A Skirball Academy Class
Tobi Kahn &
Rabbanit Leah Sarna
The Barbara C. Freedman Artists’ Beit Midrash
(Winter 2025)
Holiness — Kedushah
דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־כׇּל־עֲדַ֧ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֥ אֲלֵהֶ֖ם : קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
Speak to the entire community of the Children of Israel, and say to them: Holy are you to be, for holy am I, YHWH your God!
Leviticus 19:1
Holiness (Kedusha), the ever-elusive something on which the entire Jewish enterprise is built, is woven into Torah. It is a quality with which God imbues the world through iconic institutions such as Shabbat, the Tabernacle (the mishkan or mikdash), the Nazirite and the ethical and ritual laws that make the Jewish people themselves holy. And it is laced into Jewish practice, encoded in the blessing formula over rituals that we say daily: “Blessed are you God who has made us holy through your commandments.” While holiness is ultimately a mysterious concept, the Torah makes clear in Leviticus 19:1 that becoming holy means to become like God, the very way that Jews mirror divinity.
Through text study, reflection, conversation and creating art, we will attempt to approach this mysterious concept, and as we do, we perhaps come closer to the nature of divinity itself.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS’ BEIT MIDRASH
Now in its 24th year, this Beit Midrash explores the vast scope of visual interpretation through the Talmud. The rabbis themselves, the Talmud’s interlocutors, used myriad characters to demonstrate everything from spiritual transcendence to the power of magic. We examine the historical context, artistry and psychology of their constructed narratives, as well as their visual, literary and theological dimensions. Participants explore these works through study, discussion, their own imaginations and shared creations.
This group is open both to those who have never studied texts before and those deeply invested in study. We meet for two hours weekly via Zoom. The first hour is text based and the second is a critique led by Tobi Kahn of artworks created by the students inspired by the studied texts. He will also meet each participant in person at least once during the semester for in-depth critiques.
Mondays, 7:00 – 9:00 PM
$220 | $150 Temple Emanu-El members
Free for Friends of Streicker
OFFERED ONLINE
Skirball Academy General Information
Sponsored by: Nancy, David and Jonathan Goldhill in memory of their mother, Barbara C. Freedman
Tobi Kahn is an internationally acclaimed painter and sculptor whose collaborative work blends modern art with spirituality. It has been shown in over 70 solo museum exhibitions. His work can be found in major museums including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The Phillips Collection; the Minneapolis Institute of Art; the Yale University Art Gallery; the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; and The Jewish Museum among others. Kahn also communicates his passion for teaching. Cofounder of Avoda Arts, he has taught at the School of Visual Arts since 1985. Kahn lectures extensively at universities and public forums internationally.
Rabbanit Leah Sarna is the Associate Director of Education and Director of High School Programs at Drisha. She previously served as Director of Religious Engagement at Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation in Chicago, a leading urban Orthodox congregation. She was ordained at Yeshivat Maharat in 2018, holds a BA from Yale University in Philosophy & Psychology, and also trained at the SKA Beit Midrash for Women at Migdal Oz, Drisha and the Center for Modern Torah Leadership.
Rabbanit Sarna’s published works have appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Lehrhaus and the Jewish Review of Books. She has lectured in Jewish communal settings around the world and loves spreading her warm, energetic love for Torah and Mitzvot with Jews in all stages of life.
Mondays, 7:00 – 9:00 PM
$220 | $150 Temple Emanu-El members
Free for Friends of Streicker
Holiness — Kedushah
דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־כׇּל־עֲדַ֧ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֥ אֲלֵהֶ֖ם : קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
Speak to the entire community of the Children of Israel, and say to them: Holy are you to be, for holy am I, YHWH your God!
Leviticus 19:1
Holiness (Kedusha), the ever-elusive something on which the entire Jewish enterprise is built, is woven into Torah. It is a quality with which God imbues the world through iconic institutions such as Shabbat, the Tabernacle (the mishkan or mikdash), the Nazirite and the ethical and ritual laws that make the Jewish people themselves holy. And it is laced into Jewish practice, encoded in the blessing formula over rituals that we say daily: “Blessed are you God who has made us holy through your commandments.” While holiness is ultimately a mysterious concept, the Torah makes clear in Leviticus 19:1 that becoming holy means to become like God, the very way that Jews mirror divinity.
Through text study, reflection, conversation and creating art, we will attempt to approach this mysterious concept, and as we do, we perhaps come closer to the nature of divinity itself.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS’ BEIT MIDRASH
Now in its 24th year, this Beit Midrash explores the vast scope of visual interpretation through the Talmud. The rabbis themselves, the Talmud’s interlocutors, used myriad characters to demonstrate everything from spiritual transcendence to the power of magic. We examine the historical context, artistry and psychology of their constructed narratives, as well as their visual, literary and theological dimensions. Participants explore these works through study, discussion, their own imaginations and shared creations.
This group is open both to those who have never studied texts before and those deeply invested in study. We meet for two hours weekly via Zoom. The first hour is text based and the second is a critique led by Tobi Kahn of artworks created by the students inspired by the studied texts. He will also meet each participant in person at least once during the semester for in-depth critiques.
OFFERED ONLINE
Skirball Academy General Information
Sponsored by: Nancy, David and Jonathan Goldhill in memory of their mother, Barbara C. Freedman
Tobi Kahn is an internationally acclaimed painter and sculptor whose collaborative work blends modern art with spirituality. It has been shown in over 70 solo museum exhibitions. His work can be found in major museums including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The Phillips Collection; the Minneapolis Institute of Art; the Yale University Art Gallery; the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; and The Jewish Museum among others. Kahn also communicates his passion for teaching. Cofounder of Avoda Arts, he has taught at the School of Visual Arts since 1985. Kahn lectures extensively at universities and public forums internationally.
Rabbanit Leah Sarna is the Associate Director of Education and Director of High School Programs at Drisha. She previously served as Director of Religious Engagement at Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation in Chicago, a leading urban Orthodox congregation. She was ordained at Yeshivat Maharat in 2018, holds a BA from Yale University in Philosophy & Psychology, and also trained at the SKA Beit Midrash for Women at Migdal Oz, Drisha and the Center for Modern Torah Leadership.
Rabbanit Sarna’s published works have appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Lehrhaus and the Jewish Review of Books. She has lectured in Jewish communal settings around the world and loves spreading her warm, energetic love for Torah and Mitzvot with Jews in all stages of life.