Aim: To create three-dimensional crowns and finials for the Torah.
Procedure:
1. Have students view and discuss the works of art below. Discuss with students:
- What do you notice about the different ways the Torah is adorned in the painting?
- What shapes, patterns, and materials do you see?
- How does the design of Moshe Zabari’s Torah Crown compare with the Torah ornaments in the painting?
- Why is the Torah decorated in these ways?
2. Have students construct their own Torah crowns or finials. Encourage students to think about the form their work will take. Will it be a crown or separate finials? Will it be traditional or modern? Will it use any recognizable images and symbols, or will it be more abstract?
3. Make foil available to students and have them squeeze, ball, flatten, scrunch, mold, and shape it according to their own ideas and design aesthetics. Students can also glue on beads, tiles, or other ornaments to enhance their designs.
4. Create a display of student work.
Solomon Alexander Hart (British, 1806-1881)
The Feast of the Rejoicing of the Law at the Synagogue in Leghorn, Italy, 1850
- Oil on canvas
- 55 5/8 x 68 3/4 in. (141.3 x 174.6 cm)
- The Jewish Museum, New York
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Gruss, JM 28-55
The Feast of the Rejoicing of the Law at the Synagogue in Leghorn, Italy
The Feast of the Rejoicing of the Law at the Synagogue in Leghorn, Italy
Listen
Moshe Zabari (Israeli, b. 1935)
- Silver: raised and forged; pearls
- Height: 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm) Diameter: 15 3/8 in. (39 cm)
- The Jewish Museum, New York
- Gift of the Albert A. List Family , JM 85-69
Torah Crown
Torah Crown
Listen