke into groups and were given an interesting challenge.  We were to list five groups in which we were insiders and five in which we were outsiders and then discuss those choices with another person.  We were asked whether those labels motivate, create barriers, enrich or detract.  It was an interesting topic to explore and also to share as I suspect many of our choices echoed those of others in the room.  There was something comforting about my discussion with a fellow lab participant as we agreed that we felt like outsiders in certain work circles and with drinkers and sports fans.  I found myself feeling very much like an insider with fellow outsiders. 

With New Eyes

March 23, 2016 by Lynn Lederman, photos by Toni Dachis

The sky was hazy as our bus left the Mediterranean and we began to climb. To many of us who had been here before, the road to Jerusalem had changed. Bedroom communities and construction cranes have replaced open green spaces.




Our group gathered in a sunny Jerusalem park overlooking the Old City to process what has already been a jam packed and thought provoking two days. Meryll shared a teaching from the Bava Mitziya about finding a blessing in that which had been hidden from our eyes.

We arrived at Kfuzot Hayer, a lane devoted to the arts, and split into two groups. Our group went with Rabbi Matt Berkowitz, (a former class mate of Rabbi Davis'). We learned about the amazing work he and David Moss are doing with Kol Haot.

Matt shared his seven year journey designing a very unique and visually pleasing three part Haggadah. The larger section contained beautifully designed prints, some with intricate paper cuts. Vibrant colors and 24 karat gold leaf adorned these stunning prints. The end papers were specially made with Israeli parsley and parsley fibers were in the paper.

The anthology also included 27 essays decorated with many Biblical motifs. This was made as a limited edition of 250 sets, of which 170 have already been sold. There is also a trade edition.

Matt led us in a discussion of the Binding of Isaac and then shared David Moss' scroll which was made into a Houston day school mural depicting the dramatic story.

Next, we studied a portion of the Purim Megillah and divided into small groups. Using David's techniques, each group designed a mural and we all enjoyed the creative process. 

The two large groups exchanged places and we entered David Moss' studio. David shared his personal journey, describing how he became a Jewish "folk artist". After meeting with a scribe for ten minutes, David knew that he wanted to breathe new life into the ancient art of making ketubot. He was like dry kindling waiting for the spark.

David would meet individually with couples and developed a process whereby he would personalize each ketuba. Often using intricate designs and exacting micrography, David's ketubot are stunning works of art. He showed us many of them, as well as the letters to the couples. Many of these have been published as magnificent books. 

David also was commissioned to create a unique Megillah and this process took three years. He was able to gain permission to use that work in order to publish a limited edition and subsequently a trade edition.

Being with David was an awe inspiring and uplifting experience.



Lunch in Machne Yehuda market was an experience. Each of us was given a "bite card" with six stalls and a map. We hunted for tastes and all left feeling well fed. Purim preparations were evident all around us. Not only aromatic hamentaschen (savory and sweet), but our ears were treated to a familiar Purim melody sung by a young man hawking "the best" strawberries.

Our last visit was the Artist's House. We had a private tour of their collection and exhibits, as well as the history of the Bezalel School from which Anat graduated.

After a much needed rest, we enjoyed a short walk to Darna, a Moroccan restaurant. This was both a culinary and visual delight! Some of us opted for a graffiti tour of Machane Yehuda. Another full and "eye opening" day!

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Making It Our Own

I just returned from a trip to the West Coast where I had an opportunity to visit the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. With Passover approaching, they had a timely exhibition on the beautiful Haggadah illustrations of Arthur Szyk. Szyk created his Haggadah in the 1930s as Hitler came to power and often incorporated imagery related to the troubled state of the Jews of Europe. His work represented the preservation of the Pesach story, but adapted to the times in which he lived.

My return to the Artists' Lab picked up on that exploration with another dive into the Haggadah. To set the stage our facilitator Meryll Page shared several stories with us to illustrate the assumptions that we carry that may not be universal. She related a story of a local rabbi who was a chaplain in Morocco in the 1950s. When Passover was approaching the local people offered to cook a Pesach meal for them. All they needed to do was to share the recipes. Their assumptions were obviously not universal. They ended up with gefilte fish floating in the matzo ball soup.

The Pesach story has been handed down to us and with its passage through time incorporates issues that modern day eyes may find challenging. The assumptions that may have been the norm in earlier times may no longer be as shared by today's world. We were asked to consider how we approach parts of the story that may be repugnant to us. For example plagues were visited upon the Egyptians, plagues that ultimately destroyed their first-born child. How can we rejoice in that destruction? 

Over time we have created adaptations that seek to acknowledge that discomfort. As we count off the plagues, we dip our finger in the wine and spill a drop. This reminds us that our cup of joy is not complete because people had to die for our freedom. 

The Seder has developed in response to such issues. Each of us can make it our own. Meryll noted that there are five approaches that are often taken when we encounter a conflict with modern day sensibilities.

1 Study the word more.
2 Think of alternatives. For example there are actually two beginnings, one which deals with physical slavery and one which addresses spiritual slavery.
3 Replace something real with symbol. Today we use a lamb bone instead of slaughtering a lamb.
4 Avoid it. We don't paint blood on our door posts.
5 Make it child friendly.

In the spirit of adaptation, Anat led us in an exercise to add two additional commandments to the original ten. The exercise was inspired by a section of a poem by Yehuda Amichai that begins with My Father Was a God and Didn't Know It (#4 of My Parent's Motel). We debated the meaning of the additional commandments in the poem. Our translation differed slightly from this link with #11 Thou shall not change and #12 Thou must surely change. I understand this to mean one is to preserve the essence of who one is, but continue to grow and develop in response to one's environment, an interpretation quite consistent with our treatment of the Pesach story.

So what were our additions? Caring for the environment loomed large as well as kindness and not being passive or silent in the face of injustice. There were fewer "thou shalt nots", reflecting a call to action, less focus on sins of commission, more on those of omission. One spoke to me personally in encompassing all of the issues we raised, "Seek out and treat all of creation with an eye to its divine origins".

As we concluded our exploration of adaption, Anat shared a site with us created by Madonna on the theme of freedom. The focus is especially timely with Pesach approaching as its purpose is to encourage creative expressions that bring attention to human rights violations.

 To view information on lab artists and lab discussion links and handouts, please go to theJewish Artists' Laboratory website.

*The Jewish Artists’ Laboratory is an arts initiative through the Sabes Jewish Community Center featuring 25 artists exploring the theme of Light through study and art making. The project is funded through The Covenant Foundation and similar projects are being done in both Milwaukee and Madison. Artists explore how the theme of Light is relevant to Jews and non-Jews, to religious and non-religious, to the community and to the individual, to the artist and the non-artist.

A Plague of Darkness

With Pesach fast approaching, our focus in the Artists' Lab was on how darkness is dealt with in the Passover story. But first we began our session with a song based on a phrase about light; Yom Zeh l'Israel orah v'simchah, Shabbat m'nuhah. This day for Israel is joyous and blessed with light, happiness and Shabbat rest.

Rabbi Davis often uses song to mark the beginning and end of a discussion and I found myself wondering if the ability to carry a tune is a rabbinical requirement. Fortunately I don't aspire to such.  Having sung of light in a happy context, we then turned our attention to its opposite, darkness, specifically the plague of darkness visited upon the Egyptians as a prelude to the release of the Israelites (Exodus. 10:21). 

What does the plague of darkness represent to us? we were asked. "Fear, the unknown, hopelessness, a violation of the laws of nature (darkness during day) " we responded. This evolved into a discussion of our experiences with darkness, some which were quite unusual. One of our group recalled eating at a restaurant in Israel at which the wait staff was blind and the meal was served in darkness. A light code of sorts was enforced with a guest asked to remove his glow in the dark watch.

We discussed how darkness makes one appreciate its antithesis. But darkness is not always a negative. When one is in the womb, we float in darkness. It is light that shocks us upon the moment of birth. And in a world without artificial light, the phases of the moon were especially important for a full moon allowed one to see.

Coming back to the plague of darkness we were asked to imagine the response of the Egyptians when the power of their sun god was extinguished by darkness. The rabbi shared the relevant passages from the Torah together with excerpts of medieval commentary.

The interpretations sometimes grew out of disparate translations of words. Rashi argued that the verb in a key passage came from the word meaning "to grope" as in "you shall grope at noon as a blind man gropes in the dark (Deuteronomy 28:29)" arguing for a thick darkness, one of mass. Still other interpretations spoke of the darkness as a blinding light. 

Interestingly the Israelites were noted as having light in their dwelling, even as the Egyptians did not. We considered whether the term dwelling meant a home or perhaps our body, the home of our inner light.

In addition to the Egyptians, the plague of darkness also affected those Israelites who did not want to venture out of Egypt for forty years of wandering. According to the Midrash, twelve million Israelites died in the darkness.

So what are we to learn of darkness? Hiddushei haRim notes that the greatest darkness is when we fail to see another person, a failure to empathize. Yet another interpreter Even Haezel references language that states the darkness was as thick as dinars (gold coins) meaning that chasing wealth "increases selfishness and darkens the eyes".

Meryll Page then shared a Haggadah created by David Moss. As we are asked to imagine ourselves as someone who came out of Egypt, Moss assists us in this effort by embedding mirrored sections among images of Jews. Traditionally Jews have added to the Haggadah through illustration, thus illuminating it. As we learn in different ways, Passover makes use of many methods. We talk, taste and look. Our final exercise of the evening was to consider how we would add to our Passover Seder through image or text and what our message would be.

 To view information on lab artists and lab discussion links and handouts, please go to theJewish Artists' Laboratory website.

*The Jewish Artists’ Laboratory is an arts initiative through the Sabes Jewish Community Center featuring 25 artists exploring the theme of Light through study and art making. The project is funded through The Covenant Foundation and similar projects are being done in both Milwaukee and Madison. Artists explore how the theme of Light is relevant to Jews and non-Jews, to religious and non-religious, to the community and to the individual, to the artist and the non-artist.

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