FINE ART

One

LETTER AT A TIME

By: Kalman Safrut

It is so easy to lose focus. So easy to get into the habit of routine and act on autopilot. Even work can get absorbed into autopilot. For scribes and artists this is a huge mistake that can be very costly, or worse, cause people to stumble over nonkosher Torahs, tefillin or mezuzahs.

When it comes to artwork, intention is also very important. Just as you get a sense if someone is paying attention to you when they’re speaking to you, you can also tell if intention was put into the artwork you put your gaze upon. Intention is the soul of artwork, and if it is missing, although it may at first look beautiful, it has that look of “made in China” all over it.

If this is true about art, all the more so when dealing with the Hebrew letters. A Sofer Stam must have the proper intention and background of knowledge if the torah, mezuzah or tefillin he is writing is to be kosher. Many halachot (laws) require the scribe to stay focused on what he is writing. At the onset of writing he must proclaim “I am now writing for the sake of the Holy Torah scroll, and all of the holy names of Hashem therein.” This is the minimum he must give towards the sacred work that lays before him and the preservation and continuity of our religion. The primary intention when beginning to write is in the focus and dedication towards each and every letter. There are many more laws he must adhere to but to me, this is the most essential. If one letter is skipped or distorted the entire text is deemed invalid.

These rigorous halachot were my introduction to the scribal artwork I do today — taking the laws of writing holy scrolls and learning a standard and level of commitment and intention. This inspired me and is the standard I want to be seen in my work. For a classical scribe, the depth and sanctity is objective, for my artwork it is all subjective.

The holiness of the Torah is intrinsic to it being kosher, while my artwork is not intrinsically holy at all.

But the letters do speak for themselves, and contain a level of holiness that can inspire and open a person up to a previously unknown depth and understanding. If I can manage to take a psalm or verse from the Torah and design it in a certain way that is both aesthetically beautiful as well as insightful, then I have achieved my goal. Just beauty alone would be a failure. I want a visual d’var Torah!

There is a Halacha that says if you have two holy scrolls to choose from, one that’s written absolutely beautifully and exacting to all the writing stringencies, and another that is of lesser craftsmanship but you know it was written by a very righteous scribe, you should buy the one of lesser beauty. This teaches us that intention is more important than beauty. Of course, the highest level is to have exceptional beauty and intention, harmonizing and reflecting one another. May we so merit!

Scribal training gave me insight into what Jewish artwork can be. Artwork is the combination of chaos and order, light and darkness, with contrasting themes and elements, and then maybe something you did not expect. That’s what makes a million dollar art piece. But what makes something Judaica or Torah artwork? Once you see it you realize. “Nothing is more whole than a broken heart,” says Rabbi Nachman, and his words echo through time like a man shouting into a deep well.

Writing the Hebrew letters and sharing it with the world is a gift I received from Hashem. I’m more creative than the normal scribe, and I write slower and generally make way more mistakes. I watch my fellow scribes write Torah scrolls, tefillin and mezuzot with awe and deep respect. But my mind is in disarray knowing the difficulty of the competitive marketplace of buyers and sellers and at the same time staying intentional and true to the letters. It scares me to my core. I will begin writing a Sefer Torah this year BeH, but it will be on my time. Deadlines and payments seem like a strange way to structure writing the word of Hashem.

The Hebrew letters are a window into a deep reality. Some Chasidim and Kabbalists will spend long periods of time gazing or saying one letter, one sound, or one word. The idea of repeating something in your mind like a mantra brings it to a deeper place inside your subconscious. It can spark inner light that is not consciously available. This is an example of deep teshuva, inner growth that propels us to be better than we were, to give more than we do, and to keep Hashem always in our minds.

That deep inner growth is the potential of Jewish artwork. To illuminate a home or space with a pasuk or Torah concept that walks the line between revealed and hidden. Some things in life are hidden, and that’s what makes them beautiful and almost mystical. As my heart is hidden in my chest, so too the deep truths of Torah must be hidden inside of the letter, inside of the word and inside of the verse. I believe this is part of why we repeat the same words everyday in our prayers, and I think this understanding is the true revolution of Jewish artwork.

LET GO AND LET GOD

M

Kalman Safrut is a contributing editor for Mochers Magazine.