The Artist's Torah

by David Harris Ebenbach, Sandy Eisenberg Sasso (Foreword by)

Overview

The Artist's Torah is an uplifting and down-to-earth guide to the creative process, wide open to longtime artists and first-time dabblers, to people of every religious background--or none--and to every creative medium. In this book, you'll find a yearlong cycle of weekly meditations on a life lived artistically, grounded in ancient Jewish wisdom and the wisdom of artists, composers, writers, and choreographers from the past and present. You'll explore the nature of the creative process--how it begins, what it's for, what it asks of you, how you work your way to truth and meaning, what you do when you get blocked, what you do when you're done--and encounter questions that will help you apply the meditations to your own life and work. Above all, The Artist's Torah teaches us that creativity is a natural and important part of the human spirit, a bright spark that, week after week, this book will brighten.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620322055
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	11/06/2012
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

David Ebenbach is the author of two collections of short fiction: Between Camelots (2005) and Into the Wilderness (2012). He has won the Drue Heinz Literature Prize; fellowships to the MacDowell Artist Colony, the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and the Vermont Studio Center; and an Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council. Ebenbach teaches creative writing at Georgetown University.

Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xv

Genesis

B'reishit: The Roots of the Artist in the Tree of Knowledge 3

Noach: Two Pockets 10

Lekh L'kha: The Stranger and the Journey 15

Va-yera: The Sacrifice 19

Hayyei Sarah: Clothes for the Abstraction 25

Tol'dot: The Art of Imitation 29

Va-yetzei: What's in a Name 37

Va-yishlah: The Struggle 42

Va-yeishev: Prophecy 46

Mi-ketz: Feast and Famine 51

Va-yiggash: The Bones 55

Va-y'hi: What Will Call to You 59

Exodus

Sh'mot: The Unknown 65

Va-era: The Soft Heart 68

Bo: Leaving a Sign 71

B'shallah: Fear 75

Yitro: The Individual and Communal Natures of Revelation 78

Mishpatim: The Rules 82

T'rumah: Working Without a Blueprint 86

T'tzavveh: The Worker and the Work 90

Ki Tissa: The Artist and the Golden Calf 93

Va-yakhel: The Wise Heart 99

P'kudei: A Place, or Places, for the Sacred 102

Leviticus

Va-yikra: Form and Content 109

Tzav: The Artist as Kohen 113

Sh'mini: Silence 117

Tazria-M'tzora: Tumah 122

Aharei Mot: Keeping Apart 126

K'doshim: The Work 131

Emor: Perfection 134

B'har-B'hukkotai: Rest 139

Numbers

B'midbar: Playing Your Role 145

Naso: The Collective Offering 149

B'haalot'kha: Envy 153

Sh'lah L'kha: Unrealism 158

Korah: Authority 163

Hukkat: Mystery 167

Balak: Listening 171

Pinhas: Passion 175

Mattot: Vanity 179

Mas'ei: Looking Back 184

Deuteronomy

D'varim: Your Permanent Record 191

Va-ethanan: Opening the Closed 195

Eikev: What Got You Here 200

R'eih: The Open Hand 204

Shof'tim: Appointing Yourself Judge 208

Ki Tetzei: Preoccupations 212

Ki Tavo: First Fruits 216

Nitzavim: In Your Mouth and In Your Heart 219

Va-yeilekh: Teaching 222

Haazinu: Success 226

V'zot ha-B'rakhah: Going Back, Going Forward 231

Bibliography 237

Index 241

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This original, eloquent, clear, and practical book is a commentary, a memoir, and a how-to manual for the aspiring artist; it is a motivational treatise and a treasury of sage quotations."

—Lori Lefkovitz, Professor of Jewish Studies and Professor of English, Northeastern University



"The Talmud notes that the Torah is a 'shira,' a song or a poem—artistic, crafted, deliberate, and beautiful. David Harris Ebenbach opens our eyes and exposes our hearts to the artfulness of Torah hiding in plain view. The Torah that emerges from his gentle reading rewards the reader with deep wisdom and exquisite beauty."

—Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Vice President, American Jewish University



"Ebenbach is a learned interpreter of the Bible, steeped in the literature of both traditional Jewish interpretation and the musings on the artistic process from self-reflective artists. His insightful readings of Scripture are profound and moving, spurring his readers both to align themselves with creative forces and to regard biblical texts in fresh and inspiring ways."

—Rabbi Jacob J. Staub, Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Spirituality, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

Editorial Reviews

"This original, eloquent, clear, and practical book is a commentary, a memoir, and a how-to manual for the aspiring artist; it is a motivational treatise and a treasury of sage quotations."
—Lori Lefkovitz, Professor of Jewish Studies and Professor of English, Northeastern University

"The Talmud notes that the Torah is a 'shira,' a song or a poem—artistic, crafted, deliberate, and beautiful. David Harris Ebenbach opens our eyes and exposes our hearts to the artfulness of Torah hiding in plain view. The Torah that emerges from his gentle reading rewards the reader with deep wisdom and exquisite beauty."
—Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Vice President, American Jewish University

"Ebenbach is a learned interpreter of the Bible, steeped in the literature of both traditional Jewish interpretation and the musings on the artistic process from self-reflective artists. His insightful readings of Scripture are profound and moving, spurring his readers both to align themselves with creative forces and to regard biblical texts in fresh and inspiring ways."
—Rabbi Jacob J. Staub, Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Spirituality, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

From the Publisher