JUDAICA: JEWISH RITUAL OBJECTS

Growing up Jewish shaped my world view and values. As I got older, I began to question Judaism and my relationship to it; trying to find what it is I believe. For my senior capstone project in Studio Art, I am making Judaica, or Jewish ritual objects. The objects that are used throughout Jewish events services, holidays, and cultural events tell the stories of Judaism and the people who practice it. Judaica’s purpose is service. For this show, I focused on the ritual objects of Passover while questioning its themes of freedom, servitude, reflection, transformation, and separation, and where I can identify these themes in my life and work. Passover is the first of three holidays that have both biblical and agricultural significance. Passover falls at the beginning of the harvest season in Israel and recalls the Israelites freedom from Egyptian slavery told in the book of Exodus.

Celebrating Passover is done through food. As utilitarian work inherently serves, I have made functional work, serving the holiday’s ritual.  Seder, in Hebrew, means order and the seder plate instructs those practicing by providing a sensory participation in the Passover story. The seder plate, upon which six objects that signify parts of the Passover story remain, serves as the center of the seder table. The Passover seder experience is engaging, each person partaking in the service by eating and drinking. The Freedom I explored is in the form of the plates. I shifted away from the traditional round tableware I grew up with and is most familiar. Changing how I made the plates forced slower production time and  allowed for a deeper connection to each piece. Separation is what makes these objects unique. Separating the mundane from the sacred is why Judaica is important. Distinguishing these objects as sacred places them into the religious and cultural context they are meant for. Transformation happens in my process from the preparation of the clay to its forming, and finally firing the ware to make it permanent. I practice reflection when I am making and sketching. During this time, I am able to find clarity which leads me to answer the very questions that spurred my exploration of Judaica.