EXHIBITION STATEMENT
Misery and hatred are the products of a toxic mix of intolerance, supremacism, and an unwillingness to listen to what others have to say. When convinced of their own superiority, people lose the ability to respect others’ ideas or ways of living, and feel they have the right to deny others the right to coexist in an equal way.
How different was Hillel’s attitude! He drew more people toward him with his spoonful of honey than others did with their barrel of vinegar, showing radical kindness to everybody, including people who disrespected him, and changed them for the good. Hesed (kindness), like Gevurah (strength), is one of the mystical ten Sefirot, the attributes of HaShem. In this world, we need Gevurah. But we need Hesed even more. Striving for social justice through Hesed is one way of doing Tikun Olam (repairing the world).
For several months earlier this year, four artists, Robin Atlas, Shoshannah Brombacher, Nancy Current and Karey Kessler, read and studied together Yitzhak Buxbaum’s book, The Life and Teachings of Hillel. Brombacher, who is also a recognized maggid (storyteller and teacher), was already very familiar with Hillel and had recommended the Buxbaum book to the group. For Atlas, Current and Kessler, Hillel and his teachings were a new experience and their work in this exhibit is a direct result of their group study. Most of Brombacher’s work in this exhibit was created from her earlier study of the same subject matter.
The genre of art in this exhibit is known as “visual midrash”.“Midrash” means “commentary,” and visual midrash is art which is commentary on Biblical or other texts. Visual midrash offers a fresh approach to teaching and learning, where an artist’s visual interpretations provide viewers with new ways to understand concepts of universal importance to humanity. It can make difficult ideas more accessible and provide a springboard for public discourse.
The precursor of modern visual midrash was the ancient use of imagery to tell stories and commentary from Torah and prophets, on walls and floors of synagogues in the Middle East almost 2,000 years ago. One of the earliest known sites is the Dura Europos synagogue in Syria (244 CE). For several hundred years, synagogues in the holy land were fully decorated with paintings and mosaics of biblical stories which pre-date Christianity and its Byzantine mosaics. The rabbis obviously understood the value of this artwork for their communities. Since the 1970s visual midrash has had a resurgence in popularity and has become an important genre of Contemporary Jewish Art.
Robin Atlas
Shoshannah Brombacher
Nancy Current
Karey Kessler
Robin Atlas
Robin Atlas is a visual artist, printmaker, fine arts consultant, and curator whose work has been exhibited throughout the United States and Canada. She creates contemporary visual midrash – the art of speaking to halachic, biblical, and other sacred Jewish themes through one’s artistic creation — adding her unique voice and vision to the ever-evolving anthology of commentary.
Her mixed media pieces combine dyed, manipulated, and collaged fabric and other fibrous materials which have then been deconstructed and embellished with hand and machine embroidery, paper, paint, beadwork, trim and other elements.
Robin is a co-founder of Vector Artist Initiative, a fellow of Jewish Art Salon, and President of the American Guild of Judaic Art.
Her studio is in a former 1920s dance hall in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, WA.
An eruv is a symbolic Jewish boundary that surrounds a neighborhood. It declares all the houses within its embrace as one communal home on the Sabbath. Bringing this concept indoors, this eruv is intended to adorn the walls of a room. The enclosed space becomes an edifice of hesed and safety, protected by the community and Hashem, and all who enter become family. The letter “e” is embroidered along its length calling to mind the word “eruv” and, when turned on its side, suggests the Hebrew letter shin, a symbol for the divine as well as the first letter of Shalom, the universally understood word for welcome and peace. The continuous machine embroidered daisy chain reminds us of the oneness of humankind.
Hillel teaches us that we are just poor souls who are temporary guests in our body. Our job is to be its custodian and to physically take care of it and to fill it with truth and peace and strength and most of all, hesed. According to the Chofetz Chaim, during the first 30 days after burial when the soul is being judged for how it spent its time here on earth, the children of the departed can help the soul enter heaven by doing various acts of loving kindness. These acts of kindness help offset any transgressions that the deceased might have committed. There is a symbol for Hashem in the center; loving kindness around the collar; peace and truth on each cuff. The rip on the collar is a sign of mourning – a fracture of the warp and weft threads that hold the foundation together. The span of years is personal to the artist, reflecting the life of her father.
The warp and weft in this piece represent Hillel and Shammai. They need each other’s support to remain upright. The open weave revealing the blue silk represents Hillel and his philosophy of openness, gentleness, and peace. Shammai in contrast is depicted in the closed, coarse, stiff, tight weave of the buckram. The hand printed paper with machine stitching relates to the two schools of thought and the “controversy for the sake of heaven.”
According to Hillel, “Peace is not merely a cessation of hostility, but the expression of a mystic solidarity between people.” Shammai and his House championed truth telling, and Hillel and his house preferred peace. Hillel believed that we “should not only seek peace in our own house, but also, we must be peacemakers and bring people together,” and therefore, we are taught that “all lying is forbidden – except to make peace between a man and his fellow.”
The lies in this piece gradate from small lies, luminous specks of gold, to the biggest lies, areas of solid gold. The piece is kinetic, billowing in the breeze, reminding us that even a lie for the sake of peace still floats unrestrained in the universe.
The vessels represent our minds and bodies. What we allow to accumulate therein – enrichment or pollutants, acceptance or intolerance, love or hate – is the defining choice for each of us. In the spirit of Hillel, hesed – loving kindness – is the ultimate infusion.
Shoshannah Brombacher
Shoshannah Jeanne Brombacher (1959) is an author, artist, scholar, and maggidah (ordained spiritual guide and storyteller) from Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She lives currently in Berlin (Germany). Brombacher holds a Ph.D. from Leyden University (Holland) in Jewish studies and medieval Hebrew poetry. She taught and researched in Leiden, Amsterdam, Berlin, Jerusalem, and New York. Her worsening hearing loss forced her to shift from the academic world to her life long passion, art. The teachings of the Chassidic Masters fascinated her since she discovered them in her father’s study long ago. Her themes include Jewish lore and legends, Chassidism, travels (the Venice murals), social justice (poetry of Nazim Hikmet Ran, OWS), classical music, multi-lingual poetry, and custom art (weddings, kaddish, bar/bat mitzvah, etc). She participated in and curated (inter-)national art exhibitions and won several awards and grants for her work, which spread over five continents. Brombacher is the former president and current vice-president of the American Guild of Judaic Art and has an art-blog: https://jewishart.org/blog/blog-archives/ She contributes regularly to other magazines, blogs or calendars. Her websites are: www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/s/shoshannah and https://absolutearts.academia.edu/Brombacher. She is on Facebook.
A prolific author/illustrator, Brombacher authored, co-authored and/or illustrated about thirty books and is currently working on a collection of illustrated stories of Rabbi Hillel in addition to the earlier published On One Foot. The Life of Hillel (D. Zaklikowsky, illustr. S. Brombacher). One of her most notable collections of Chassidic stories is For Strangers Passing Through (S. Brombacher, TotalRecallPress 2020).
Hillel occasionally suffered discrimination due to being born in Babylonia and not in the city of the Temple and superior Torah study, Jerusalem. Instead of acting offended and putting the donkey driver in this story in his place with harsh words, the great rabbi showed him radical kindness and just explained his point.
A donkey driver said to Hillel in a joking way: “Rabbi, look how I am so much superior to you! You had to take the trouble to walk the long distance from Babylonia to Jerusalem, but I just walk out of my door and look, I am already here in Jerusalem; I almost sleep at the very gate of Jerusalem!” Hillel was quiet and took a while before he answered the man. Then he asked: “How much do you charge me, if I hire your donkey to go from here to Emmaus [which is not far from Jerusalem]?” The donkey driver answered: “One dinar [not a big amount]”. “And till Lud [a bit farther away]?” Asked Rabbi Hillel. “Till there: two dinar!” “ And till Caesarea?” ”Three dinar.” Said Hillel: “I understand that you increase the price when I increase the distance.” The man agreed. “That is correct. The price depends on the length of the trip.” “If that is the case,' said Hillel ‘isn’t then the payment and the reward for the work of my legs, all the way from Babylonia till here, equal to that of your donkey?”
Hillel’s radical kindness killed the possible adverse effects of the at that time politically dangerous rejection of a heathen. The man was seeking a conversion to Judaism on condition that the rabbi explained the Torah to him while he, the heathen, was standing on one foot. Shammai, offended by this ridiculous request, chased him away by throwing a tool to his head and insulting him. But Hillel explained in a friendly way the core mitzvah of the Torah, the essence: “Do not do to others what you find hateful.” By using Hesed he attracted sincere converts.
Hillel was so poor that he couldn’t always pay the entrance fee for the Beit Midrash. He climbed on the roof and listed to the lectures through a skylight. One wintery Friday afternoon, snow fell on the roof. Hillel became hypothermic and slumped over the skylight, casting a dark shadow. He was discovered and brought inside. Although Shabbat already started, people lit a fire, heated water, rubbed him with oil, and did everything to revive him, although many of these activities were forbidden on Shabbat. Doing them anyway was a big Hesed of those strict adherents of the Shabbat laws. They recognized in the pauper Hillel his deep yearning to study Torah and his vast learning. Saving a life is obligatory, of course, but they went the extra mile.
We read in the Talmud: But if he is impoverished, here it is written, The merciful man does Hesed to his own soul (Mishle 11:17). This refers to Hillel the Elder, who, at the time that he was departing from his students, would walk with them. They said to him, "Rabbi, where are you walking to?" He said to them, "To fulfill a mitzvah!" They said to him, "And what mitzvah is this?" He said to them, "To bathe in the bathhouse," [this also means using the toilet]. They said to him: "But is this really a mitzvah?" He said to them: "Yes. Just like regarding the statues of kings, that are set up in the theaters and the Roman heathen circuses, the one who is appointed over them bathes them and scrubs them, and they give him sustenance, and furthermore, he attains status with the leaders of the kingdom; I, who was created in the Divine]Image and Form, as it is written, For in the Image of G-d He made Man (Bereshit 9:6), even more so!…” One does not only do Hesed to others but also to oneself.
The Sages urged people marrying off an orphan to supply him with things Sufficient for his deficiency, i.e., respectful, but not going overboard to make him wealthy. Sufficient might include a horse upon which to ride and a servant to run in front of him for the sake of his stature.
Hillel regularly rented a horse and a servant to run in front of it for an impoverished nobleman, for whom lacking luxury might pose an obstacle and a hardship. One day, Hillel was unable to find a servant. So, the Sage and rabbi Hillel ran in front of the horse himself to save the man embarrassment, not minding his own ego, to fulfill the dictate which is deficient for him. This is sensitivity and Hesed beyond what is obligated.
Hillel’s radical kindness killed the bluntness and maliciousness of a person who heavily irritated him just to win a bet. This man repeatedly asked silly non halakhic non time-sensitive questions, like, about the flat feet of people in a certain region, at the worst time, when Hillel was very busy washing his hair and preparing for Shabbat. But he did not succeed in making Hillel upset, and lost. Hillel engaged in conversation with him. He showed him radical kindness by not cursing him or throwing him out.
Here is a classic example of radical Hesed from a woman living in a society and at a time where obeying all her husband’s wishes was law, and cooking a tremendous lot of work.
A man should never be fastidious concerning his meals. Once, Hillel had a guest for dinner.
Meanwhile a poor person showed up at his door and Hillel’s wife opened. The man said, ‘I am to marry today and have no provisions at all.’ She took the entire meal which she had prepared and gave it to him. She then kneaded fresh dough, cooked another dinner, which took time, and placed it before Hillel and his guest.
Hillel said to her, ‘My dear, why did you not bring it to us sooner?’ She told him all that had happened.
He said to her, ‘My dear, I, too, did not judge you in the scale of guilt but in the scale of merit, because everything you did was only in the name of Heaven’. (Tractate Derekh Eretz Rabbah 6:2)
Both Hillel’s wife and Hillel exceeded in Hesed.
Nancy Current
Nancy Current, co-founder with Robin Atlas of Vector Artist Initiative, is a visual midrash artist, interpreting thought and writings from Torah, midrashim and other Jewish sources. She adapts painting, drawing and printmaking to the mediums of glass and paper, creating work in which the images relate technically, visually and conceptually to make an interpretative statement. Her intent is to facilitate community discussions about subjects of importance to Jews and humanity in general. In addition to exhibiting in and co-curating VAI exhibitions, she has exhibited, taught, and lectured nationally in Canada and England. She is a fellow of the Jewish Art Salon and treasurer of the American Guild of Judaic Art.
After years of disagreement, with both the House of Shammai and the House of Hillel claiming their interpretation was law, a heavenly voice spoke:
“These and these are the words of the living God, but halacha (Jewish law) is according to the House of Hillel.”
Eruvin b 13:10, Babylonian Talmud
But why was halacha declared to be according to Hillel? The rabbis say that, even though both schools were “right”, the opinions of the House of Hillel were given preference because Hillel’s disciples, like Hillel himself, were humble and showed respect to the House of Shammai. (Talmud Eruvin b)
Ruth (Naomi's daughter-in-law) and Jethro (Moses's father-in-law) epitomized the worthy convert. Ruth is praised for her good deeds and courage in following Naomi to join the Jewish people (Ruth 2:12). Jethro is valued as a man who spoke words of peace to others. In Hillel's time, many non-Jews asked to study with the sages and become Jewish, which Hillel encouraged.
Ruth and Jethro are together here to represent Hillel's compassion and desire to bring all peoples "under the wings of the Shechinah", ie, to convert them to Judaism and encourage them to study. He valued individuals according to their character, not their wealth or birth, and reminds us to do the same.
Hillel's disciple, Yohanan ben Zakkai, taught about "the person who makes peace between one person and another, between husband and wife, between families, cities, nations and kingdoms." Mechilta, Yitro,20
Shalom bayit is the basis for all peace between humankind. Since it is a microcosm of relations between people at all levels, it is the place to practice principles of peace-making. The concept also points out the importance of having a home, the basic unit of peace. In our complicated world many people are without homes and thereby lose the possibility of living a peaceful life.
Shun evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:15
In this work I imagine a peaceful discussion beneath a tree, whose trunk represents the spiritual ascent of the discussion, and leads to more peaceful encounters between many people. The desire for peace is universal, so our personal decisions to act in accordance with that desire will encourage others to do the same.
Karey Kessler
Karey Kessler (b. 1974) creates map-paintings that contain ideas about physical places, but also spiritual, internal, and temporal spaces as well. She received her BA in Fine Arts and Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Her work is included in the books: The Map as Art (Princeton Architectural Press, 2009), by Kitty Harmon; From Here to There: A Curious Collection from the Hand Drawn Map Association (Princeton Architectural Press, 2010); The Embodied Forest (ecoartspace, 2021); and Le Paysage est une traversée (Editions Parentheses, 2020). Her work was also included in Orion Magazine (2021), Lilith Magazine (2022), The Magazine of the Association for Jewish Studies (2022) and Vrklempt Magazine (2023). In 2022 Meta Open Arts commissioned her to create a mural at the Meta Reality Labs (Redmond, WA). And in 2019 she participated in the SciArt Initiative Bridge Residency. Kessler has shown her work widely, including exhibits at the Weatherspoon Art Museum (NC), the Katona Art Museum (NY), and the Bellevue Art Museum (WA). She is currently a member of Shift Gallery in Seattle, and her work can be seen in the flat files of the Pierogi Gallery (NYC).
Hesed Statement:
One of Hillel’s main teachings is that people should do mitzvot and deeds of Hesed (loving kindness) both as individuals and as communities. He taught: “Do not separate from the community.” —Avot 2:5.
According to Yitzhak Buxbaum, a Hasid like Hillel is motivated to stay close to the community by the desire to influence others for good. Buxbaum goes on to state that the meaning of Hillel’s saying “do not separate” goes deeper than the benefits of community. It implies an awareness of the mystic unity of people.
The concept of a mystic unity of people, and I would add, a mystic unity of everything, inspired the three paintings for this show. And Hesed, which both a feeling (loving kindness) and an action (good deeds) is the foundation for how we can get along with others and repair the world.
My paintings start with watercolor to make an assortment of dots, lines, and pools of color. Then, like a cartographer, I label areas — not with real locations, but where the marks and colors evoke feelings, thoughts, and memories. I kept a running list of words as I read “The Life and Teachings of Hillel” such as kindness, love, and compassion and phrases such as “mystic unity” and “a foundation of all foundations.”
All of my paintings play with the fact that the Hebrew word for ‘the Place,’ ha-Makom, is also used as a name for God. “Here” can be a specific, known physical place, or it can be an infinite conceptual space—a spiritual realm— an underlying structure of our world.
