The name Esther is connected in the Talmud to the hiding of God’s face in exile. This is one of the reasons that we dress up on Purim. Tikun Olam is about how we bring about a more redeemed world, and one way we do this is through revealing our truest selves.
To understand these themes, we will read texts from the Jewish mystical tradition about hiddenness and revelation. Inspired by artists Claude Cahun, Francesca Woodman, and Ana Medienta, we will then create our own masks out of cardboard, and finally, using a polaroid camera, pose for optional creative self-portraits of our hidden and revealed selves.
What to expect: Text study, mask making, and photography. We will learn about the themes of Purim, and take home a new mask, as well as a polaroid photo of us wearing that mask.
Please bring scrap cardboard, and we will provide the rest!
A light dinner is included in your ticket.
About the Young JW3 Artist Beit Midrash
The Artist Beit Midrash (house of study) is a chance to learn Jewish text connected to upcoming festivals and use this learning as a jumping off point to make new artwork. Whether it’s your first time or hundredth time getting creative or diving into Jewish learning, these sessions are right for you! Text will be provided in the original language and in translation, and art projects won't require advanced skills. Sessions will incorporate JW3’s theme for the year of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, bringing in elements of social justice and social action. The sessions will help us prepare for Tu B’Shvat, Purim, and Pesach. Each session’s themes and making will build on each other, so you are encouraged to attend all three sessions to be a part of our Beit Midrash community. However, if you can only attend one, they will also function as stand-alone sessions. Dinner and dessert, with time to get to know other participants, will be included in each session.
About Yael
Yael Roberts is a Jewish educator, artist, and community builder. She is a PhD student in Creative and Critical Practice at Sussex University, where she has received the Morris & Bessie Emanuel Scholarship in Modern Jewish History and Culture. Her research explores the 19th century Hasidic homilies of Izbica/Radzyn. Outside of her studies, she is a visiting service leader and educator at Exeter Synagogue, and an educator for the Jewish Learning Collaborative. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, she has lived in the UK for over a decade. She has taught across the UK at Limmud and Azara Yeshiva, and has worked at Alyth Synagogue, Westminster Synagogue, and Reform Judaism.
