https://www.dbandart.com/books daily 0.75 2026-02-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600816273080-CUAWPD06W64NX898EQPI/Banner+for+Books+Index-no+text+with+bud-9-22-20B.jpg Books https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1601053811196-G50JNGIZ3XBVPVDMEFVI/Banner+for+Books+Index-snippets+9-25-20C.jpg Books https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1598972805590-4T3S1ZYFXSCQZMG1XYUA/Arise%2521Arise%2521%2BJacket%2BFront-rgb%2B300dpi.jpg Books Arise! Arise! Deborah, Ruth and Hannah Jacket https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1598974437740-5GPFEE314L0MSLV6OXQ4/Jacket%2BFront-KS-full%2Bsize-300dpi.jpg Books Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification Jacket https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1598976399955-BMDTGLLH3WBU9CTEBQU0/BENCHER%2Bcover%2Brbg.jpg Books Cover of Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification: At the Sabbath Table https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1598982705297-3BJ7QXBCTNJAUERWFZSO/ATW+Cover+rgb+300dpi.jpg Books All the World Praises You! Jacket https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1602170396230-3ZRV3JPVM30QMII042S8/Psalms+Jacket-rbg150dpi.jpg Books I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms Jacket https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1602171362059-6239U5QWGALB37KXE1VS/SOS+Book+Jacket+RGB150dpi.jpg Books The Song of Songs: the Honeybee in the Garden Jacket https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/e5b1fbac-e905-41db-b2a0-d90452326bdd/Book+Jacket+Qoh+FRONT+web+10-22-22.jpg Books Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living cover https://www.dbandart.com/ketubot daily 0.75 2026-02-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600712495769-DMILJHR8QN9PNUT7NIJ0/Ketubah%2BSection%2BBanner-no%2Btext%2B9-18-20.jpg Ketubot https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1601073531149-8NZ8BVRPXNJXASC6DMNL/Banner+for+Ketubah+Index-mosaic-9-25-20B.jpg Ketubot https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600733485545-RAW4ZBILAXJEE392CW0P/Band-Diamond1-rgb300dpi.jpg Ketubot - My Own Ketubah! I designed the artwork to express Michael’s and my love for one another, the value of the romantic, mystical and national interpretations of biblical Song of Songs in our lives, and above all, our gratitude to the Creator for bringing us together in marriage. The small painting at center depicts Michael’s kiddush cup – my gift to him upon our engagement –overflowing with wine, alluding to the phrase “my cup runneth over,” in Psalm 23. The papercut surrounding the diamond-shaped text presents budding and flowering caper branches. A small passage in the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Beitsah, compares a series of plants and animals to qualities of Israel, the last of which is the caper, which was farmed in Judea during the Second Temple period, and today springs from crevices in the Western Wall, and wadis like Ein Gedi. The caper plant, one rabbi suggested, is like Israel’s quality of perseverance. Just as the caper can survive in the harshest, driest and rockiest places denied of water and fertile soil, and still put forth a fresh bud and blossom each morning, Israel can persevere through adversity and still thrive, with only the Almighty’s unseen hand supporting us. The micrography winding through the composition includes the full text of the Song of Songs, not only expressing our love of this text, but also alluding to the fact that we were introduced because of our individual projects with this beloved poetry. The sinuous abstract floral motif running throughout the work suggests the sensual joy of the loving relationship. The words inscribed in gold around the border of the artwork present verse that Michael wrote to me, from a larger prose poem entitled Tabernacle of the Heart… Original Ketubah by Debra Band (c) copyright 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600733479478-5460NH3C0DM4VY3OS0Q9/Band-Grossberg-rgb300dpi.jpg Ketubot - Intertwined Ketubah I designed the artwork to reflect this couple’s joy in fusing the many colors and textures of their lives in marriage, and establishing a new home together focused on Jewish life and community. The complex balance of the analytical geometric pattern and the softer, yet dramatic floral shapes suggest the play of their energetic personalities, while the twelve pointed star that calls to mind the Twelve Tribes of Israel, is composed of two interposed Stars of David, the symbol of modern Israel. A tiny Magen David at the core of the design presents a miniature landscape of Jerusalem, the cultural andreligious heart of the Jewish people. The floral border offers the white roses and orchids that the bride loves; the roses, in particular, symbolize many qualities in biblical test and midrash, from humility to beauty. Can you find the Lego blocks representing the groom’s earliest passion for complex building hidden among the flowers? A tiny red terrapin reminds us of the University of Maryland, where the couple met through Jewish student activities. The abstract floral pattern presented within the twelve points of the star in alternating papercut and black and gold areas reminds the couple of the pleasure of theirearly travels together in Spain. Original commissioned Ketubah by Debra Band (c) copyright 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600733491180-FJJW4S4L3ROTQ5JVT001/Band-Morris-rgb300dpi.jpg Ketubot - Fusing Lives Ketubah I designed the ketubah to express the couple’s love and joy at joining their lives, as well as their families’ prayers for the home they found together. Two circles representing their two full lives cometogether to form the almond shape of the 4-level painted and papercut composition. The complex geometric pattern presented in paint and papercut suggests not only the analytical bent each brings indifferent ways to their careers, but also celebrates Hannah’s Sephardi background; this pattern exists uniquely in the beautiful Santa Maria Blanca Synagogue in Toledo (originally the Ibn Shoshan Synagogue), built in 1180, converted to a church in 1492, and which may be the oldest extant synagogue in Europe. The painted pattern flickers with the blue, green and sand tones of the seashore, pointing to their mutual love of the oceans. The small papercut at the center of the composition shows a palm tree growing beside water; this image, too, expresses the groom’s and the brides’s values. In Psalm 92, the special Psalm for Shabbat, the righteous person is compared to a tall and straight palm tree, while Jeremiah (17:8) prophesies that the righteous person “shall be like a tree planted beside waters, sending forth its roots beside a stream, its leaves are ever-fresh; it has no care in the year of drought, and does not cease to yield fruit.” The gold decorative text surrounding the ketubah presents the Hebrew and English of one of the groom’s favorite piyyutim, or religious poems, Yedid Nefesh (Beloved Soul), composed by the sixteenth-century Rabbi Eleazar Azikri, a member of Rabbi Isaac Luria’s mystical circle in Tsfat, and now part of the beloved Kabbalat Shabbat custom. The song expresses the love between the Jewish soul and God in terms of both romantic and parental love; the translation shown here was composed by the eminent scholar of medieval Hebrew poetry, Raymond P. Scheindlin for our book, Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification.The outer border of the ketubah presents the entire book of The Song of Songs in micrography. Small lapis lazuli cabochons from Afghanistan rest within the micrography, not only augmenting the shades of blue in the painting, but also alluding tothe groom’stime in Afghanistan.Materials used in the artwork include paper, silk, gold leaf, gouache and lapis lazuli. Original commissioned Ketubah by Debra Band (c) copyright 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600733486824-O61YQ7GENZDK7FVLHXWO/Berenson-Zolt-Gilburne-rgb250dpi.jpg Ketubot - Multifacet Ketubah In the artwork I have expressed the many forms and textures of the couple’s life together, and the overall balance and beauty of their love for one another. The geometric forms, seen both straight-on and at angles suggest the energy and complexity of the two individuals joined together in this marriage, the cherry blossoms that weave through the composition remind us of their life in Washington D.C., while the complex geometric pattern at top left alludes to the groom’s interest and time in the Middle East. The cube at right that mirrors a pine forest is adapted from the Tree Hotel in Sweden where the couple will honeymoon, while the neo-classical silver wreath decoration and column by the English text adapt motifs from the Lincoln Memorial, where the groom proposed marriage to his beloved.. The decorative text surrounding the entire composition is taken from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116… Materials used herein include papers of American, Italian and Japanese origin, gouache, palladium and silk. copyright(c)2020 Debra Band https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600733488391-T1TDPXJ21IG9S9R544SA/Berger-Gold-rgb300dpi.jpg Ketubot - Mountaintop Meadow Ketubah I designed the artwork to express the couple’s love for each other, their joy in their wedding at their mountaintop home in British Columbia, and the centrality in their lives of their land and its fruits. The miniature painting at center offers a view of their home high above the seacoast of Salt Spring Island. The rainbow overhead reminds us of the Divine promise to Noah to preserve life on Earth. The sprays of fir branches, wheat, apples, pomegranates, lilies, sunflowers, poppies, irises and other wildflowers scattered with blueberries, strawberries and mushrooms symbolize the bounty of their land. The lilies that Rebecca loves also allude here to the importance of Jewish tradition in their lives. In a famous midrash commenting on the portion of Exodus about the giving of the Torah at Sinai, a tale is given about a king who had planted a beautiful orchard many years before. His gardeners have neglected the orchard, however, and it has grown up full of weeds and thorns. The king is about to order his woodcutters to raze the ruined orchard down to the ground when he spies off in the distance in the orchard, a single stalk of fragrant pink lilies, and cries out “For the sake of the lily, I will spare the orchard!” The rabbis compare the king to God, the ruined orchard to the once perfect, now corrupted human world, and the lily to the Ten Commandments, teaching that it is only for the value of the Ten Commandments that G-d preserves the world.The decorative text surrounding the ketubah is drawn from fourth chapter of The Song of Songs… Original commissioned Ketubah by Debra Band copyright (c)2020. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600733490529-20OIOUU107T7BL1C84OO/Gerstein-Katz-rgb250dpi.jpg Ketubot - Finding Wisdom Ketubah I designed the artwork to reflect the sweetness of the couple’s love for one another and hopes for a fruitful life together, their love of Jerusalem and its architecture, and the art of the bride’s Persian family background. To the right of the ketubah text is a miniature painting of an idyllic view of the flourishing land of Israel. The image of the waterfall coursing along a rocky cliffside draws upon midrashic and kabbalistic metaphors comparing Torah to flowing water and wisdom, and rocky walls to the task offinding wisdom in challenging moments of life. Fruitful grain fields, pastures and vineyards stretch beyond to the horizon. The daytime sky gives way to an image of the dark heavens modeled upon a Hubble Space Telescope painting of the deep sky of the early universe. A pomegranate branch juts from the painting, bearing six pomegranates, symbolizing both the number of books of the Mishnah and the 613 mitzvot, drawing upon a midrash asserting that the pomegranate produces exactly that number of seeds. To the left of the painting a papercut bar suggests the Jerusalem skyline. At the bottom left corner a pair of hands positioned for the Priestly Blessing calls to mind the groom’s Cohen heritage. The decorative text bordering the artwork presents the first verses of the second chapter of The Song of Songs… Copyright (c)Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600733493322-OP4O6FV382Q1745VMSF1/Katz-Belsky-rgb300dpi.jpg Ketubot - Jaffa Coast Ketubah I designed the artwork to reflect the couple’s love for one another, their passion for Israel, delight in the natural world, and pleasure in their wedding overlooking the port of Jaffa. The ribbon of landscape painting winding through the composition presents the Jaffa seascape, arcing overhead the night sky with the constellations visible the night of their wedding: Aquarius, Deneb and Capricorn. Wildflowers native to the Israeli countryside, and olives, reminding us of Psalm 128, whose evocation of joyful family life compares the children clustered around the family table to olive shoots growing from the roots of the fruitful parent tree. The poetry circling around the composition draws upon the Song of Songs 2:16-17… Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600733800520-WKC2ZMFWSR3U5R0HKOL3/Song+of+Songs+Ket+rgb300dpi.jpg Ketubot - The Song of Songs Limited Edition Ketubah About the Ketubah The ketubah, or Jewish marriage contract, is part of a tradition stretching back to the days of the Mishnah, the early compilation of Jewish law accomplished by the third century of the Common Era. The traditional Aramaic text used today is the formula codified by the sage, Rabbi Gershom the Light of the Exile, in the eleventh century Rhineland. In the American Jewish community it has become frequent practice to include a modern egalitarian English text, expressing the couple’s ethical and romantic pledges to one another. In the Reform movement, such egalitarian texts, presented in modern Hebrew and English, altogether replace the traditional formulation. The egalitarian texts used here were composed for me by Dr. Arnold Band, the eminent scholar of Hebrew literature. I designed the artwork to express the complexity and beauty of the love between husband and wife and the importance of Jewish culture and tradition in the home they create together. Woven throughout the composition is the entire text of the book of The Song of Songs, traditionally ascribed to King Solomon, which contains much of the most beloved love poetry not only in Jewish culture, but in all of Western civilization. The micrography, or tiny writing, in which the Song is inscribed is a uniquely Jewish art-form, and has been a part of the Hebrew scribal arts since early medieval years. The painted and papercut elements of the artwork are reminiscent of the Moorish visual vocabulary within which the Jews of the Sephardic Golden Age lived, learned, composed poetry and created extraordinary Hebrew manuscript art. The eighteen petals of the floral form of the artwork allude to the Hebrew word “chai,” meaning “life.” The thirty six painted areas and hand-applied gold stars indicate that two souls are joined for life. The papercut roses in the corners are associated with beauty in the text of the Song, and are shown in bud, open flower and fruit, symbolizing the full life cycle. The Magen David-shaped miniature painting in the center reminds us of Jerusalem’s significance as the cultural and spiritual center of Judaism, and is surrounded by the beloved phrase, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,” drawn from The Song of Songs 6:3. Please note that the papercuts on the lithograph are printed. Availability and Prices The Song of Songs Ketubah has been printed in an edition limited to a total of 300, available in the following text variants: * Traditional Aramaic text with my egalitarian English * Traditional Aramaic only, with no English text * Reform Egalitarian Hebrew and English. Suitable also for interfaith weddings * No text, available for your own text (length permitting) The price for any of the above versions is $250 US. Personalization is available for any of the with-text versions for $75 US . Please allow 2-4 weeks for receipt of the ketubah, although faster service and express shipping are available for a rush fee. The fee for adding a complete customized text to the no-text version will be determined by me upon reviewing the customer’s desired text. The cost of shipping within the continental US is $25. Please contact me for further ordering information. Payment may be made by personal check or credit card,at your convenience. Limited Edition Ketubah by Debra Band (c) copyright 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1601499893492-ZK5290PD0HPD52QAP0SL/Gabi+and+Hannah+facing+ketubah+cropped.jpg Ketubot https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1601599354053-USGKY3SOOMBZVF6LWL55/Song%2Bof%2BSongs%2BKet%2Brgb150dpi.jpg Ketubot - The Song of Songs Ketubah The Song of Songs Ketubah About the Ketubah The ketubah, or Jewish marriage contract, is part of a tradition stretching back to the days of the Mishnah, the early compilation of Jewish law accomplished by the third century of the Common Era. The traditional Aramaic text used today is the formula codified by the sage, Rabbi Gershom the Light of the Exile, in the eleventh century Rhineland. In the American Jewish community it has become frequent practice to include a modern egalitarian English text, expressing the couple’s ethical and romantic pledges to one another. In the Reform movement, such egalitarian texts, presented in modern Hebrew and English, altogether replace the traditional formulation. The egalitarian texts used here were composed for me by Dr. Arnold Band, the eminent scholar of Hebrew literature. I designed the artwork to express the complexity and beauty of the love between husband and wife and the value of Jewish culture and tradition in the home they create together. Woven throughout the composition is the entire text of the book of The Song of Songs, traditionally ascribed to King Solomon, which contains much of the most beloved love poetry not only in Jewish culture, but in all of Western civilization. The micrography, or tiny writing, in which the Song is inscribed is a uniquely Jewish art-form, and has been a part of the Hebrew scribal arts since early medieval years. The painted and papercut elements of the artwork are reminiscent of the Moorish visual vocabulary within which the Jews of the Sephardic Golden Age lived, learned, composed poetry and created extraordinary Hebrew manuscript art. The eighteen petals of the floral form of the artwork allude to the Hebrew word “chai,” meaning “life.” The thirty six painted areas and hand-applied gold stars indicate that two souls are joined for life. The papercut roses in the corners are associated with beauty in the text of the Song, and are shown in bud, open flower and fruit, symbolizing the full life cycle. The Magen David-shaped miniature painting in the center reminds us of Jerusalem’s significance as the cultural and spiritual center of Judaism, and is surrounded by the beloved phrase, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,” drawn from The Song of Songs 6:3. Please note that the papercuts on the lithograph are printed. copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1601599293329-KD7TTSE9M0OFWCQVS9SJ/Walled+Garden+Ket+rgb150dpi.jpg Ketubot - The Walled Garden Ketubah About the Ketubah The ketubah, or Jewish marriage contract, is part of a tradition dating back to the times of the Mishnah, the codification of Jewish law during the first and second centuries of the Common Era. The traditional text used today dates from the eleventh-century Rhineland. The Conservative movement has added a clause prepared by Rabbi Saul Lieberman relating to divorce rights. In recent years, personal ethical and romantic pledges in English have become frequent additions to American ketubot. In the Reform movement such egalitarian Hebrew texts frequently replace the traditional formula. This ketubah is reproduced from an original which I created using gouache, egg tempera, gold and papercutting. The design is based on Biblical allusions to beauty, joy and fruitfulness, and the love of Jewish tradition. The passage from the Song of Songs 6:1-3, culminates in the celebrated declaration “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” The full passage is worked into the inner and outer borders of the artwork. Elsewhere in the Song of Songs, the man describes his lover as a walled garden, and together these images form the theme of the decorations of the ketubah. The overall design is that of an Eastern walled garden, with a fountain, pots of lilies, etrog and pomegranate trees and grapevines. Fountains are frequent symbols of the vitality of Torah throughout the sacred Jewish texts, as of course, are trees in general. The trees here, however, have specific meaning. The etrog, used during the holiday of Succoth, is described in Leviticus 23:40 as the “fruit of a beautiful tree.” This tree bears seven etrogim, representing the seven days of the week. The pomegranate, of course, is a ubiquitous Mediterranean fertility symbol, and the tree shown here bears three fruits and four blossoms, representing our ancestors: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah. In the verse worked into the border lilies represent the woman’s beauty: the pots holding the lily plants are worked in an ancient Egyptian lotus pattern, perhaps contemporary with the Song of Songs, itself. Everywhere, grapes symbolize joy, celebration and sanctification. The medallion based on six-pointed stars is worked in red, blue, purple and gold, the colors of the hangings of the Mishkan, the traveling Ark carried through the desert. Finally, the papercut roses in the corner are a reference to beauty drawn again from The Song of Songs 2:2: “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.” Please note that the papercuts on the lithograph are printed. The passage from the Song of Songs 6:1-3, culminates in the celebrated declaration “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” The full passage is worked into the inner and outer borders of the artwork. Elsewhere in the Song of Songs, the man describes his lover as a walled garden, and together these images form the theme of the decorations of the ketubah. The overall design is that of an Eastern walled garden, with a fountain, pots of lilies, etrog and pomegranate trees and grapevines. Fountains are frequent symbols of the vitality of Torah throughout the sacred Jewish texts, as of course, are trees in general. The trees here, however, have specific meaning. The etrog, used during the holiday of Succoth, is described in Leviticus 23:40 as the “fruit of a beautiful tree.” This tree bears seven etrogim, representing the seven days of the week. The pomegranate, of course, is a ubiquitous Mediterranean fertility symbol, and the tree shown here bears three fruits and four blossoms, representing our ancestors: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah. In the verse worked into the border lilies represent the woman’s beauty: the pots holding the lily plants are worked in an ancient Egyptian lotus pattern, perhaps contemporary with the Song of Songs, itself. Everywhere, grapes symbolize joy, celebration and sanctification. The medallion based on six-pointed stars is worked in red, blue, purple and gold, the colors of the hangings of the Mishkan, the traveling Ark carried through the desert. Finally, the papercut roses in the corner are a reference to beauty drawn again from The Song of Songs 2:2: “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.” Please note that the papercuts on the lithograph are printed. copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1601599293415-L8AKU0UB63D4CII1M39E/Loving-Home-Ket-rgb150dpi.jpg Ketubot - The Loving Home Ketubah About the Ketubah The ketubah is part of a tradition stretching back to Shimon ben Shatach, the first century BCE sage who first required contractual protection of both husband’s and wife’s rights and obligations toward each other. The traditional Aramaic text used today is the formula codified by the sage, Rabbi Gershom the Light of the Exile, in the eleventh century Rhineland. The Conservative movement has added a clause prepared by Dr. Saul Lieberman relating to divorce rights. In the American Jewish community it has become frequent practice to include a modern egalitarian English text, expressing the couple’s ethical and romantic pledges to one another. In the Reform movement, such egalitarian texts, presented in modern Hebrew and English, frequently replace the traditional formulation. The egalitarian texts used here were composed for me by Dr. Arnold Band, the eminent scholar of Hebrew literature. The artwork surrounding the ketubah texts celebrates the warm and loving home inaugurated by the Jewish wedding. The flowers and fruit presented against the blue and gold border symbolize qualities found in the Jewish home. In midrash, or rabbinic legend, roses, lilies and narcissus are associated with a variety of virtues, including physical loveliness, the beautyand sweetness of the Commandments and humility. Olive branches symbolize nobility, fruitfulness and peace in Biblical texts. The spray of roses, shown in bud, full flower and fruit additionally represent the life cycle. Throughout Jewish lore and ritual grapes symbolize joy and sanctification, while wheat speaks of sustenance. Throughout Jerusalem, sprigs of the caper plant spring from the driest stone walls, producing buds and fresh white blossoms daily. In the Babylonian Talmud, the caper plant’s ability to thrive in the face of adversity is compared to Israel’s own perseverance. The flowering and fruiting almond branch draws upon the story in Numbers 17 in which Aaron’s wooden staff miraculously sprouts almond leaves, blossoms and fruits, demonstrating the legitimacy of Moses’ and Aaron’s leadership of the people. The pomegranate has been the ubiquitous Mediterranean symbol of fruitfulness for millennia; in addition, the early rabbis of midrash asserted that the pomegranate bears exactly 613 seeds, thus tying the sweet seeds to the number of mitzvot in the Torah. The papercut border presents impressions of the Jerusalem skyline. Scattered domes and building shapes bear the beloved Seven Wedding Blessings in micrography, symbolizing the embrace of the new family within the greater Jewish community. The decorative calligraphic border surrounding the central text panel and defining the outer edge of the artwork bears the text of Psalm 128 (abridged in English), celebrating the flourishing Jewish family. The lovely imagery of the psalm ends with one of the most popular of traditional Hebrew wedding songs, “Yevarechecha Hashem MiTsion.” copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://www.dbandart.com/about-the-artist daily 0.75 2020-10-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1601392814088-AXB0YG3984CFDC4L7G8B/Banner+for+About+Artist+Index-mosaic-9-29-20.jpg About the Artist https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1601393544015-7AA6Q8UNJ9ZE4B3ANL9N/Banner+for+About+Artist+Index-mosaic-9-29-20.jpg About the Artist https://www.dbandart.com/classes daily 0.75 2020-10-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1602008995153-VIGE69TPXVA76ZZP154H/Banner-Courses+Index+10-6-20.jpg Workshops https://www.dbandart.com/welcome-2 daily 1.0 2026-02-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1601922046721-Z3E8952LLCI3KOZ6L1RN/Snippets+Front+Banner+10-5-20B.jpg Welcome https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1603481030461-S339VD3QZ5SAJJI52MFY/Banner+for+Books+Index-snippets-ultramarine+10-23-20.jpg Welcome https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1603481392286-RLEUAWT3NMDXNZXNR5H1/Banner+for+Ketubah+Index-mosaic-9-25-20B.jpg Welcome https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1603481698124-KNTDJ1EDDJP9C4U17IJY/Banner+for+About+Artist+Index-mosaic-9-29-20.jpg Welcome https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1602010014725-NKPNJ6H6JNORPQITQVUN/Banner-Courses+Index+10-6-20.jpg Welcome https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1603482533613-MX09NEQSZ281SFF8GK5O/Snippets+Front+Banner+10-5-20B.jpg Welcome https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1603812850775-MP259IY3PGKIRWU3Q3LX/Parchment-welcome-text-page-10-27-20.jpg Welcome https://www.dbandart.com/whats-new-1 daily 0.75 2026-02-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1629161907815-V9NVM8EMLPVYNFUAMQXZ/What%2527s%2BNew%2BBanner%2B8-16-21.jpg What's New? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1629162500557-XPAIDNF3O1F5CHBB9XY3/What%27s+New+Banner+8-16-21.jpg What's New? https://www.dbandart.com/kabbalat-shabbat-detail-and-gallery daily 0.75 2026-02-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825530363-RQ22QRCJMX12ZRG9BIRS/Blessing+the+Children-E-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - Blessing the Children-English from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825530361-6YUWX8GQY8O8G3GJLF9S/Blessing+the+Children-H-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - Blessing the Children-Hebrew from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825531730-ZZWNAWY77IEE1F735YWB/Candlelighting-E-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - Blessing the Candles-English from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825531820-2Q75QZUM2BMO34KFW73P/Candlelighting-H-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - Blessing the Candles-Hebrew from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825541693-2IQ6H2M8X9Q54TGNC42B/Yedid+Nefesh-E-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - Yedid Nefesh-Hebrew from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825542315-T2OKWR4D1BKGI13UTJUP/Yedid+Nefesh-H-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - Yedid Nefesh-English from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825539927-V3TDZJZYMW258TFOVSI5/The+Bride+Approaches+Papercut-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - The Bride Approaches Papercut from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825535412-A1J2WW0QV39SCHP806WS/Kiddush-E-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - Kiddush-English from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825536561-TVOACFRA0ZJ3QN8LOINE/Kiddush-H-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - Kiddush-Hebrew from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825534896-92KJKQPR7KIXPA9LTS6Z/Kiddush+Commentary-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - Commentary on Kiddush from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825537345-UO8NAK9P9BUTODPKR4CL/Psalm+97-A-rgb300.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - Psalm 97-beginning from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825537682-XJE1ZMDLWWWKPI62Z5II/Psalm+97-B-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - Psalm 97-ending from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825538757-S7HLS92DIWHWN75SF53F/Shir+HaMaalot-E-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - Psalm 126 (Shir HaMaalot) English from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825539154-OBDKJBILR30LEFZV2G5F/Shir+Ma%27Maalot-H-rgb300.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - Psalm 126 (Shir HaMaalot) English from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825541358-Z7UOOP69A7GM4LNMYQIR/Tsur+Mishelo-E-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - Tsur Mishelo-English from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825540795-WXNUAYUSF7UQZBREXBA1/Tsur+Mishelo-H-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery - Tsur Mishelo-Hebrew from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://www.dbandart.com/all-the-world-detail-and-gallery daily 0.75 2020-10-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600826851497-Q1LJ0QG5960GW3KMUK8Z/Aleph+Page-rgb300dpi.jpg All the World Info and Gallery - Alef Page from All the World Praises You: an Illuminated Aleph-Bet Book by Debra Band, with translations by Arnold J. Band . Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600826851551-E18TYTMAC0FEREICSXXT/Bet+Page-rgb300dpi.jpg All the World Info and Gallery - Bet Page from All the World Praises You: an Illuminated Aleph-Bet Book by Debra Band, with translations by Arnold J. Band . Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600826855901-6ZFPQI11Q53B7IIILZG0/Daled+Page-rgb300dpi.jpg All the World Info and Gallery - Daled Page from All the World Praises You: an Illuminated Aleph-Bet Book by Debra Band, with translations by Arnold J. Band . Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600826854231-1OPE64GZG6I8IU07ZBBA/Mem+Page-rgb300dpi.jpg All the World Info and Gallery - Mem Page from All the World Praises You: an Illuminated Aleph-Bet Book by Debra Band, with translations by Arnold J. Band . Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600826854034-1GEW1QX3AL7ZPH1EV2NJ/Pay+Page-rgb300dpi.jpg All the World Info and Gallery - Pay Page from All the World Praises You: an Illuminated Aleph-Bet Book by Debra Band, with translations by Arnold J. Band . Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600826852763-I66KYWLJCJL6Y3GAG04H/Tav+Page-rgb300dpi.jpg All the World Info and Gallery - Tav Page from All the World Praises You: an Illuminated Aleph-Bet Book by Debra Band, with translations by Arnold J. Band . Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600826855425-5VC3VIPV98C4M33F9R6V/Final-E+Page-full.jpg All the World Info and Gallery - "Find the Hidden Hebrew Letters" Page from All the World Praises You: an Illuminated Aleph-Bet Book by Debra Band, with translations by Arnold J. Band . Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600826852972-LO763LZS3JIOWTEYOH40/Sample+ATW+Commentary+Page-rgb300dpi.jpg All the World Info and Gallery - Sample Commentary Page from All the World Praises You: an Illuminated Aleph-Bet Book by Debra Band, with translations by Arnold J. Band . Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600881576373-T5U7HCCVJ93B6XTPAA4K/Michael+with+ATW-rgb200dpi.jpg All the World Info and Gallery https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600881576353-FWBYEFKH0QUKB62UK7ST/Dalia+with+ATW-rgb200dpi.jpg All the World Info and Gallery https://www.dbandart.com/the-song-of-songs-detail-and-gallery daily 0.75 2026-02-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600962082304-I5K7YRGLPC8F553L2MXE/Frontispiece-rgb250dpi.jpg The Song of Songs Info and Gallery - Frontispiece Illumination from The Song of Songs: the Honeybee in the Garden, illuminations and commentary by Debra Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2008. Copyright (c) 2020 Debra Band https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600962082769-A0DNC4ULK5MY6S1C0QMX/Illum+3-rgb250dpi.jpg The Song of Songs Info and Gallery - Illumination 3, from the Song of Songs: the Honeybee in the Garden “I am dark, but lovely, daughters of Jerusalem…” 1:5-8 from The Song of Songs: the Honeybee in the Garden, illuminations and commentary by Debra Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2008. Copyright (c) 2020 Debra Band https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600962083172-BAIFNBUS6MWLKZIIQL3P/Illum+06-rgb250dpi.jpg The Song of Songs Info and Gallery - Papercut Introduction to Chapter 2 The border of the papercut presents a poem about the coming of spring by the eleventh century Spanish Jewish poet, and Grand Vizier of Granada, Samuel the Nagid. from The Song of Songs: the Honeybee in the Garden, illuminations and commentary by Debra Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2008. Copyright (c) 2020 Debra Band https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600962086442-OY0MKM28HOUSEHMQD1GD/Page+7-rgb250dpi.jpg The Song of Songs Info and Gallery - Illumination 9 “I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys…” 2:1-3 from The Song of Songs: the Honeybee in the Garden, illuminations and commentary by Debra Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2008. Copyright (c) 2020 Debra Band https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600962083761-CQVKFTG6MCXGJQPOHD9H/Illum+10-rbg250dpi.jpg The Song of Songs Info and Gallery - Illumination 10 “He brought me to the wine-house, and his banner over me, love….” 2:4-7 from The Song of Songs: the Honeybee in the Garden, illuminations and commentary by Debra Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2008. Copyright (c) 2020 Debra Band https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600962084403-6PAPRN8WCBD1HPCDN9KK/Illum+15-rgb-250dpi.jpg The Song of Songs Info and Gallery - Illumination 15 “My love is mine, and I am his, he who shepherds among the lilies. Before the day breathes and the shadows flee….” 2:16-17 from The Song of Songs: the Honeybee in the Garden, illuminations and commentary by Debra Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2008. Copyright (c) 2020 Debra Band https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600962085617-WT0ZURYRFR8L09Q3GBOC/Illum+63-rgb250dpi.jpg The Song of Songs Info and Gallery - Illumination 63 “We have a young sister…Flee, my love, and be like a deer or a young gazelle on the mountain of spice.” 8:8-14 (conclusion) from The Song of Songs: the Honeybee in the Garden, illuminations and commentary by Debra Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2008. Copyright (c) 2020 Debra Band https://www.dbandart.com/i-will-wake-the-dawn-illuminated-psalms-gallery daily 0.75 2020-10-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600963501636-GF1EC1OJGAB02D7N1MDH/Psalm+8-E-rgb-250dpi.jpg I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms Gallery - Psalm 8-English from I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms. Illuminations and Commentary by Debra Band, Literary Commentary by Arnold J. Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2007. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600963501623-5UOV4OQMX2XKZZW0ZZHA/Psalm+8b-rgb250dpi.jpg I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms Gallery - Psalm 8-Hebrew from I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms. Illuminations and Commentary by Debra Band, Literary Commentary by Arnold J. Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2007. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600963506971-FAAMI14M2TWRIQ98ZBVB/Psalm+126E-rgb250dpi.jpg I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms Gallery - Psalm 126-English from I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms. Illuminations and Commentary by Debra Band, Literary Commentary by Arnold J. Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2007. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600963503133-KLH0HB9RW5RPV55T0U1H/Psalm+126H-rgb250dpi.jpg I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms Gallery - Psalm 126 (Shir HaMaalot)-Hebrew from I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms. Illuminations and Commentary by Debra Band, Literary Commentary by Arnold J. Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2007. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600963502937-64H5HTTS7JGBBT3WCE4O/Psalm+23E-rgb250dpi.jpg I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms Gallery - Psalm 23-English from I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms. Illuminations and Commentary by Debra Band, Literary Commentary by Arnold J. Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2007. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600963502453-FTI6L7Z4V68GDFJK4URR/Psalm+23-H-rgb250dpi.jpg I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms Gallery - Psalm 23-Hebrew from I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms. Illuminations and Commentary by Debra Band, Literary Commentary by Arnold J. Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2007. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600963505432-48PBV2PAT3FLQ8K9Z7HG/Psalm+42E-rgb250dpi.jpg I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms Gallery - Psalm 42-English from I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms. Illuminations and Commentary by Debra Band, Literary Commentary by Arnold J. Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2007. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600963504499-8JTQGJJS6JVB53FCOYVR/Psalm+42H-rgb250dpi.jpg I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms Gallery - Psalm 42-Hebrew from I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms. Illuminations and Commentary by Debra Band, Literary Commentary by Arnold J. Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2007. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600963505645-ZKAWL5LUOLU2B5YLA2A3/Psalm+92E-rgb250dpi.jpg I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms Gallery - Psalm 92-English (Psalm for the Sabbath Day) from I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms. Illuminations and Commentary by Debra Band, Literary Commentary by Arnold J. Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2007. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600963506158-PKOH4T9KHPB61J0HARVR/Psalm+92H-rgb250dpi.jpg I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms Gallery - Psalm 92-Hebrew (Psalm for the Sabbath Day) from I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms. Illuminations and Commentary by Debra Band, Literary Commentary by Arnold J. Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2007. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600963506332-WC6HED4C9WQOZNTGX6I1/Psalm+117E-rgb250dpi.jpg I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms Gallery - Psalm 117-English (from Hallel) from I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms. Illuminations and Commentary by Debra Band, Literary Commentary by Arnold J. Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2007. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600963507235-7NXUHVPG5N22CNGJL5TK/Psalm+117H-rgb250dpi.jpg I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms Gallery - Psalm 117-Hebrew (from Hallel) from I Will Wake the Dawn: Illuminated Psalms. Illuminations and Commentary by Debra Band, Literary Commentary by Arnold J. Band. Jewish Publication Society, 2007. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://www.dbandart.com/ketubah-costs-and-faq daily 0.75 2020-10-28 https://www.dbandart.com/custom-ketubah-gallery daily 0.75 2020-10-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600802413688-4TIBO1N68RBJNNPT46S3/Band-Diamond1-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - My Own Ketubah I designed the artwork to express Michael’s and my love for one another, the value of theromantic, mystical and national interpretations of biblical Song of Songs in our lives, and above all, our gratitude to the Creator for bringing us together in marriage. The smallpainting at center depicts Michael’s kiddush cup – my gift to him upon our engagement –overflowing with wine, alluding to the phrase “my cup runneth over,” in Psalm 23. The papercut surrounding the diamond-shaped text presents budding and flowering caper branches. A small passage in the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Beitsah, compares a series ofplants and animals to qualities of Israel, the last of which is the caper, which was farmed in Judea during the Second Temple period, and today springs from crevices in the Western Wall, and wadis like Ein Gedi. The caper plant, one rabbi suggested, is like Israel’s quality of perseverance. Just as the caper can survive in the harshest, driest and rockiest places denied of water and fertile soil, and still put forth a fresh bud and blossom each morning, Israel can persevere through adversity and still thrive, with only the Almighty’s unseen hand supporting us. The micrography winding through the composition includes the full text of the Song of Songs, not only expressing our love of this text, but also alluding to the fact that we were introduced because of our individual projects with this beloved poetry. The sinuous abstract floral motif running throughout the work suggests the sensual joy of the loving relationship. The words inscribed in gold around the border of the artwork present verse that Michaelwrote to me, from a larger prose poem entitled Tabernacle of the Heart… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600802415163-GLY6IR90DB57E49NTVUU/Band-Grossberg-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Intertwined Ketubah I designed the artwork to reflect the couple’s joy in fusing the many colors and textures of their lives in marriage, and establishing a new home together focused on Jewish life and community. The complex balance of the analytical geometric pattern and the softer, yet dramatic floral shapes suggest the play of their energetic personalities, while the twelve pointed star that calls to mind the Twelve Tribes of Israel, is composed of two interposed Stars of David, the symbol of modern Israel. A tiny Magen David at the core of the design presents a miniature landscape of Jerusalem, the cultural and religious heart of the Jewish people. The floral border offers the white roses and orchids that the bride loves; the roses, in particular, symbolize many qualities in biblical test and midrash, from humility to beauty. Can you find the Lego blocks representing the groom’s earliest passion for complex building hidden among the flowers? A tiny red terrapin reminds us of the University of Maryland, where the couple met through Jewish student activities. The abstract floral pattern presented within the twelve points of the star in alternating papercut and black and gold areas reminds the couple of the pleasure of their early travels together in Spain. The poetry inscribed in gold surrounding the ketubah texts presents a passage from the second chapter of The Song of Songs…. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803884284-CM3YI83ZODVA72S87YN1/Band-Morris-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Unified Ketubah I designed the ketubah to express the couple’s love and joy at joining their lives, as well as their families’ prayers for the home they found together. Two circles representing their two full lives come together to form the almond shape of the 4-level painted and papercut composition. The complex geometric pattern presented in paint and papercut suggests not only the analytical bent each brings indifferent ways to their careers, but also celebrates Hannah’s Sephardi background; this pattern exists uniquely in the beautiful Santa Maria Blanca Synagogue in Toledo (originally the Ibn Shoshan Synagogue), built in 1180, converted to a church in 1492, and which may be the oldest extant synagogue in Europe. The painted pattern flickers with the blue, green and sand tones of the seashore, pointing to their mutual love of the oceans. The small papercut at the center of the composition shows a palm tree growing beside water; this image,too, expresses the couple’s values. In Psalm 92, the special Psalm for Shabbat, the righteous person is compared to a tall and straight palm tree, while Jeremiah (17:8) prophesies that the righteous person “shall be like a tree planted beside waters, sending forth its roots beside a stream, its leaves areever-fresh; it has no care in the year of drought, and does not cease to yield fruit.” The gold decorative text surrounding the ketubah presents the Hebrew and English of one of the groom’s favorite piyyutim, or religious poems, Yedid Nefesh (Beloved Soul), composed by the sixteenth-century Rabbi Eleazar Azikri, a member of Rabbi Isaac Luria’s mystical circle in Tsfat, and now part of the beloved Kabbalat Shabbat custom. The song expresses the love between the Jewish soul and God in terms of both romantic and parental love; the translation shown here was composed by the eminent scholar of medieval Hebrew poetry, Raymond P. Scheindlin for our book, Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification. The outer border of the ketubah presents the entire book of The Song of Songs in micrography. Small lapis lazuli cabochons from Afghanistan rest within the micrography, not only augmenting the shades of blue in the painting, but also alluding to Gabi’s time in Afghanistan. Materials used in the artwork include paper, silk, gold leaf, gouache and lapis lazuli. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600802412750-BXTD0F92IMIX7PDBYLKN/Ackerman-Mizrachi-rgb100dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Sephardic Heritage Ketubah I designed the artwork to reflect the couple’s shared love of Sephardic culture and art, and their mutual sensitivity to the balance of large structures and goals with small details within society and medicine. The micrography topping the first word of the ketubah, (b’echad, or, on the first[day of the week]) includes a passage from Ilan’s parshah, Lech Lecha, and the Song of Hannah from I Samuel, which the bride chants annually on Rosh Hashanah. The painting that fills out the central panel was inspired by the delicately carved masonry atop the portal of a Cordoba synagogue, while the complex geometric papercut that surrounds the central text and painting draws upon a classical Moorish pattern ubiquitous not only in Islamic, but also in Jewish art and architecture of Spain. The decorative text edging the composition presents a poem of Samuel the Nagid, the remarkable “renaissance Man” of the early eleventh century Sephardic community – poet,Hebrew grammarian, military general and Grand Vizier of the caliph of Grenada. The days of cold are past and days Of Spring have buried winter’s rains. The doves are sighted in our land They flock to every lofty bough. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600802413512-4NSKAS0T5RL82TWNHN4H/Adler-Purther-rgb200dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Flourishing Family Ketubah I designed the artwork to express the couple’s love for one another and their joy at building a family together in their La Jolla home. The first word of the Aramaic text (b’echad, or, “on the first [day of the week]” is filled in with a painting of La Jolla Shores, while the first word of the English text hints at the stucco and bougainvillea of their house. The papercut surrounding the texts presents an image of the latticework that decorates their garden, supporting a fruiting olive tree and grapevines. Throughout Jewish lore olive trees, the source of the oil used in anointing priests and kings, symbolize nobility, while in Psalm 128, whose verses edge the artwork, the myriads of shoots springing from the olive tree’s roots symbolize the family’s children clustered around the family table. Similarly, the grapevines that provide the wine used to sanctify weddings and all festive meals speak of joy and holiness. In the same psalm the fruiting grapevine represents the fruitful wife and mother. The text of Psalm 128 celebrates the joy of the family flourishing within Jewish belief and tradition: A song of ascents. Happy are all who fear the LORD, who follow His ways. You shall enjoy the fruit of your labors; you shall be happy and you shall prosper. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons, like olive saplings around your table. So shall the man who fears the LORD be blessed. May the LORD bless you from Zion; may you share the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life, and live to see your children’s children. Peace upon Israel! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803884235-MJIKUMZ2CSI276EK7NAA/Becker-Golden-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - An Evening of Roses Ketubah I designed the artwork to reflect the couple’s joy in their love for one another, their love of Jewish tradition and music, and chose the vibrant color and form to express the energy that they bring to their new life together. The papercut presents a classical Chinese lattice design of octagons and triangles suggesting off-set six-pointed stars. The roses that the bride loves also represent a variety of virtues in Jewish lore, including physical beauty and humility; according to one midrash, or rabbinic legend, the Burning Bush is described as a rose bush. The pink lilies not only relate to the border poetry, but also allude to another famous midrash, wherein the fragrance of a single stalk of rose-colored lilies in a thorny, overgrown orchard is compared to the sweetness of the Ten Commandments in the chaotic human world. The border poetry presents the much loved modern Israeli love-song, Erev shel Shoshanim, or An Evening of Lilies, which will be played at Judy’s and Ben’s wedding: An evening of lilies-- let us go out to the orchard. Myrrh, spices and frankincense are the threshold for your feet. Night falls slowly and scent of lilies blows Let me whisper a song softly to you -- A melody of love A dove coos at dawn Your head covered in dew Your mouth is a lily for the morning. Materials used herein include paper, ink, gouache, gold and silk. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803884783-829F36F5BDTPL567SL7Z/Berenson-Zolt-Gilburne-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Multifacet Ketubah In the artwork I have expressed the many forms and textures of the couple’s life together, and the overall balance and beauty of their love for one another. The geometric forms, seen both straight-on and at angles suggest the energy and complexity of the two individuals joined together in this marriage, the cherry blossoms that weave through the composition remind us of their life in Washington D.C., while the complex geometric pattern at top left alludes to Mark’s interest and time in the Middle East. The cube at right that mirrors a pine forest is adapted from the Tree Hotel in Sweden where the couple will honeymoon, while the neo-classical silver wreath decoration and column by the English text adapt motifs from the Lincoln Memorial, where groom proposed marriage to the bride. The decorative text surrounding the entire composition is taken from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803885481-YDIQHV27AQAEFOGNK58G/Berger-Gold-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Mountaintop Meadow Ketubah I designed the artwork to express the couple’s love for each other, their joy in their wedding at their mountaintop home in British Columbia, and the centrality in their lives of their land and its fruits. The miniature painting at center offers a view of their home high above the seacoast of Salt Spring Island. The rainbow overhead reminds us of the Divine promise to Noah to preserve life on Earth. The sprays of fir branches, wheat, apples, pomegranates, lilies, sunflowers, poppies, irises and other wildflowers scattered with blueberries, strawberries and mushrooms symbolize the bounty of their land. The lilies that Rebecca loves also allude here to the importance of Jewish tradition in their lives. In a famous midrash commenting on the portion of Exodus about the giving of the Torah at Sinai, a tale is given about a king who had planted a beautiful orchard many years before. His gardeners have neglected the orchard, however, and it has grown up full of weeds and thorns. The king is about to order his woodcutters to raze the ruined orchard down to the ground when he spies off in the distance in the orchard, a single stalk of fragrant pink lilies, and cries out “For the sake of the lily, I will spare the orchard!” The rabbis compare the king to God, the ruined orchard to the once perfect, now corrupted human world, and the lily to the Ten Commandments, teaching that it is only for the value of the Ten Commandments that G-d preserves the world. The decorative text surrounding the ketubah is drawn from fourth chapter of The Song of Songs… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803885594-CZEF9B80AHEVH4I9PMFC/Breskin-Ferry-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Fruitful Home Ketubah I designed the ketubah to express the couple’s joy at their wedding and the new Jewish family they establish with their marriage. The two decorative text borders are the Hebrew and English texts of Psalm 128: 1A song of ascents. Happy are all who fear the LORD, who follow His ways. 2You shall enjoy the fruit of your labors; you shall be happy and you shall prosper. 3Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children, like olive saplings around your table. 4So shall the man who fears the LORD be blessed. 5May the LORD bless you from Zion; may you share the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life, 6and live to see your children’s children.May all be well with Israel! The painting surmounting the ketubah text presents the psalms imagery of the family flourishing within Jewish tradition. The walled garden symbolizes not only the home that Alison and Matt are founding together, but in the Song of Songs, symbolizes the privacy and strength of the love between man and woman, and between G-d and Israel. The fruitful olive tree is shown surrounded by shoots representing the children around the family dinner table; this tree in particula resembles the one in my San Diego garden, where the bride so often played during childhood. The psalmist compares the woman to a fruiting grapevine, the source of the wine with which we sanctify marriages and Jewish festivals; this vine bears 12 clusters of grapes, symbolizing the Twelve Tribes. The lilies at right allude to a famous midrash about the beauty of the Ten Commandments in the corrupt human world, while the fountain, like any source of flowing water in Jewish lore, symbolizes Torah. The surrounding papercut offers an abstract motif of the Jerusalem skyline the shower of stars overhead brings to mind the groom’s love of astrophysics. Materials used herein include ink, gouache, gold and silk…. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803886058-4ZDPYLY214Z0ZD2I4ATS/Brief-Neustein-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Radiance Ketubah In the artwork surrounding the ketubah text I have attempted to express the radiant golden energy of the couple’s love for one another. At the heart of the design, a variant of the Metatron’s star drawn from Jewish mystical traditions encloses a golden tree whose roots and branches transform into the couple’s Hebrew names. The tree calls to mind not only the groom’s remark that their love is a seed that will continue to grow,” but also the Mishnah in Pirkei Avot 3:22, in which a person’s balanced words and deeds are likened to a healthy tree’s balanced roots and branches. The twelve areas of geometric painting and twelve papercut areas allude to the twelve tribes of Israel, while the radiating patterns themselves draw upon classical Moorish geometry. The circle within which the twelve pointed star is inscribed represents the perfection and unity of the couple’s love. The calligraphic passages inscribed around the edge draw upon the Song of Songs: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803886561-8ORXE759S6CEC0KLOITL/Brukman-Schwartz-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Wheels Ketubah I designed the artwork to express the strength of the bond between bride and groom, their energy, and theirindividual and mutual commitments to tikkun olam, the traditional Jewish concept of “repairing the world.” The circular form not only symbolizes the perfection of their love, but also the “Kids Live Strong” program that the groom founded, and in which efforts the bride has eagerly joined. The circle incorporates two different geometric star patterns, alluding to the contrast of the gentler sides of their personalities with the more analytical, driven sides. The same group of colors appears in each pattern, yet each emphasizes a particular sub-group of the colors, reminding us of the diversity of their individual personalities within the unity formed by their marriage. The papercut band and initial words present fruiting olive branches. Olives, of course, were the source of the oil used not only in the Menorah, but also for anointing kings and priests, and so symbolize nobility within Jewish tradition. Noah’s dove brought back an olive branch, signifying that the world had been saved. Finally, in Psalm 128, the shoots that spring up from the roots of an olive tree are compared to children clustered around the family dining table. At the heart of the ketubah rests a micrographic rosette, reminiscent of the motifs that decorated the ancient Persian palaces and which were everywhere incorporated into second-Temple period Judean design. The verses incorporated into the micrography are drawn from The Song of Songs… The decorative text enclosing the design presents passages from the small Talmudic tract, Ethics of the Fathers, that express the value that the couple find in their commitment to their careers and life together: The day is short, and the work is great, and the laborers are sluggish, and the reward is much, and the Master is urgent…It is not your duty to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it… Who is wise: The one who learns from all humanity; as it is said, From all my teachers I have gotten understanding. Who is mighty? The one who subdues their passions; as it is said, one who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and the one who rules over his spirit than the one that takes a city. Who is rich? The one who rejoices in their portion; as it is said, When you eat the labor of your hands, happy are you. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803887117-GM566TV29LDT6SF61LP1/Cafritz-Sustarsic-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Nantucket Ketubah I designed the artwork to express the couple’s love of one another, the balance and completeness they find in one another and their Jewish spirituality, as well as the pleasure in their Nantucket wedding, and the importance of the ocean in their lives. The Hebrew and English texts begin with illuminated words shown against an image of the pomegranate-adorned Kiddush cup acquired for the wedding ceremony. The flowers painted between the two texts include fruits and blooms famous in Nantucket and beloved to the couple, Sconset roses, hydrangeas, and artichokes, as well as capers, which in the Babylonian Talmud symbolize the ability to persevere through adversity. Throughout Jewish lore, roses symbolize physical beauty and humility. The multi-layered papercut presents these, along with tulips, artichokes, and myrtle, the hadas considered the freshest and most fragrant of green plants in Jewish tradition. The surrounding painting presents the heavens the night of Lindsay’s and Nick’s wedding, showing the moon in its phase and constellations visible over Nantucket, including Orion, Gemini, and Perseus. Sunrise appears over Nantucket at the right, sunset over the California coast glows at the left. The border texts present the Hebrew and English of the much loved-mystical sixteenth century mystical Sabbath song, “Yedid Nefesh, Soul’s Beloved,” expressing divine love in romantic and parental metaphors. This translation was accomplished by Raymond P. Scheindlin for my book, Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification (2016). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803887361-J9O5095T6XRRDLLQJS6I/Cherrick-Bender-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - New York to Jerusalem Ketubah I designed the ketubah to express the couple’s love for one another, the energy and joy with which they approach their life together and the cultural importance of Israel and New York in their lives. The landscape painting surrounding the ketubah text presents an idealized image of Jerusalem at right, impressions of New York at left, connected by the ocean the couple love. In Jewish lore sources of flowing water symbolizes the importance of Torah in Jewish life; just as water is the most essential substance to preserving physical life, Torah is the essential element in the spiritual life of Jews. The stalk of rose-colored lilies in the foreground, connecting the two scenes, alludes to a famous midrash about the giving of the Torah. Many years ago, the rabbis tell us, the King (God) planted an orchard full of wondrous fruits and flowers. Its human caretakers sadly neglected this paradise, however. Driving past the ruined orchard one last time before giving orders to have itrazed to the ground, the King spied, off in the distance, a single stalk of fragrant rose-colored lilies. He quickly called off the woodcutters, crying out, “for the sake of the lily, I will preserve the garden.” The rabbi’s compare the significance of the Ten Commandments in the corrupt human world to the fragrance of that lily, their promise preserves the world. Flying over Jerusalem is apair of doves, whose beauty and gentleness symbolizes the Jewish people’s devotion to God, while over the scene of Manhattan, a pair of eagles flies, alluding to a midrash on the phrase “on the wings of eagles” in the story of the crossing of the Red Sea. The rabbis compared the eagle’s ability, unique among birds, to protect its young while fighting predators, to the Divine care of Israel. The stars overhead present constellations visible in the sky over Baltimore after sunset the night of the couple’s wedding (including Serpens Caput, Draco, Ursa Minor, Perseus, Casseopeia and Taurus), and remind us of the Divine promise to Abraham that his progeny would be as innumerable as the stars of the night sky. The classical Moorish geometric pattern, common also to medieval Sephardic design, that composes the painted corners and papercut, expresses the couple’s dynamic energy and the intelligence that they bring to their world. Their search for wisdom in the world is expressed in the decorative text bordering the composition, drawn from Pirkei Avot IV:1: Ben Zoma said: Who is wise? He who learns from all men; as it is said, From all my teachers I have gotten understanding. Who is mighty? He who subdues his passions; as it is said, He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he thatrules over his spirit than he that takes a city. Who is rich? He who rejoices in his portion; as it is said, When you eat the labor of your hands, happy are you, and it shall be well with you – in the world to come. Who is worthy of honor? He who respects his fellow-men; as it is said, For them that honor me I will honor. Materials used herein include paper, silk, ink, gouache, gold and palladium. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803887912-D0I1CPKKNW1K4OY3AHZM/Cherrick-Kashtan-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Architectural Ketubah I designed the artwork to reflect the coupleís love of each other, of Jewish tradition and of architecture. The text is surmounted by a painting of an island in Hawaii, where the couple became engaged to one another, lit by the sunrise. The wide tree, the East Indian Walnut tree found in Hawaii, represents both the Tree of Life and the shelter that the bride and groom find in each other’s love. The sky above reveals constellations visible before dawn on their wedding day, Ursa Minor, Pegasus and Cygnus. The geometric papercut pattern wrapping around the text is adapted from the gothic vaults of the King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, while the abstract motif of Jerusalem rooftops reminds us of their love of Israel and Jewish tradition. The starry sky in the papercut reminds us of the Divine promise to Abraham to render his progeny as innumerable as the stars of the night sky. The verse encircling the design is from the Song of Songs 4:6-7… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803888071-OYQFLU23XL5ERY5DI3NM/Cohan-Wolf-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Sheltering Love Ketubah I created the artwork to express the couple’s hopes for the home they found with this ketubah. The verses surrounding the painted border are drawn from thepoem with which the groom proposed marriage, Porch Swing for [the bride]. The banyan tree which serves as a background for the initial word of the Aramaic text speaks to the bride, in particular, of beauty and solidity. The flowers and fruits within the painted band relate to a variety of values within the Jewish home. In Psalm 128 sprouting olive branches are compared to children clustered around the parents’ table, while elsewhere in Jewish lore olives symbolize nobility. The rose alludes to a host of qualities, from humility (according to midrash, the Burning Bush was a rose), to physical and spiritual beauty. The blossoming almond branch relates to the miraculous survival of the Jewish people, while a brief passage in the Babylonian Talmud compares the caper bush to the Jewish people for its perseverance, its ability to flourish in the face of adversity with no visible means of support, but rather only the unseen care of the Divine. The wheat stalks, of course, symbolize sustenance. The plants are shown floating on flowing water, that substance most necessary to support life, and which throughout Jewish loreis compared to Torah. Materials used herein include calfskin vellum, ink, gouache, gold, palladium and silk. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803888585-E766FQ7ZLG5JE2ZVP46C/Cutter-Laufer-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Seeking Wisdom I composed the artwork to express the couple’s love for one another, their joy in founding together a new home within the Community of Israel and their mutual search for wisdom within Jewish life. The small papercut within the painting presents a sunrise, symbolizing the new day represented by their wedding. The Arab geometric pattern of the painting is based on the circle, considered by Greek philosophy the most perfect of forms. The papercut border surrounding the texts presents a motif of stylized rooftops in Jerusalem, the center of Jewish culture, surmounted by a shower of 36 stars. The papercut symbolizes at once the joining of their two lives for life, and the Divine promise to Abraham to render his progeny as innumerable as the stars of the night sky. The decorative text presented in Hebrew and English is drawn from the eighth chapter ofProverbs, in which Wisdom is personified as a woman: Those who love me will inherit substance; I will fill their treasuries. God acquired me as the first of the way, prior to the works of old. I was shaped from of old, from the beginning, from the primeval times of the earth… Before God made the earth and fields, even before the dust of the earth. I was there when God established the heavens, set a circle upon the face of the deep, congealed Clouds on high, strengthened the fountains of the deep. When God set the divine decree upon the sea so that the waters would not move beyond its borders; according to the divine decree, established the foundations of the earth. I was with the Eternal then as an infant, I was God’s daily delight, playing before the Almighty at all times. Playing with God’s encompassing earth and with the delights of humankind. Materials used herein include paper, ink, gouache, gold and silk. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803888791-3CA1LQ0EWH9CLJNR819D/Dalin-Berger-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Complementing Cultures I designed the artwork to express the way the bride and groom’s distinct personalities fuse with this wedding to create a new family. This idea inspired the shape of the artwork, an eight-pointed star composed of two squares, and the two different geometric motifs – one a classical Chinese lattice design, the other a classical Moorish pattern also adapted into medieval Sephardi design – further this notion. Within each of the two patterns, however, one small element – the outline color – is borrowed from the other pattern, hinting at the sharing of the married couple. The papercut border surrounding the texts alludes to the joining of their distinct personalities in a different way; the distinct styles of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv architecture join here to reflect the joining of Amos and Aviva’s different backgrounds. The design also alludes to their loving friendship. Themicrographic rosette at the center of the composition includes verses drawn from The Song of Songs, verses 5:1, 6:1-3, and 7: 1-3 that express this idea, as well as including the bride’s middle name, Shulamit: Eat loving friends, and drink: Drink deep of love! …Where has your beloved gone, O fairest of women? Where has your beloved turned? Let us seek him with you.” My beloved has gone down to his garden, To the beds of spices, to browse in the gardens and to pick lilies. I am my beloved’s And my beloved is mine; He browses among the lilies… Turn, turn, O Shulamit! Turn, turn so that we may gaze upon you! The outer text border includes three passages in Hebrew and English; The Song of Songs, 4:7 and 5:16 in which each lover describes the other as “loving friend,” and the fifth of the beloved Sheva Brachot. Materials used herein include paper, ink, gouache, gold and silk. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803889164-S2YREZQVX1EO2AGSDSOC/Demty-Schlesinger-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Merging Flames I designed the artwork to express the sweetness the couple find in their love for oneanother, symbolized by the flames from the candles that the groom makes. As in the phrase attributed to the Ba’al Shem Tov inscribed around the outer edge of the ketubah, the painting alludes to the joining of the couple’s individual lives and spirits in a greater and stronger united flame. The Hebrew text composing the inner border is drawn from the Song of Songs: 4:16-5:1, and expresses the sweet fragrance of love: Awake, O north wind, Come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden, That its perfume may spread, Let my beloved come to his garden And enjoy its luscious fruits! I have come to my garden, My own, my bride; I have plucked my myrrh and spice, Eaten my honey and honeycomb, Drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, lovers, and drink: Drink deep of love! The papercut presents images of Jerusalem beneath a starry sky, bearing thirty-six stars, symbolizing the two lives joined here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803889929-C4JGBA0SR6FLMIBI6W51/Diamond-Buchanon-rgb-250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - California Wilderness Ketubah The couple’s marriage document is descended from the tradition of the ketubah, the Jewish marriage document that has guaranteed wives’ and husbands’ rights and obligations toward one another since the first century c.e. The document begins with a short Hebrew statement of the particulars of name, date and place; Rachel and Ben composed the following English text presented here. I designed the artwork to express their bubbling energy, their love of the northern California landscape and fascination with the stars of the night sky. The Hebrew text begins with the word, b’ahava, “in love,” and, like the first word of the English text, the letters are filled in with miniature paintings inspired by a famous 2014 Hubble Space Telescope photograph of the Extreme Deep Field of space, showing astronomical objects so distant that their light left them to land on our retinas during the Early Universe era. The papercut, an integral part of the nearly thousand-year tradition of Hebrew manuscript painting, embraces the entire composition with starry imagery. The California wildflowers, along with other favorites of Ben and Rachel (including hops!), explode from the center of the tilted text, expressing their unconventional energy. The decorative calligraphy surrounding the texts is part of a poem by the important tenth-century Spanish Jewish scholar and poet, Dunash ben Labrat, translated by my colleague, the renowned scholar of medieval Jewish poetry, Raymond P. Scheindlin…. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803890595-ARVDUBSILJASN8URK69K/Fainchtein-Nason-rgb2500dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Violet and Blue I designed the artwork to reflect the couple’s love for one another, their love of Jewish tradition and their joy in fusing their Texas and Mexican family heritages in their nascent family. The spray of lilies behind the first word of the text (b’echad, or “onthe first day of the week”) relates to a midrash about the giving of the Ten Commandments that compares a fragrant pink lily in an overgrown and ruined orchard to the value of the Ten Commandments in the imperfect human world. The floral garland embracing the text includes dahlias, the national flower of Mexico and the famed Texas bluebonnets, the state flower. The garland also offers roses; another midrash identifies the Burning Bush as a rose-bush.The decorative text bordering the ketubah presents the dramatic declaration of love from the eighth chapter of The Song of Songs: Set me as a seal upon your heart, Like the seal upon your hand. For love is fierce as death, Passion is mighty as Sheol; Its darts are darts of fire, A blazing flame. Vast floods cannot quench love, Nor rivers drown it. The materials used herein include paper, ink, gouache, palladium and silk. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803890863-69VEG3UCHXQKM6J396IR/Finkelstein-Heitler-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Magical Orchids Ketubah I designed the artwork to express the couple’s special sense of partnership and completion that they find within their love, and their joy at establishing a home together within Jewish tradition. Rising through the center of the ketubah text is a single magical plant, in which the bamboo and orchids that Jacob and Rachel love grow from a common root. The text is surrounded by a painted band of a geometric tiled pattern, which, while never seen in its entirety, across the overall composition the full design is revealed. At top the last few tiles of the design slip into place, signifying the completion that the two find within their marriage. The papercut surrounding the text and painting presents a motif of Jerusalem at peace under hills and a shower of stars. God promised Abraham that his progeny would become as innumerable as the lights of the night sky, while the number of the stars presented here, eighteen, symbolizes our wish for long life for the couple. The papercut incorporates the decorative paper used within the couple’s wedding invitation. The band of decorative text edging the ketubah draws upon the Song of Songs 7:11-14… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600803891832-MI2B51WYEMKIFYM98IN5/Finkelstein-Isaacson-rgb250dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Southern Magnolia Ketubah In the artwork, I’ve expressed the couple’s Jewish spirituality sprung from their love of nature and Jewish ethics, and their joy at joining their lives in a graceful Savannah garden. The blossoming southern magnolia planted beside a tranquil stream calls to mind Jeremiah’s prophecy for Israel (Jeremiah 17:8): Your soul shall be like a tree planted by the water, Sending forth its roots by a stream. It will not feel the coming of the heat. Its leaves are always fresh. It does not worry during a year of drought, And never stops producing fruit. The papercut olive branches surrounding the texts symbolize nobility throughout Jewish lore, and in Psalm 128, the sprouts growing from the roots of the olive tree the flourishing home, with children clustered around the family dinner table. Materials used herein include paper, silk, ink, gouache and gold. It has been my great joy to participate in my dear friends’ and their beloved family’s joy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1603846337979-NSD8H5SATPLNKFWO21QS/Brenner-Liefer-200dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Floral Garden Ketubah The artwork celebrates the Jewish home and family which the couple inaugurate with their wedding, and the security and the love that they find in intertwining their lives. Psalm 128 surrounds the Hebrew and English texts… The papercut presenting Jerusalem’s clustered neighborhoods alludes to the role that Jewish tradition will play in the life of their family. The fruits and flowers filling the garland are associated not only with the bounty of the autumn harvest season, but with specific Jewish values. The pomegranates and their fiery blossoms symbolize fruitfulness across the Mediterranean basin, but, as the Rabbis held that the fruit contains exactly 613 seeds, Jewish lore particularly associates them with the number of the Commandments. Roses symbolize many virtues in biblical texts, from humility to physical beauty. As in the psalm, olive trees, with their tendency to sprout endless shoots from their roots, symbolize the home full of children, while elsewhere in the texts they are associated with nobility. Every Jewish festival and life-cycle celebration includes blessings over the “fruit of the vine,” thus grapes symbolize joy and sanctification, while wheat is the basis for human sustenance. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1603846670553-CNC0XGXT5FVRNXKJ82IF/Peljovich-Steinberg-200dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Flowing Flowers This couple’s ketubah, or Jewish marriage contract, is part of a tradition stretching back to Shimon ben Shatach, the first century BCE sage who first required contractual protection of both husband’s and wife’s rights and obligations toward each other. The traditional text presented here was codified by Rabbenu Gershom, the Light of the Exile, in the eleventh century Rhineland. Surrounding and weaving through the artwork is Psalm 128…. The artwork expresses the energy that the couple find in their love for each other and their joy at founding a new Jewish home together. The ketubah text springs out of a papercut filled with fruits and flowers symbolizing the Jewish home. Roses allude to beauty and humility in midrash on the Song of Songs and the Burning Bush. Throughout Jewish lore olives allude to nobility, and in the psalm above, the myriad shoots that sprout from the olive trees roots symbolize children clustered around the family dinner table. The pink lilies allude to a famous midrash on Parshat Yitro, wherein the King preserves an otherwise ruined orchard for the sake of a single stalk of rose-colored lilies growing within, which the rabbis use as a metaphor for the beauty of the Ten Commandments in the corrupted human world. The sprig of capers growing from the brick wall is adapted from a passage in the Talmud Bavli that compares qualities of different plants and animals to those of Israel. The caper, they reason, can be planted in the harshest, driest, rockiest places and still produce a fresh bud and blossom every morning – like Israel’s ability to persevere through adversity with only the support of G-d’s unseen hand. Materials used herein include papers of American, Japanese, Thai and French origin, ink, gouache, gold and silk. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1603847970398-QKNO4EIND8OTI6R8MHOM/Perlman-Johnson-200dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Music and Blossoms Ketubah I designed the artwork to express the couple’s mutual passion for music and Jewish tradition and their joy in the garden setting of their wedding. The papercut border surrounding the texts presents an abstract motif of Jerusalem, the cultural and spiritual center of Judaism. The fruits and flowers resting on it symbolize the couple’s life together, their values and the wedding’s setting in the Perlman family garden. The birch branches, peonies, sunflowers and callas bring to mind the flowers decorating the wedding celebration, While the hibiscus and ginger flowers remind us of the couple’s love of Hawaii, the yellow roses allude to their life together in Texas. Pomegranates symbolize fertility throughout Mediterranean cultures, while in Jewish tradition, their purportedly 613 seeds equal the number of the Commandments. Throughout Jewish lore, the olive, the source of the oil used in anointing priests and lighting the Menorah, symbolizes nobility, while in Psalm 128 olive shoots are compared to children clustered around the family table. In a famous midrash about the giving of the Torah, the rabbis compare a fragrant pink lily in an overgrown orchard to the beauty of the Ten Commandments in the human world. Tiny golden seeds and musical notes floating from the fruits and flowers speak to our hope for the intermingling of music and fruitfulness throughout Ariella’s and Rob’s life together. The decorative verses enclosing the ketubah text present Psalm 150: 1Hallelujah. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the sky, His stronghold. 2Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him for His exceeding greatness. 3Praise Him with blasts of the horn; praise Him with harp and lyre. 4Praise Him with timbrel and dance; praise Him with lute and pipe. 5Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with loud-clashing cymbals. 6Let all that breathes praise the LORD. Hallelujah Materials used herein include paper, silk, ink, gouache and gold. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1603848117369-UKP2FMM1L7DQTLPSTFYU/Pomerance-Berl-200dpi.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Pomegranates and Stars Ketubah The poetry bordering the ketubah texts is drawn from the seventh chapter of the Song of Songs… I designed the artwork to express the couple’s joy in their marriage, their joy in the abundant love and energy they bring to their life together, and the foundation of their lives within Jewish community and tradition. The grapes twined into the first words of the Aramaic and English texts represent joy and sanctification throughout Jewish tradition, while the wine they yield symbolizes divine wisdom in Jewish mystical lore. The papercut rays extending from below the text panel suggest the values that underlie the couple’s relationship: the pomegranates Rachel loves symbolize not only bounty and fertility across Mediterranean culture; Jewish tradition holds that the pomegranate bears 613 seeds, thus symbolizing the number of mitzvot. In Genesis, God promises Abraham that his progeny will be as limitless as the stars of the night sky. The papercut suggestions of the Jerusalem skyline allude to the couple’s love of Israel and hopes that the family they found with their wedding will flourish within the community of Israel. Materials used herein include ink, paper, gouache and gold. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1652376332184-FASZDI7I6OCDFXD611WU/Resnikoff-Ritblat-600w.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Redwoods Ketubah I designed the artwork to express the couple’s love of one another, and the joy they find in their wedding among the great redwoods. Jewish lore is replete with imagery of trees of all kinds, whether planted beside water or in arid landscapes, as symbols of the wise and righteous of Israel, supported by our providential God. The initial words of the Aramaic and English texts bear imagery of calm pools of water reflecting the deep green of the trees above, alluding to Jeremiah 17:8: The decorative text bordering the artwork is Song of Songs 8:6-7; the English translation was accomplished by David Band, z”l—who was so fond of the bride as a child—for my 2005 book, The Song of Songs: the Honeybee in the Garden. Materials used herein include papers of English, French, Italian, Japanese and Thai origin, ink, gouache, gold and silk. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1652376890951-9XCLLY8FJCUZDFONLD8I/Tooch-Dember600w.jpg Custom Ketubah Gallery - Bubbling Joy Ketubah The design began with an idea of the bride’s father—whose ketubah I created 25 years ago—that the bride and groom’s marriage could be captured by three interlocking circles representing each of their individual lives, and their joining to create a new family. I built on the father’s idea to capture other aspects of the couple’s personalities and hopes for their lives together. The papercut design incorporates many layers of exotic papers to express all the subtleties of their personalities. The myriad bubbles composed of these papers in the top circle express the bride’s ebullient personality, while the regularity and clarity of the circular designs alludes to the groom’s calm steadiness. In the intersection of the large circles the bubbles create a stylized cluster of grapes and grape leaves, alluding the joy, sanctification, and fruitfulness of the home that the couple inaugurate with their wedding, suggested by Psalm 128, which is presented in the gold decorative text edging the composition. Materials used herein include papers of English, Italian, Japanese and Thai origin, ink, gold, and silk. It has been my special pleasure to participate in this way in a second generation of this family’s celebrations! https://www.dbandart.com/atw-educational-supplements daily 0.75 2020-09-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600880808280-QFN8JSYTMS9AAEVTRFN6/Dalia+with+ATW-rgb200dpi.jpg ATW Educational Supplements https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600880840924-VMTTJ90PQOQ2WFOJHFRO/Michael+with+ATW-rgb200dpi.jpg ATW Educational Supplements https://www.dbandart.com/biography daily 0.75 2020-09-29 https://www.dbandart.com/talks-and-exhibits daily 0.75 2020-10-29 https://www.dbandart.com/videos daily 0.75 2020-09-30 https://www.dbandart.com/other-publications daily 0.75 2024-02-28 https://www.dbandart.com/limited-edition-ketubah-info daily 0.75 2020-10-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1601599354053-USGKY3SOOMBZVF6LWL55/Song%2Bof%2BSongs%2BKet%2Brgb150dpi.jpg Limited Edition Ketubah Info The Song of Songs Ketubah The Song of Songs Ketubah employs glowing color, Moorish geometry and paper cutting to symbolize the complexity and beauty of the love between husband and wife, and the value of Jewish tradition in the home they create. The full text of the beloved Song of Songs weaves through the design in micrography, a uniquely Jewish art form that has been integral to the Hebrew manuscript arts since early medieval years. The painted and paper cut elements of the artwork are reminiscent of the Moorish culture within which the Jews of the Sephardic Golden Ager lived, learned, composers poetry and created extraordinary Hebrew manuscript art. The 18 petals of the floral form of the ketubah allude to the Hebrew word, chai, meaning life. The 36 painted areas and hand-applied gold stars indicate that two souls are united for life. The paper cut roses in the corners symbolize beauty in the Song, and are shown in bud, open flower and fruit, symbolizing the full life-cycle. The Magen-David shaped miniature painting at center reminds us of Jerusalem’s cultural and spiritual centrality to Judaism, and is surrounded by the phrase, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine, from the sixth chapter of The Song of Songs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1601658304171-MHE66UEIQNWHJSA6DNHS/Loving-Home-Ket-rgb150dpi.jpg Limited Edition Ketubah Info The Loving Home Ketubah The artwork surrounding the ketubah texts celebrates the warm and loving home inaugurated by the Jewish wedding. The flowers and fruit presented against the blue and gold border symbolize qualities found in the Jewish home. In madras, or rabbinic legend, roses, lilies and narcissus represent several virtues, including physical beauty, the value of the Commandments, and humility. Olive branches symbolize nobility, fruitfulness and peace in biblical texts. The roses, shown in bud, full flower and fruit also represent the life-cycle. Throughout Jewish lore and ritual, grapes symbolize joy and sanctification, while what alludes to sustenance. Throughout Jerusalem caper plants spring from dry rocky walls, producing buds and fresh white blossoms daily: in the Babylonian Talmud, the caper plant’s ability to thrive despite adversity is compared to Israel’s own perseverance. The flowering and fruiting almond branch draws upon the story in Numbers 17, in which Aaron’s wooden staff miraculously sprouts almond leaves, blossoms and fruit. The pomegranate has been a ubiquitous Mediterranean symbol of fruitfulness for millennia; additionally, the rabbis of madras asserted that the pomegranate holds exactly 613 seeds, alluding to the number of mitzvoth. The papercut border presents a motif of the Jerusalem skyline. Its scattered domes and buildings bear the beloved Seven Wedding Blessings in micrography, symbolizing the embrace of the new family within the greater Jewish community. Psalm 128 (abridged in English) surrounds the text panel and the paper cut. The lovely imagery of the psalm ends with one of the most popular traditional Hebrew wedding songs, “Yevarachecha Hashem MiTzion.” Mazal tov! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1601658762524-JSDFKSLSVLLY7TTKKPWR/Walled+Garden+Ket+rgb150dpi.jpg Limited Edition Ketubah Info The Walled Garden Ketubah The ketubah is reproduced from an original that I created in gouache, egg tempera, gold and paper cutting. The design is inspired by biblical allusions to beauty, joy and fruitfulness, and the love of Jewish tradition. The passage from the Song of Songs 6:1-3 , which encircles the text panel and the edge of the artwork, culminates in the celebrated declaration, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” Elsewhere in the Song of Songs, the man describes his lover as a walled garden, and together these images form the theme of the artwork. The design presents a Mediterranean walled garden,, with a fountain, potted lilies, strong and pomegranate trees and grapevines. Fountains are frequent symbols of the vitality of Torah throughout Jewish lore, as are trees in general. These trees, however, bear specific value: the etrog, used during the festival of Succot, is described as the “fruit of a beautiful tree;” this etrog tree bears 7 fruits, representing the 7 days of the week. The pomegranate , a ubiquitous Mediterranean fertility symbol, which in Jewish lore also represents the 613 commandments, bears 3 fruits and 4 blossoms, alluding to the number of Israel’s Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Matriarchs, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah. As in the biblical verse in the border, the lily plants represent the woman’s beauty, but in a famous midrash, also symbolize the value of the Ten Commandments in the imperfect human world. The lilies’ pots are worked in an ancient Egyptian lotus pattern, perhaps contemporary with the Song of Songs itself….Please note that the papercuts on these limited edition prints are indeed printed. https://www.dbandart.com/new-page-80 daily 0.75 2020-10-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1602010014725-NKPNJ6H6JNORPQITQVUN/Banner-Courses+Index+10-6-20.jpg Workshops Index Banner https://www.dbandart.com/shop daily 0.75 2020-10-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1602185597622-OMQWDIZM8ILZUJ1MZWLK/KS-Jacket-rgb150dpi.jpg Shop 1 copy of Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification hard-cover https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1602186158807-1E1YO865P6PN0NPXBXYL/Arise%21Arise%21+Jacket+Front-rgb+150dpi.jpg Shop 1 copy of Arise! 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The castle glowing on the mountain ridge is modeled on the fourteenth-century Alhambra, Qalat al-Hamra, on the heights of the Andalusian town of Granada, the once-grand home of the Nasrid emirs of Córdoba, home to the vibrant Muslim and Jewish court life of medieval Sepharad. Today, still regal, still robed in carvings, mosaics, and gardens bearing witness to its rulers’ boundless wealth and its artisans’ skills, the Alhambra seems to echo with the voices and footsteps of its once-vibrant court life. Yet its tiles and stones slowly crumble. In the painting, mists obscure the view of castle, orchards, vineyards, and fields, alluding to the transience of human life and the attendant difficulty of discerning the value of the individual’s deeds here “under the heavens.” The fresh green branch alludes to the joy of life, despite its inevitable brevity. The richly chased handles of the bowl allude to a midrash characterizing Solomon’s search for wisdom. R. Jose, imagined the Torah as a big basket full of produce without any handle, so that it could not be lifted, till one clever man came and made handles to it, and then it began to be carried by the handles. So till Solomon arose no one could properly understand the words of the Torah, but when Solomon arose, all began to comprehend the Torah. The waves of micrography surrounding this painting and the adjacent first text page include the full text of the book of Qohelet. From Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living, by Debra Band and Menachem Fisch. Forthcoming from Baylor University Press, August 2023. Copyright (c) 2022 Debra Band https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1666639570836-2TRL1BU6J2LVR6BH0EI1/Combined%252BImages%252BQoh%252B1%25253B4-11.jpg Qohelet Info and Gallery - Chapter 1:4-11 Qohelet introduces his search for meaning in existence by declaring that “all is vapour.” He compares the immutable cycle of life to the daily journey of the sun and to the water cycle, all three beyond the reach of human will and action. His frustration at the individual’s inability to step outside of inexorable natural processes such as the human life-span, stands in sharp contrast to the beauty that other biblical writers found the order of God’s Creation. See, for instance, Psalm 104: 21The lions roar for prey, seeking their food from God. 22When the sun rises, they come home and couch in their dens. The philosopher stands at a window of his grand palace (modeled on the Alhambra in this work) as he sees these consistent cycles reflected in a mosaic-covered wall, and in the sky and sea outside. The mosaic repeats its own complex, man-made pattern endlessly, in colors echoing the sea, sky, sunlight and forests. Outside, mist—the same ephemeral vapor that the philosopher likens to human life—rises from the gardens below into the clouds, only to fall to land and sea again as rain. Across the two paintings the sun rises and sets, and the moon appears in its crescent and full phases. The cloud of micrographic text in the Hebrew illumination includes passages of Ibn Gabirol’s neoplatonic philosophical tract in verse, The Royal Crown, expressing humankind’s inability to comprehend God’s eternity and lamenting the clouds of human imperfection that obscure humanity’s view of the light of divine wisdom, likened here to light (translation from Raphael Lowe, Ibn Gabirol). from Qohelet: Searching for a Meaningful Life, by Debra Band and Menachem Fisch. Forthcoming. Copyright(c) Debra Band 2021 From Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living, by Debra Band and Menachem Fisch. Forthcoming from Baylor University Press, August 2023. Copyright (c) 2022 Debra Band https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1629163368050-9VCNRTIRL9ZFMV4VU3CY/Combined+Images+Qoh+2%3B4-6.jpg Qohelet Info and Gallery - Qohelet 2:4-6 Qohelet meditates on the sensual joy and fulfillment that he has attempted to find in building and immersing himself in luxury. From Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living, by Debra Band and Menachem Fisch. Forthcoming from Baylor University Press, August 2023. Copyright (c) 2022 Debra Band The paintings present a meditation on the problem of attempting to find lasting meaning in life by immersing oneself in luxury. Qohelet’s sensual pleasure and pride in his material achievement are clouded by his awareness that it evaporates, its beauties more poignant for their transience. In the Hebrew illumination, Qohelet gazes upon the orderly orchards that display his power and search for pleasure, irrigated by waterways and fountains modeled after those of the Alhambra and other Andalusian palaces, that he has constructed within his palace walls. Water not only enables life, such as his rich orchard, but this teacher of wisdom would already, by late biblical times, associate the water of this arid land with the wisdom of Torah. The gazebo at right suggests the House of the Forest of Lebanon within Solomon’s palace. Built of the fragrant wood he imported from Lebanon, presumably cedar and cypress trees according to I Kings 10:17, Jewish tradition suggests that Solomon used this structure to display his golden treasures. In the border cherry branches—emblematic of the seat of American power in Washington, D.C., where these paintings have been accomplished—cycle through their annual cycle of bud, blossom, fruit, yellowing autumn foliage and bare winter buds bearing the buds promising the next season of growth, reminding him of the passing of generations. Despite Qohelet’s pride in all the beauty that he has amassed, the drifting fog reminds him of the ephemerality of all his wealth here under the sun. The English illumination shows the wealthy man contemplating the vine-covered hills, rising and falling away into the distance beyond the walls of his hilltop palace. The sensual pleasure of the ripe warm cluster resting in his hand, the anticipation of the wines to be pressed from his grapes, the taste of the wine in the fine cup (the cup is modeled after the glass vessels from the workshop of Ennion, a well-known first-century C.E. glassworker near Sidon) and the sight of his vineyards stretching into the distance indulge his senses of pleasure and power, yet Qohelet cannot forget that all his works will drift away like vapor. from Qohelet: Searching for a Meaningful Life, by Debra Band and Menachem Fisch. Forthcoming. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2021 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1629163368659-7O1D61OYBCT1IJC7YZHE/Combined+Images+Qoh+3%3B1-8.jpg Qohelet Info and Gallery - Qohelet 3:1-8 Qohelet gazes into a garden pond, its basin foreshadowing the golden bowl image at the end of his book, and arrives at the turning-point in his struggle to perceive the individual’s ability—indeed responsibility—to find wisdom, to lead a meaningful life in the face of the transience of human achievement. He realizes that every human moment has its place in cosmic time, regardless of whether the individual can perceive that place. The still water, disturbed only by fleeting ripples, reflects the distant heavens and trees reflecting every season. The philosopher king meditates further on how every aspect and moment of life has its converse moment; the destined time for each unknowable to any but God, the master of all existence. He perceives life as a river, its origin unknowable, its endpoint obscure, each mirage-like moment subject to fluctuations and eddies he cannot anticipate, each moment of pleasure or creativity matched by its opposite moment. The wall through which the stream emerges is capped by a mosaic bearing the musical notation of Pete Seeger’s famous 1965 song setting of the poem, “Turn, Turn, Turn.” From Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living, by Debra Band and Menachem Fisch. Forthcoming from Baylor University Press, August 2023. Copyright (c) 2022 Debra Band https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1629163370525-X3R5O2L3VSS7MQ2NKKTD/Combined+Images+Qoh+4%3B1-7.jpg Qohelet Info and Gallery - Qohelet 4:1-7 Perched precariously on scaffold within the grand palace, the central metaphor for human life in this work, a simply dressed expert artisan labors to carve an ornate frieze, as a luxuriously-clad prince—his riding gloves suggesting that he’s just returned from the hunt—purports to direct him from below. The lower corner of the English painting presents an allegory of three stages of human life and labor. The horse, in pre-exilic Israel an exotic symbol of wealth and military power, becomes an allegory of human life. A carefree filly cavorts near her pregnant mother, already heavy with another foal. A richly caparisoned mare clearly enjoys fine care but no freedom while tethered and awaiting her master. Finally, on the rough road outside the paddock a broken-down cart horse plods along hopelessly, no expectation of comfort or relief in sight. The mist spraying across the scene reflects Qohelet’s belief in the transience human life and accomplishment. The micrography associates these passages about oppression with the first chapter of the Book of Lamentations, Jeremiah’s tragic poem mourning the oppression and humiliation Jerusalem suffers in 586 BCE at the hands and swords of the conquering Babylonian Empire. The braided cord formed by the lines of tiny text symbolizes the mutual support offered by companionship in the midst of oppression, mentioned in verse 12 later in this chapter From Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living, by Debra Band and Menachem Fisch. Forthcoming from Baylor University Press, August 2023. Copyright (c) 2022 Debra Band https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1629163371182-7S1GPM4GZ2Z1JJV4RX7I/Combined+Images+Qoh+5%3B7-16.jpg Qohelet Info and Gallery - Qohelet 5:7-16 Qohelet turns to consider the foolishness of oppressors and the selfish wealthy in the face of both human and divine authority. In the human world, civil authorities answer to higher levels of government and ultimately even the highest rulers answer to the unseen and unknowable God. Neither wealth nor power guarantee wisdom or reliable joy as well as careful ethical action; in this passage Qohelet prefigures his discussion of the wise farmer in Chapter 11: (4)He who observes the wind shall not sow; and he who regards the clouds shall not reap. (5)As thou knowst not what is the way of the wind, nor how the bones grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowst not the works of God who makes all. (6)In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening do not withhold thy hand: for thou knowst not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. The Hebrew illumination presents the flail and the sword, weapons of state oppression typical of Qohelet’s day, while the English illumination begins with an image of the taser used and abused by modern police forces across the world in our own day. The unsteady column of coins spills across both paintings. The starlit heavens present an image adapted from a famous Hubble Space Telescope image of the deep sky, showing lights that reprocess every molecule throughout eternity; I frequently use this image in my work to symbolize the all-suffusing divine presence. Here, clouds of mist figuratively hide the stars, hide divine intentions from human eyes far under the heavens, however we try to understand them. From Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living, by Debra Band and Menachem Fisch. Forthcoming from Baylor University Press, August 2023. Copyright (c) 2022 Debra Band https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1666640369365-31R7OQM160EY8A4LZG3D/Combined+Images+Qoh+5%3B17-19E.jpg Qohelet Info and Gallery - 5: 17-19 17 It is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life, which God gives him: for it is his portion, 18 Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. 19 For he shall remember that the days of his life are not many, in which God provides him with the joy of his heart. Qohelet ends his warnings about irresponsible actions with this assurance that God wants humankind to live happily, taking pleasure in our work, fully enjoying its fruits throughout our days. This, he asserts, is the wisdom vouchsafed to humankind under the heavens. The illuminations offer each text within a golden triangle, the Greek letter delta that signifies mathematical concepts of change. The animals surrounding the texts allude to this exhortation in the Talmudic ethical tract, Pirke Avot, Ethics of the Fathers, Be bold as a leopard, as light as an eagle, as swift as a gazelle, and as brave as a lion to do the will of your Father in heaven. From Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living, by Debra Band and Menachem Fisch. Forthcoming from Baylor University Press, August 2023. Copyright (c) 2022 Debra Band https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1629163371720-G8MGTPN3VBUDBRBVXVKE/Combined+Images+Qoh+6.jpg Qohelet Info and Gallery - Qohelet, Chapter 6 (complete) In some of his most jolting language, Qohelet builds his argument that one must fully engage in, must deeply enjoy the best qualities and moments of their lives. He raises terrible possibilities: the specter that only others might enjoy the fruits of one’s labors, the disappointment that follows unbounded greed, and the horrific notion that a miscarried fetus, who has died without experiencing the troubles of life might be more fortunate than one who suffers disappointed expectations. Divine favor and personal security cannot, he warns, be deduced from one’s momentary wealth and status. Even the poor person who finds a path through the world may find greater happiness in life than a wealthy person who suffers a reversal of fortunes. The Hebrew page hints at the ruin that might result from careless actions. The palace wall is rich with mosaic gleaming with the blues and purple associated with the colors t’chailet and argaman described in the decorations of Solomon’s Temple, as well as intricately carved masonry. A single crookedly set tile, however, breaks the serene symmetry of the pattern, and the wall, built on shifting sands, has begun to crack and crumble. A rose bush climbs the side of the English text, its buds, blossoms, and orange fruits suggesting the human life-cycle. Yet the bush suggests the hazards of illness—disease has begun to wither its lower foliage and threatens its vivid life. The ledge surrounding its roots urges those strolling in the garden to “gather ye rosebuds while ye may,” in the words of the 17th century British poet, Robert Herrick, in his poem “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time.” Bordering the two pages, verses from Psalm 39 echo Qohelet’s somber apprehension at the unpredictable brevity of life: 5 Lord, make me to know my end, and the measure of my days, what it is: I will know how frail I am. (6) Behold, thou hast made my days like handbreadths; and my age is as nothing before thee: truly every man at his best state is altogether vapour. From Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living, by Debra Band and Menachem Fisch. Forthcoming from Baylor University Press, August 2023. Copyright (c) 2022 Debra Band https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1666640961202-MWO3HK6O8OXYPIWF6724/Combined+Images+Qoh+8%3B11-14%2C15-19.jpg Qohelet Info and Gallery - 8: 11-14, 15-19 8:11-14 11Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. 12A sinner do evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with those who fear God, who fear before him: 13but it shall not be well with the wicked, and, like the shadow, he will not prolong his days; because he does not fear before God. 14There is a vapor which is done upon the earth; that there are just men, to whom it happens according: to the deeds of the wicked: again, there are wicked men, to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous: I said that this also is vapor. Like its companion in the adjacent painting, this illumination continues Qohelet’s meditation about the consequences for appearances of divine justice, arising from God’s timelessness and the evanescence of all material existence. In these two paintings, he observes two trees. He reflects upon the ultimate doom of the soul of the arrogant and the eternal favor that the soul of the wise and just person will enjoy. In this painting, a once-tall and mighty cedar proudly planted within a tiled surround has died. Its stump reveals the rot at its core, and its decaying branches and leaves rest on the surrounding tile. The clear sky gives way to a view of the deep sky filled with stars, symbolizing God’s distant eternity. The border presents verses from Psalm 49, promising—as Qohelet understands—ultimate divine justice for both the arrogant and powerful: Why should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my persecutors compass me about? They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches …. 8:15-17 15So I commend mirth, because a man has no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall accompany him in his labor during the days of his life, which God gives him under the sun. 16When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (how one sees no sleep with one’s eyes either by day or by night); 17then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labor to seek it out, yet he shall not find it: furthermore, though a wise man think to know it, yet he shall not be able to find it. In this painting, Qohelet muses on the happier attitude of the humbler, more realistic, person who eschews greed and pretension and instead finds contentment in whatever pleasures surround him. In contrast to the once-prized, now-dead cedar tree, on the other side of the hedge a small apricot tree has asserted itself, growing unnoticed among the hedge bushes. A wild rosebush springs near its roots, among this hidden corner’s rocks and grass. The plant’s diminutive size, thorns, and blossoms caused the authors of Exodus Rabbah to identify the Burning Bush as a rose, embodying Israel’s humility, as well as Israel’s inclusion of both the righteous and the wicked. Hidden from view, enjoying privacy away from the celebrity and attention within the palace and its manicured garden, a couple has taken pleasure in the hidden spot; traces of a picnic—a bottle of wine and spilled glasses and fruit rest on a rumpled blanket in the fragrant shade. In the poetry inscribed around the border, the eleventh-century Sephardic poet and grand vizier of Granada, Samuel the Nagid, passed along Qohelet’s advice: My friend, we pass our lives as if in sleep; Our pleasures and our pains are merely dreams. But stop your ears to all such things, and shut Your eyes—may Heaven grant you strength!— Don’t speculate on hidden things; leave that To God, the Hidden One, whose eye sees all. But send the lass who plays the lute To fill the cup with coral drink, Put up in kegs in Adam’s time, Or else just after Noah’s flood, A pungent wine, like frankincense, A glittering wine, like gold and gems, Such wine as concubines and queens Would bring King David long ago. The day they poured that wine into the drum, King David’s singer Jerimoth would strum And sing: “May such a wine as this be kept Preserved and stored in sealed-up kegs and saved For all who crave the water of the grape, For every man who holds the cup with skill, Who keeps the rule Ecclesiastes gave, Revels, and fears the tortures of the grave.” From Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living, by Debra Band and Menachem Fisch. Forthcoming from Baylor University Press, August 2023. Copyright (c) 2022 Debra Band https://www.dbandart.com/kabbalat-shabbat-info-and-gallery-copy daily 0.75 2022-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825530363-RQ22QRCJMX12ZRG9BIRS/Blessing+the+Children-E-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery (Copy) - Blessing the Children-English (Copy) from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825530361-6YUWX8GQY8O8G3GJLF9S/Blessing+the+Children-H-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery (Copy) - Blessing the Children-Hebrew (Copy) from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825531730-ZZWNAWY77IEE1F735YWB/Candlelighting-E-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery (Copy) - Blessing the Candles-English (Copy) from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. 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Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825537345-UO8NAK9P9BUTODPKR4CL/Psalm+97-A-rgb300.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery (Copy) - Psalm 97-beginning (Copy) from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. Copyright (c) Debra Band 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f484f1dc137750c11aebfbd/1600825537682-XJE1ZMDLWWWKPI62Z5II/Psalm+97-B-rgb300dpi.jpg Kabbalat Shabbat Info and Gallery (Copy) - Psalm 97-ending (Copy) from Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, by Debra Band, with translations by Raymond P. Scheindlin. 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