SHABBAT TOOL KIT for THE ISRAEL MUSEUM
The Israel Museum in Jerusalem asked us to participate in an exhibition of portable objects for Jewish ritual.
The very idea of a Shabbat tool kit may strike one as an oxymoron: after all, one is not supposed to use any tools on Shabbat. Yet in the broad sense, the ceremonial objects used in observing the Shabbat are the instruments without which the ceremony would be all but impossible.
Our objects are reminiscent of conventional and familiar items: hammers, clamps, wrenches, pieces of pipe. Although their shapes are far from those of traditional Judaica, their material (polished brass) retains a respectful connection to tradition.
