Brushes with the Bible: Jewish Commentaries and Biblical Illustrations: The Book of Genesis

"In this book, the world of the Bible and traditional Jewish commentary meets the interpretive creativity of artists from different cultures and religions. Through these artistic works, the authors of this book bring to life a stimulating visual and textual dialectic surrounding the weekly parasha. Rashi and Rembrandt, ancient synagogue mosaics, and generations of artists and thinkers all contribute to the continuing conversation. This multi-disciplinary approach to the parasha - one that is not often brought to the Shabbat table – bring to the forefront the emotional and visual responses that can only be experienced through encountering the facial expressions and body language of the biblical figures. Through fascinating artistic analysis, the reader is familiarized with the works in this volume, even while space is left to add his or her own personal understanding of the work. Each parasha also features a short essay by Ohr Torah Stone’s Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, encouraging the reader to interpret and create side-by-side with the featured artists in the never-ending search to understand the nature of human existence. "