Naked women covered in … tallitot and tefillin? The black-and-white photographs in \”Shekhina\” (Umbrage Editions, $39.95) a new book by Leonard Nimoy — a.k.a. \”Star Trek\’s\” Mr. Spock — have ignited a debate in the Jewish community over art and censorship.
The publication of the \”Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary\” points to a significant achievement for the Los Angeles Jewish community. The Chumash is the first Torah and Haftarah commentary published by the Conservative movement.
\”The Conservative movement doesn\’t begin and end in New York City,\” said Rabbi David Lieber, senior editor of \”Etz Hayim\” and president emeritus of the University of Judaism (UJ) in Los Angeles. \”It is clear that we\’re dealing with a worldwide movement,\” says Lieber, who served as UJ\’s president for 29 years before he retired in 1993, and was the first West Coast president of the Rabbinical Assembly, the Conservative movement\’s rabbinic arm, from 1996-1998. He was also instrumental in the 1996 founding of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies — the first place outside of New York to ordain Conservative rabbis.
A 1998 article about Chicago collector Stephen Durschslag\’s haggadah collection set the number of different haggadot on his shelves at 4,500, increasing almost daily.
It\’s probably impossible to know how many haggadot exist, but it\’s obvious that for every Jew, there should be a haggadah that fits like a glove.
A 1998 article about Chicago collector Stephen Durschslag\’s haggadah collection set the number of different haggadot on his shelves at 4,500, increasing almost daily.\nIt\’s probably impossible to know how many haggadot exist, but it\’s obvious that for every Jew, there should be a haggadah that fits like a glove.
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