VaYeishev

I painted the picture you see here as part of a collection of pieces for a sefer haHaftarah- a haftarah scroll. You have seen many of these images over the years if you have been following my blog. I’m excited to announce that a collection of these paintings and their explanations will be published in a book called “ILLUMINATIONS, An Exploration of Haftarah through Art and History”. I will share more information about the book in the coming weeks.

VaYeishev, A Grievous Sin by Laya Crust

The last number of weeks the Torah readings have been about the families of our forefathers and mothers. Abraham and Sarah’s grandson, Jacob, was the father of 12 sons and one daughter. This week’s Torah reading exposes the dynamics between Jacob’s children.

This illustration is based on a painting in the Sarajevo Haggadah from 1350 Spain.  I’m going to take you on a time traveler’s tour using this image from Sarajevo Haggadah from 1350 Spain. I’ll touch on the haftarah, the Torah reading, Roman persecution of the Jews, and the culture revealed in the Sarajevo Haggadah.

The haftarah is from the Book of Amos. The prophet Amos was a herdsman and farmer. He taught that if the members of society are not good to each other the society crumbles. The Kingdom of Judaea was experiencing a period of affluence. The rich were selfish and unrighteous, and there was a large economic gap between the rich and the poor.

Amos begins this haftarah by saying “… they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes…And a man and his father go unto the same maid to profane My holy name”.  Both phrases reflect the parashah. “The man and his father going to the same maid ” reminds us how Yehuda was unfair to Tamar, his daughter-in-law. The first phrase “they sell the righteous for silver…” describes the brothers selling Joseph to Ishmaelite traders for 20 shekels of silver.

The Sarajevo Haggadah has a wonderful rendering of the scene. We see the brothers exchanging money with Ishmaelite traders. The brothers are depicted as  Spanish merchants with fair skin and light hair wearing typical clothing of the period. Look at the traders- they are black, with dark skin, curly black hair, and black features.  Joseph stands with the foreign traders. He’s portrayed as a little boy, his hands held together begging his brothers to take him back. And we see the camels carrying the merchants’ goods.

 This image tells us that the Spanish Jews were trading with black merchants traveling from North Africa. It tells us about the clothing of the time and the art produced for the Jewish community. We also learn that today we use the same haggadah that Jews used in medieval Spain, and that Pesach was so important that someone commissioned a handwritten, illustrated book to be used at their seder.

This scene reflects the first phrases of the haftarah and takes us to how the story of Joseph’s sale was viciously used in history.  On Yom Kippur, we read about ten righteous Rabbis who were martyred by the Romans under the emperor Hadrian about 120 CE. The Roman judges quoted a law which stated, “Whoever kidnaps a man and sells him, or if the man is found in his possession, must be put to death”. They used Amos, Devarim 24:7,  and the story of Joseph as an excuse to torture the ten Rabbis.

The story of Joseph took place about 3,500 years ago. Amos’s words in the haftarah, the sin of “selling your brother” are from around 2,800 years ago, That quote reminds us of the Roman tyrants 1900 years ago. And then we move to the beautiful Sarajevo Haggadah from 660 years ago, replete with Jewish cultural history from that time. Amos’s message comes through- do not sell your brother. If you don’t treat your family and society with respect and understanding tragedy will unfold. This is the line through history.

One of the goals in creating my haftarah art pieces is to communicate the theme of the haftarah, relate it to the parashah, integrate Jewish history, and forge a connection between the viewer and our Jewish past. In that way we can remember that the Tanach is alive. Although time continues to pass we can still learn from our history and that in truth we are living the history.

So, I hope you are enjoying my posts. Please always feel free to comment. Pass the posting to your friends. If you like my blog sign up and “Follow” me. You will receive an update by e-mail.

Shabbat Shalom, with prayers for peace, understanding. Respectful communication is a path to healing.

Laya Crust

 

VaYishlach

The Book of Ovadiah

Ovadiah (prophet) –  circa 586 BCE.

Many scholars think Ovadiah wrote this book after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.

The haftarah is the entire – albeit short –  Book of Ovadiah.  Ovadiah is speaking of the ultimate destruction of Edom because of its cruelty to b’nei Yisrael.  The prophecy is unyielding and unforgiving in its condemnation.  Esau is the ancestor of Edom and both are mentioned in this haftarah.  Ovadiah speaks of how tragic it is that Esau is Jacob’s enemy. He says, “For the violence done to your brother Jacob shame shall cover you, and you will be cut off forever.”

The Book of Ovadiah ends with references to exile  in Tzarfat (France) and Sepharad (Spain).

It is  said that both Edom and Rome descended from Esau. They were formidable enemies of the Jews, striving to destroy them at different periods of history. Based on two themes- the haftarah’s description of Esau and Edom; and the concept that Esau is the ancestor of  Rome; I took  a leap and visually tied the haftarah to a haggadah from medieval Spain. “How is this all related?” you may ask.  Well, I’ll tell you.

The Rylands Haggadah was created in the 14th Century in Barcelona, Spain, possibly around 1330. Jews had been living in Spain for centuries. By the early 13th C. life for the Jews in Spain became precarious. Attacked variously by mobs, Crusaders, and the armies of certain rulers the Jews were persecuted and killed.

In the Rylands Haggadah the artist portrayed the Egyptians as Crusaders. The Catalan artist depicted the Egyptians, the enemy of the ancient Jews, as Crusaders, their contemporary enemies. Continuing that idea, the Catholic Crusaders were descendants of the Romans, who were midrashically descendants of Esau.

Crusader (Photo credit: swimfinfan)

I took that concept and based the  painting  on a panel from the  Rylands Haggadah.  I related it to the haftarah, showing B’nei  Yisrael  as Catalan Jews  challenging Edom portrayed as  Spanish Crusaders.  (I was fascinated that the haftarah itself mentions the exile of Jews to Spain.)  Taking the idea one step  further I integrated the story of Dina,  from this week’s parsha,  into the theme.   Shimon and  Levi, Dina’s  brothers, will not ignore  how their sister has been violated. They  avenge the atrocity  and thereby, within the parsha, we read a  foreshadowing of the message in the haftarah- that Israel will  destroy Edom.

The story of the rape of Dina is a troubling one from many  perspectives, and  the  actions of Shimon and Levi are not condoned. The  reality of  war, defense, offensive action and the effects on future  generations is an area always controversial and difficult to have a single answer for.

What we can pray for is understanding, tolerance, and the ability to practise our religion in peace and free of prejudice.