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 Scripture as Sculpture: The Sculptures of Moshe Zabari HUC-JIR Museum One West 4th Street New York, New York
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Israeli artist Moshe Zabari's 2003-2004 series "Scripture as Sculpture" is on display at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion Museum this fall. Zabari's series in marble is inspired by the Torah - the Five Books of Moses, the "foundation stone" of Jewish culture. Zabari carved the five sculptures in Torano Carrara, Italy, and each one depicts a book of the Torah. "Genesis" represents the moment when the divine light fused with unformed matter to begin the creation of the world, and is the theological understanding of the origin of the process of creation. "Exodus" shows an outstretched arm and fist, representing slavery and deliverance. "Leviticus," which, in the Torah, primarily addresses priests, depicts an altar. "Numbers" shows clouds and fire, inspired by the 40 years the Hebrews spent wandering in the desert. Finally, "Deuteronomy" has the passage Ha'azinu, recited by Moses who called for the heavens and the earth to act as eternal witnesses to God's words, carved in a cylindrical shape, resembling a Torah scroll. Zabari says that throughout his career, he has "made numerous ornaments for the Torah, beautifying and enhancing its outer appearance." However, "by carving and chiseling away the external parts of the marble, I tried to reach the internal words and meaning of the Torah." The HUC-JIR Museum exhibit also features several of Zabari's silver Judaica pieces, inspired by women of the Bible, as well as sculptures in mixed media (metals, stone, and wood), based on the Book of Revelations. Zabari was born in Israel in 1935 and graduated from the Bezalel School of Arts in Jerusalem. He worked at the Jewish Museum in New York as the Tobe Pascher Workshop artist-in-residence. He currently lives and works in Jerusalem.
Founded in 1875, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the nation's oldest institution of higher Jewish education and the academic, spiritual, and professional leadership development center of Reform Judaism. HUC-JIR educates men and women for service to American and world Jewry as rabbis, cantors, educators, and communal service professionals, and offers graduate and post-graduate programs to scholars of all faiths. With centers of learning in Cincinnati, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, and New York, HUC-JIR's scholarly resources comprise renowned library and museum collections, the American Jewish Archives, biblical archaeology excavations, research institutes and centers, and academic publications. HUC-JIR invites the community to an array of cultural and educational programs which illuminate Jewish history, identity, and contemporary creativity and which foster interfaith and multiethnic understanding. Visit us at www.huc.edu |
