Reaching for Torah

This is Rascal...the appropriately named puppy who keeps me company in my studio and helps me with my projects. He is almost 11 months old now and as big as our full size Collie but these pictures were taken when he was 3 months old.

Soon after that, he decided to see if our books were edible and his first choice was a gift that I had received 40 years ago in honor of my Bat Mitzvah. It was a beautiful copy of the Sarajevo Haggadah which is read at Passover. This book had a velvet cover and a beautiful metal plaque showing the twelve tribes. Rascal decided that it
tasted pretty good and he chewed through the cover before he was caught in the act.



Since the book had never really been used for our Passover Seders, I decided that it should be used in my art. I was pondering a recent call for entries asking for art by Jewish women when I thought of the Haggadah. As I flipped through the pages, I realized that the wording was extremely patriarchal and this annoyed me. I know that this particular Haggadah is hundreds of years old but it is symbolic of the many years in which Jewish women were not allowed to read from the Torah.
I decided to create an art piece expressing frustration on behalf of my female ancestors and acknowledging that I and my daughters are blessed to live in a time where we have the same privileges as men.

To create the background for this piece, I tore up the pages of the Haggadah and collaged the Hebrew and the English onto muslin. These words were then covered with layers of blue tulle to mute their brightness.


The lady was created separately and then hand sewn onto the background after the background was quilted. Her dress is silk and her lace tie came down to me from my father's Grandmother. The hair is yarn and she is reaching for the plaque that was on the cover of my original Haggadah.

You can see the collaged pages in Hebrew and English behind her hair.

The plaque was sewn on using silk ribbon. It is symbolic of the Torah as the center shows the 10 commandments underneath a crown. The 12 tribes create the border.

Another close up of her face and background. The quilt took me 30 hours to create and it measures 36 x 45. This is why I resorted to a miniature quilt last week.

I am very happy with the outcome.