A Primer on Haggadah Aesthetics
For centuries musicians have composed our Niggunim, architects built our sanctuaries, and designers have created our Haggadot.
A Blemish on the Arts: A Letter from a Jewish Artist
Graphic Artist and Havurah Advisory Board Member Alex Woz writes on the rise of antisemitism in the creative world, and reflects on Jewish exclusion within the arts.
How to Reinvent Judaica, with Dana Hollar Schwartz
As the creative force behind Via Maris, Dana Hollar Schwartz has carved a unique niche in the world of Judaica, merging the ritual objects she designs with a timeless modernist aesthetic. In this conversation with Lindsay Leboyer, Schwartz takes us through her creative process, the influence of her art collector father, and how her family's love for art shaped her approach to design.
Eight Films to watch this Tisha b’Av
Films that echo themes of destruction, introspection, and serious contemplation have become fitting vehicles for this observance, helping us engage more deeply with the spirit of the day. Thus, the custom of watching sad, usually shoah-centered, movies on Tisha b’Av was born.
The Best Designed Haggadot
From mid-century kibbutz to contemporary Jewish artists, I’ve scoured the web to bring you the most beautiful haggadot out there. Get yourself a haggadah so good it can distract you from the 2 hour wait before food.
The Whimsical History of the Purim Spiel
The story of Esther is full of cosmic winks and giggles, which is what made Purim Speils so hard to ban for Chazal, even when live theater was often violent and crude with the occasional on-stage murder. Sages of the Mishnaic and Talmudic eras condemned theatre for being frivolous, and yet, Purim Speils were relatively commonplace throughout Ashkenazi Jewry of the mid-1500s.
How to draw God: Parshat Vayetzeh
Creatives often see censorship as meaningless blocks on creativity, which I usually agree with, but taking a look at other representations of this scene perhaps points to more possibilities within the realm of the limited.
Analytical Cubism & the Art of the Sukkah
In the cubist paintings of Georges Braque (France, 1882-1963), it seems to me that it is by dealing with the formal elements of structure and landscape that one can in fact find the space of spiritual dimensions within physical reality.
I Can No Longer Come and Go: Parshat Va’Yelech & The Death of Socrates
In The Death of Socrates, the chalice of poison is about to be handed to Socrates by one of his disciples. In the background at the staircase walks his wife; her hand raised gesturing farewell, echoing her husband’s hand raised in the philosopher’s resolute idealism.
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