With the holiday of Chanukah right around the corner, naturally, when looking for some inspiration from illuminated texts of the past my eye was drawn towards images of the Menorah. There's a beautiful, very detailed drawing of the Menorah that appears in the King's Bible, written at Solsona (Spain) in 1384.
The King's Bible belongs to a group of Spanish Bibles known as Mikdashiot (Temples). The reason these Bibles were called Mikdashiot is because they included artistic drawings of the Temple's utensils. In the King's Bible three pages are dedicated to the Temple's utensils, each page framed by a a verse from Tanakh.
The verse that frames the piece I replicated is from Numbers 8:4 which states:
This is how the candelabrum was made: of beaten gold, it was of one piece from its base to its flower. He made the candelabrum in accordance with the form that the Lord showed Moses.
This Bible once belonged to a synagogue in Jerusalem and was later taken to Aleppo in Syria. It is known as the King's Bible because it is the only Hebrew manuscript donated to the British Museum by King George IV in 1823. The Bible was originally written for Isaac ben Judah of Tolosa.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Working on a New Button
I am working on a new button to add to my blog that will take you directly to my website. The web designer is making the finishing touches on the brand new, completely redesigned website, complete with online shopping cart, and it is coming along really nicely. I am very excited for the new version launch! In the meantime, you can see the current website at shiragabriela.com.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Twittering Around
Do you Twitter? I now have my own Twitterfeed at twitter.com/shiragabriela. I am always looking for more interesting people to follow, so let me know if you have any good suggestions.
New direct way to access my Facebook page!
Good news! My Facebook fan page is now directly accessible from the web at facebook.com/shiragabriela. Thanks to all my new fans! Please tell your friends too!
Upsherin and the Aleph Bet, Part II
The upsherin event is filled with meaning. The first snip of the boy’s hair is at the front of the head where later on in his life he will place tefillin. Some parents weigh the hair and give the equivalent value in gold or silver to charity in the merit that the young boy will succeed in his Torah learning. A plastic coated card containing the Hebrew alphabet is dotted with honey and as the boy recites the aleph-bet he licks the honey along with each letter so the words of Torah will always be sweet on his lips, as is allegorically referred to in the phrase, “Your lips drip sweetness… honey and milk are under your tongue” (Song of Songs 4:11).
Upsherin and the Aleph Bet, Part I
So I decided to do some research. The custom of “upsherin” as it is traditionally called is first mentioned in the book “Sha’ar haKavanot” by the famed Kabbalist R’ Chaim Vital, but the origin is in Biblical verses. In many places throughout the Bible and prophetic writings man is likened to a tree.
“A person is like the tree of a field” (Deut. 20:19).
“For as the days of a tree, shall be the days of my people” (Isaiah 65:22).
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, for then the Lord will be his security. He will be like a tree planted near water…whose foliage is evergreen…and will not stop producing fruit” (Jeremiah 17:8).
And lastly, a similar idea of that expressed by Jeremiah appears in the first chapter of Psalms where the righteous man who always desires closeness to God and His Torah, is compared to a “tree planted alongside brooks of water, that yield its fruit in its season, and whose leaf never withers; and everything he does shall succeed.”
Why all these scriptural comparisons between man and trees?
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Upcoming Events in Teaneck and Monsey
Exciting news! Watch this space for more information on 2 upcoming events that I will be participating in, in Teaneck and Monsey. Come meet me at these fun events! I will have some of my artwork on display, including some prints and originals for sale.
Book Review: Hebrew Illuminated Manuscripts by Bezalel Narkiss (1967)
I recently checked out the book Hebrew Illuminated Manuscripts from my local library, and I've really been enjoying it. It was compiled and written by Bezalel Narkiss, the well known Jewish art historian. The folio pages have fantastic reproductions of illuminated manuscripts from Oriental, Spanish, French, German and Italian sources. The medieval illuminated manuscripts are supplying me with lots of ideas for my own future artwork!
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