Jewish Crafts and Religious Identity

There is a concept called hiddur mitzvah which encourages the enhancement of a commandment in a visual, material way. For instance, in this category one can include a beautiful pair of candlesticks for Shabbes, a special tablecloth for Shabbat and holidays, the decoration of the wedding canopy. Introducing this material aspect into the ritual requires a fine balance, as the object should contain that minimal ado that completes the spiritual side of the ritual, without reversing it.

Taking as a departure point the activities of the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework, Painted Pomegranates and Needlepoint Rabbis explores from an ethnographical and religious perspective the development of the Jewish material culture in America. With a focus on both the process - through which communities of faith are created and enforced - and the final product, it features local creators and educators that integrated crafts aimed to produce works inserted into the Jewish narrative - confirming traditions but also advancing new narratives typical for the Reform/Conservative/Liberal movements, such as tallit (prayer shawls) and kippah (head coverings) for women. On the other hand, by crafting together, the participants, predominantly women, create and enforce their belonging to the community of faith. Through their activities they create rituals - on Rosh Chodesh, for celebrating the New Moon, for instance - as well as share Jewish knowledge - d´var Torah. 

Although very limited - as not the main object of study - the research also includes the role of the new technologies in both creating the crafts and displaying them - such as blogs and social media dedicated to those aspects.

The topic is very intearesting and after reading this book I am curious to explore it more on my own. The book has a liberal outreach, but personally I am curious about women craft works within the traditional communities as well, including by finding eventually inspiration for needlepoint works that I can do myself. Such knowledge is usually transmitted within the community and rarely shared in printed formats, therefore the research itself involves predominantly a human connection so I wish myself good luck in hunting for heimishe patterns.

Painted Pomegranates and Needlepoint Rabbis. How Jews Craft Resilience and Create Community is a valuable resource and departure point for further research and inspiration, even it uses a less traditional approach.

Jodi Eichler-Levine is associate professor of Religious Studies, and Berman Professor of Jewish Civilization at Lehigh University.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review