Dressed for Deliverance: Pesach Fashion Insights
Clothing not only shaped the our journey from slavery to freedom but also mirrored the broader cultural and economic landscapes of the time.
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.
From Light to Light: A Chanukah Drash
The fire of Torah rages when we try to control it through fear. Its words, supposed lessons, and immutability hurt us as we try to confine it for our own perceived sense of safety. And it burns us when we try to become it, be consumed by it. But that same fire is creative when we work alongside it, actually trying to understand it. When we treat Torah with the deep reverence of our attention and our care, the fire burns bright creating light for us and through us.
On Narrative and Futurism: A Rosh Hashanah Reflection
Ellie Klibaner-Schiff, the Havurah Journal’s new editor, reflects on the powers of narrative and futurism as we enter the Jewish new year.
A Glue-Covered Omer
The counting custom includes reflecting on one of seven sefirot, the qualities or attributes of G-dliness, each week. In chassidic thought, the spectrum of human experience is composed of these seven fundamental emotions. Each of the seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot, the period known as the Omer, are specifically set aside for introspection and improvement of each emotion.
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.
Dancing for the Sublime
To create is inherently divine. To speak, write, and revel in artistic expression is to mirror the force that causes life to march forward and to cease- the same force that brings some molecules together and prevents the union of others…
Write for Havurah!
Write for Havurah!
Send us your pitch for an article related to Torah and Art, or anything you think might fit our virtual Beit Midrash.
Want to think through your idea for the Havurah Journal together? Reach out to ellie@havurah.art with any questions or to brainstorm!