Category Archives: Jewish artists
Israeli Artist Yair Emanuel Turns Jerusalem into a Vivid Landscape
Israel artist Yair Emanuel is one of the most well known of Jewish artists. Emanuel’s work is so popular that it can be seen all over Israel in souvenir shops or art galleries. The Israeli native Judaica artist studied and graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. Emanuel lives and works in Jerusalem. Emanuel was born on Kibbutz Sha’alvim and grew up in Jerusalem in an Orthodox home. As he grew up he took on a more liberal approach to Judaism. His variances in study and beliefs have influenced his own unique style of art centered on Jewish art.
Yair Emanuel and his unique artistic approach to Judaic art
Emanuel incorporates traditional motifs with modern artistic designs. Emanuel is able to skillfully craft together ancient Jewish scriptural stories with his own love of oriental art. Emanuel combines a vivid color scheme with a mixture of Old and New scope ideas. He is able to combine these characteristics skillfully and emphasizing on the balance and flow of a piece. He designs and crafts all of his pieces in his Jerusalem studio.
Jerusaem Challah Cover by Yair Emanuel
Yair Emanuel specializes in the formation and creation of his own original, hand crafted Judaica (of or relating to Jewish life and customs) products primarily incorporates the techniques of painting on silk. He also utilizes hand embroidery, raw-silk applique and painting on wood. Emanuel’s work is well thought of in Israel. In fact, he is considered to be the premier artisof Israel. Purchasing a piece of this Jewish artist’s work is like bringing a piece of Israel home.
Jerusalem Havdallah Set
Emanuel employs a great deal of staff at his studio. Many of his staff members are new immigrants to Jerusalem. He also employs the mentally disabled at his establishment. Emanuel also donates a portion of his studio’s profits to charity. If you are a fan of his work and are ever in Jerusalem, you can see his studio up close and personally. Emanuel will show you how he puts together his creations. You will see the hand crafted production of the various pieces. Emanuel’s newest art work can only be seen at his studio, you might even catch a glimpse of his newly finished work before it is posted or offered anywhere online.
Yair Emanuel’s unique Judaica artworks include Shabbat candlesticks, Challah Covers, Hanukkah menorahs, hand-embroidered Tallits and much more. Emanuel’s works make some of the most popular Jewish gifts sold today. What is really captivating in Yair Emanuel’s works is the fact that they truly reflect the ancient and holy atmosphere of Jerusalem, which can only be conveyed through art. With Emanuel’s magic touch, the sights of Jerusalem magically come to life.
You can find a wide range of Jewish gifts by Yair Emanuel at this Israeli based Judaica store Judaica 7 .
Yair Emanuel’s Hanukkah menorah
Magical Judaica books by Israeli artist Jack Jaget
Jewish artist Jack Jaget is a native American who now lives and works in Israel. Jack Jaget has become widely known for his artistic designs of Judaica books. Take a closer look at his works and you’ll be amazed!
Jack Jaget’s Judaica books : Middle Ages is back in fashion
Jaget is a graduate of Music and Art High School and the Cooper Union Art School of New York. Jack Jaget has designed books for major publishing companies in the US, winning many awards. One of the awards is the prestigious Best 50 Books.
Jack Jaget’s Judaica books are encased in handcrafted covers of precious woods, leather and gold-plated metals. Meticulously hand-painted with fine lacquers and gold leaf, these fine materials are treated to look as if they are from the middle ages. Jack Jaget’s Judaica books often come with full-color illustrations.
Jack Jaget – Judaica books and much more!
Jack Jaget’s Judaica books include the Bible, book of Psalms Siddur and more. Each is meticulously handmade at his studio. These designed editions make great gifts for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs.
Jack Jaget’s designs also cover a wide range of religious articles including Mezuzah cases, Tzedakah box and Torah pointers. You can find many of Jack Jaget’s artworks at Most Original- Handmade Judaica Online!.
The Kiddush – the border between heaven and earth
One of the Jewish people’s most renowned customs is the Kiddush.
The word “Kiddush” in Hebrew means “sanctification” and it signifies the act of sanctifying the Shabbat (or one of the holidays), appreciating its distinction compared to the rest of the week in a special ceremony, rooted way back in the past, which precedes the festive and plentiful meal that welcomes the Shabbat.
Whether Orthodox, Reform, Secular or outside of any religious definition, keeping only some of the Jewish traditions, Jewish people from the wide spectrum of Jewish identities celebrate the Shabbat every Shabbat eve (what others would call Friday night) by saying the Kiddush blessing over the wine. This blessing is meant to observe one of the requirements asked in the ten commandments: to remember the Shabbat (“Shamor”) and acknowledge its uniqueness.
The Kiddush cup – a one purpose only cup
For the love and respect for the Shabbat’s holiness, Jewish families use a special cup for the wine which is drank after the Kiddush. This cup is designated for the purpose of the Kiddush alone and is used only in Shabbat, holidays or Bar Mitsvas. Since Jewish artists couldn’t flourish in figurative art due to religious restrictions, they found other ways to navigate their creative energies, one of which is designing spectacular, breathtaking kiddush cups from various materials, including different engravings related to Jerusalem, the Shabbat, biblical verses etc.
If you are looking for a meaningful gift or you still don’t own a Kiddush cup of your own, or if you would like to renew your bond with the Shabbat using a new hand-made Kiddush cup, you should take a stroll in the Kiddush cups section and pick the one which is right for you.
Here’s an example for one of the finest pieces. This Kiddush cup is handmade in Israel, available at Israel Catalog:
Hadad Sterling Silver Kiddush Goblet – Basket Weave Band
Basket weave patterned band encircles this elegant Kiddush Goblet and its foot. For those interested in a matching set, the matching sterling silver saucer is also available for purchase.
The cup holds the Shiur [halachic amount] of wine required for Kiddush and the Four cups of the Passover Seder.
As only Jewish artists created this item, there is no need immerse it in a Mikvah.
The Kiddush prayer
Once you have prepared everything- you wore your best clothes, made a heavenly meal, placed the Hallot under a splendid white cloth and bought yourself a marvelous Kiddush cup, you will have to say the prayer over the wine.
Here’s the Shabbat eve Kiddush prayer in Hebrew, which you are welcome to save and print for yourselves:
For those of you who still don’t master Hebrew, here’s the English translation:
[Evening became morning]: The sixth day. And the heavens and the earth and all that filled them were complete. And on the seventh day God completed the labor He had performed, and He refrained on the seventh day from all the labor which He had performed. And God blessed the seventh day and He sanctified it, for He then refrained from all his labor – from the act of creation that God had performed. Permit me, distinguished ones, rabbis, guests and colleagues: Blessed are You, the Lord our God, King of the Universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine. (Amen) Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us with His commandments, and hoped for us, and with love and intent invested us with His sacred Sabbath, as a memorial to the deed of Creation. It is the first amongst the holy festivals, commemorating the exodus from Egypt. For You chose us, and sanctified us, out of all nations, and with love and intent You invested us with Your Holy Sabbath. Blessed are You, Sanctifier of the Sabbath. (Amen)
Shabat Shalom!
Marc Chagall’s 12 Tribes: a window to the moment of the Israelites’ creation
Marc Chagall’s magical touch didn’t exclude itself merely to his soulful paintings, but has manifested also in his stained glass windows, which are a masterwork of glass joined with color in perfect harmony.
Chagall’s 12 tribes master piece is a series of illuminating windows, that incorporate the narrative of the 12 tribes’ blessings, whereas each window is dedicated to a different tribe like Reuben, Simeon and Levi.
The twelve tribes, which were first mentioned in the ending of the book of Genesis, are Jacob’s twelve sons, who grew to become the Israelite people. Just like the windows, that can be regarded separately, each one of the tribes has sat solely on his own land, but in resemblance to the twelve windows that are actually one piece, so did the tribes form together a united nation who dedicated its life to G-d’s worship.
When looking at these overwhelming windows and the smooth shadows and light stains that fall on the walls and the floor, one can feel as though he is looking at one of the high priest’s gemstones (12 as well), which were radiating from his holy breastplate.
The whole ravishing windows series is presented today upon the walls of Hadassah University Medical Centre in Jerusalem and was prepared especially to this purpose by Chagall, who put his intentions in these moving words:
“This is my modest gift to the Jewish people who have always dreamt of biblical love, friendship and of peace among all peoples. This is my gift to that people which lived here thousands of years ago among the other Semitic people.”
The tribe of Asher
Each of the stained glass windows is characterized by one leading color (blue, red or yellow) that is accompanied with other colors that complete the eye-appetizing effect. The windows also incorporate a Hebrew quotation from each tribe’s unique blessing, in addition to writing the tribe’s name on the top.
Here we can see the name “Asher” (אשר) on the upper side of the picture and at the bottom:
“מֵאָשֵׁר שְׁמֵנָה לַחְמוֹ וְהוּא יִתֵּן מַעֲדַנֵּי מֶלֶךְ” , which means: “Bread from Asher shall be rich and he shall yield royal dainties”.
Truth is that no photo can reflect the beauty of these windows, which can turn one’s home into a temple, cherishing the Jewish history and also the greatness of men and art, that can penetrate our souls and fill them with deep awe.
Care to consider buying a Chagall piece for your home? Take a stroll in Chagall’s gallery.
Would you like to read more about Chagall? Go to this Judaica store.
Marc Chagall – Surrealism never seemed more realistic
Marc Chagall, the well acclaimed and exceptional Jewish artist, has managed to express what many before him never dreamt of: He stretched the boundaries of reality and brought a sizzling world of fantasy to the visual language of Judaism. When one looks at one of Marc Chagall’s works of art he is immediately filled with awe.
Jewish Art by Marc Chagall
The metaphysical poet George Herbert once put this feeling in accurate words on his poem “Prayer” when he ends it in this simple but powerful phrase: “something understood”. In other words, when we stand before Chagall’s works, we sense the rare ability that he had – to put profound truth into colors and lines. Each one of his pieces penetrates the soul because it holds an understanding, which couldn’t be expressed otherwise.
By the term “Jewish Art” one might refer to art which is created by Jewish people and centers in Jewish related scenes: whether from the bible or from the Jewish life. However, this definition is quite technical and lacks the one parameter which cannot be measured or even seen: the spirit of the Jewish people.
There is no obvious link between shapes and content and there is no guarantee that when an artist draws a man dressed with “Talit” (praying shawl), that man’s silent expression will bring thousand years of longing to life. Chagall, however, mastered this link, which slipped through others’ fingers so many times before (and after). In his paintings he managed to catch the spirit of the nation and the dominant undercurrent which flowed in Jewish hearts for decades: the eternal longing.
This longing of the Jewish people to reunite with G-d and see Him through the “Hester” (state of concealment) found a faithful expression in the mass of colors which Chagall chose to use in his inspired paintings and stainless glass works, as longing equals life and life equals color.
The Bride, Groom and the Eiffel Tower
The surrealism movement believed that reality, as it reveals itself on a daily basis, only conceals the true nature of things. They believed that the truth, about ourselves and the world, can be exposed only by entering a different state of mind, which isn’t bound to logic or any kind of rules. The artist can bring this truth to the surface by using unexpected juxtapositions that have the power to awake our consciousness from its incessant and degenerating nap.
In this painting (as in many of his other dream-like works) Marc Chagall follows the surrealist path and confronts the real with the unreal: On the reality’s side, we have a bride and a groom in front of the Eiffel Tower, but something is different: they are floating, leaning to the right as though they were swept by the wind. The proportions of the objects in the painting are also twisted: the couple is huge compared to the village on the right or the tiny couple (which may be them, a few minutes back) which is getting married on a cloud to their left.
Moreover, not only that they ride a rooster (unrealistic element by all means), it’s much bigger than them, as if it were some kind of mythical animal. The unusual elements in Marc Chagall’s artworks do not end here: the couple is surrounded with many strange creatures such as the cow which holds a fiddle and has a bottom of a large violin or the several winged men. Normally, a couple would stand in front of the Eiffel Tower and make sure the tower is seen, but this fascinating painting reflects a more internal truth: It places the tower (and the objective reality) on the background and brings the subjective truth – the seething feelings of a newly wed couple – into the foreground.
Think how interesting it would be to welcome your guests with this mysterious painting, hanging in your living room.
You will be surprised to find out how each person gives this painting a new meaning, that reflects his own soul.
To those of you who wish to buy some of Marc Chagall’s master work, we invite you to visit here. This online store offers a wide range of Judaic artwork by March Chagall, including prints, mezuzahs and paintings in limited editions.
