Endings only lead to beginnings

The work of Lynn Small and Dennis Paul is symbolic of what the world should be- a collaberation! The two artists have completed the entire Alef- bet from beginning to end, inspired by the mystical Kabbalah.

So let's work together and make 2009 shine!

Happy New Year to my readers.

On the Fifth day of Chanukah

My bubbe gave to me: FIVE GOLDEN RINGS

(Why mess with a good idea? But I will expand the Golden Rings to other Jewish Jewelry because it is my website and I can do that!)

From the Etsy Shop of Universal Age a sterling silver ring that says it all: I love you.

This Star of David Ring is from Judaica Jewelery and is made of stainless steel.
From the Artist Yonatan is this lovely satin finish Ani L'dodi wedding band.

Jennifer Meyer (real life wife of Spiderman Tobey Macguire) created a simple yet elegant diamond encrusted Star of David. Yummy.

Regular readers of JJ know I love pomegranates and the Hebrew Alef-Bet... appears that goldsmith Eva Strauss Rosen has similar propensities.

Say AAAAA-lef

The meandering path of IlonMosaics meandering path to mosaics began in childhood. As a young girl she would study the bathroom floors at her home to identify new shapes and figures within the existing 1950s-era tile arrangement. Fast forward through careers in journalism, economic analysis, business consulting and jewelry design, through travels to dozens of countries that opened my eyes to a world of patterns, textures and colors, and here she is again, completely fascinated and absorbed by tiles and other tesserae. This time, however, she get to decide how to arrange them.

Alef Haiku...

My own Haiku for an eggshell mosaic ATC (artistic trading card) that I made last week...

Beginning. Big bang.
Light, dark, sky, earth. And Heaven.
Waiting for us to come.


Be prepared for more Haiku from me... I forgot how much I like writing them...

From Alef to Taf

Did you know this?
Ashet Chayil / "A Woman of Valor" is an ode of praise to the righteous woman, written by King Solomon in honor of his mother, Batsheva. The text, from the Book of Proverbs (31:10-31), is a compendium of the many facets of Jewish femininity. While it is beyond the scope of this essay to catalogue the attributes embedded in Ashet Chayil / "A Woman of Valor" the text provides an appropriate point of departure for our essay.

Line by line, Ashet Chayil / "A Woman of Valor," follows the letters of the Hebrew alphabet ("alef-bet"), with each line corresponding to one letter. The "alef-bet" format is Solomon's way of comparing the all-encompassing virtues of the righteous woman to the completeness of the entire alphabet. The deeper significance of the "alef-bet" also finds its way into Ashet Chayil/"A Woman of Valor." Our sages say that God combined the spiritual powers vested in each letter of the "alef-bet" as building blocks for the universe. Through the "alef-bet" structure of his text, Solomon establishes a connection between the creative potential of the Hebrew alphabet and the Jewish woman who like the letters is also a builder - her edifice being the Jewish people.


At the start of the week, I displayed a lovely prayerbook. Today, at the end of the week feast your eyes on these wonderful bookends, perfect for holding your a portion of your Jewish library. These are from Zoe Designs, and are available in black and silver.

I am going on vacation with my family... driving north to see the mishpochah and then a few days of relaxation in the mountains of Virginia (at least that is the plan). Next week, Kathi Gose, a wonderful reader and artist has agreed to fill in for me. The week after that I will post as often as I can. Things should be back to normal around August 13th or so. Be nice to Kathi- she is a righteous woman!

Shabbat Shalom

ARCHIE GRANOT

There are so many beautiful pieces to choose from, so many talented artists. I would be remiss if I did not show the wonderful, wonderful and prolific work of Archie Granot And since yesterday I showed the letter MEM, today I will share an ALEF, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.



Born in London, England in 1946, Archie Granot moved to Israel in 1967. Before moving to Jerusalem in 1978 where, the following year, he discovered his extraordinary talent, he was a member of an agricultural community where he milked cows and grew melons. He has a M.Phil in Russian Studies from the University of Glasgow, Scotland and a B.A. in Political Science and Russian Studies from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

And while Pesach (Passover) is still months away, I feel compelled to show Granot's intererpretation of the 10 Plagues... just one of the plates from his Haggadah.



And to usher in my next theme...in honor of Tu'bshevat his palm trees:

A time for new beginnings

In the beginning, G'd was the first artist. With infinite wisdom, we were formed in image of the Divine. And with that, artists were created amongst the peacocks, rainbows and tulips.


There are those who believe that the Tanach, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible were written by G'd and those of us who believe that the words were inspired by G'd... and there are those who are truly touched by the spirit of G'd. Such a person is Aviel Barclay, the Soferet.



"My fascination with the art of calligraphy stems mainly from my love of the Hebrew alefbet and my desire to use it as a way to serve G@d and the world. As a Jewish artist, I work with an awareness and respect for Torah, poetry, visual art, and the discipline of lettering."

So with the assistance of Aviel Barclay and the encouragement of my cyber-friend Susan Rose, and in honor of new beginnings I introduce my JudaicaJournal...

Happy 2007 and I hope you return soon