New 3 Part Series Coming Soon

The Art of the Hebrew Letter: Technology, Mysticism, and Social Justice is being piloted by JAE Speakers Bureau Member Joanna Homrighausen. Joanna is test-driving the series for the Jewish Federation of The Berkshires and has presented the first 2 session. The third will be presented in February. All three will be available soon for a wider audience.

• Part I - The Art of Ancient Hebrew Letters: Manuscripts, Mysticism, and Monsters explores how Jews in the ancient and medieval worlds made the Hebrew letters go from mere vehicles of thought to being the very building blocks of creation. Explore the earliest biblical manuscripts, ancient Hebrew carvings on synagogue walls, and mosaic letters on synagogue floors, and end with monstrous and magnificent medieval manuscripts.

• Part II - Ben Shahn and the Art of Hebrew Calligraphy, pivots to the twentieth century, and focuses on the life and lettering of Lithuanian-American Jewish artist Ben Shahn. His Hebrew letters call for social justice and evoke the folk nostalgia of Ashkenazi Jewish viewers. His letters, found in artist books and prints and on synagogue walls, celebrate the movement of hand on paper.

• Part III - Hebrew Calligraphy and Letter Arts Today: Tattoos, Type, and Graffiti, looks at some of the new technologies in and controversial surfaces on which artists do calligraphy in the 21st century. These letters suggest a variety of ways of doing tradition Jewishly.

Stay tuned for more information!