Susan Vorhand

Did you know that in many languages there is no word for art? There is, however, the concept of an artful life. Given the rich texture of life that these cultures have and art’s obvious importance in the cultural milieu, we are surprised that their language does not contain an equivalent word for art. The answer is both simple and complex.

The Western world has traditionally looked upon art as a category of spiritual expression existing apart from everyday life. It was therefore necessary to create a word for art. In some other cultures, everyday affairs and matters of the spirit are tightly entwined. Creation of beauty is not something separate from everyday life. We hope to achieve that sort of synthesis with the art that we will do--have it be so connected to our Torah learning and our senses that it they are seamlessly fused as one.

There is a mistaken, apologetic view of Jewish creativity that assumes Jews have little ability or care for art. Not so; there is creativity inherent in every human being. Music, as we know, has been a comfort to our people throughout our many exiles, inspiring a rich musical tradition. Still, the visual arts were mostly limited to ritual art.

The place where God revealed His glory on earth, the Bais Hamikdash, the holy Temple, was the only place in our history where the visual arts were represented in their full splendor. There, forms of creative expression were combined in a unified vision. With the destruction of the Temple, the spiritual vision of the arts was diminished but once again there will be a burst of creative energy with the rebuilding of the Temple. Perhaps we are beginning to make this happen.

Both science and art are expressions of God’s wisdom, but unlike science, which addresses itself to the intellect, art is connected to the super-conscious -- thus, the more an artist is connected to this mysterious strata of the soul, the greater the work of art.

The true purpose of both science and art is to reveal God’s presence in all aspects of life, at every level of consciousness. Meanwhile, the physical world serves as a curtain hiding God’s essence from a world not yet prepared for Divine experience. With the inception of the Messianic period, which is where we believe we are today, the curtain will be slowly lifted and we will experience the Divine more directly. Physical beauty will then become synonymous with spiritual beauty.

We view God as a righteous Parent who crafted the world and found the results, His handiwork, "to be good." Then God made human beings "in His image" to complete His Work, to improve and perfect the world He had created. As His creation, then, our goal in our own creative activity should be to bring greater goodness and blessing to the world. So we might say that creativity is the revelation of the Godlike nature of humanity. To imitate that aspect of Him would be a kind of worship. Indeed, in the Hebrew language, worship and work are one and the same word–-avodah (while omanut, art, and emunah, faith come from the same Hebrew root).

As art expresses the soul it comes from the same deep place, the source that is connected to God. As we tap into it we bring more of our lives, ourselves, into consciousness. We have a far richer experience of Torah and of life when we cause a tangible transformation to take place, whether with color, composition, enactment or words. The work of art we create is imbued with our individuality, our life experience, our emotions and personal style, which are an expression of our very soul. Thus there is a wonderfully exhilarating feeling that accompanies art making.

Many begin creating art when an artistic urge comes over them. Having inspiration can be enough. One rabbi began with a religious urge and then learned the necessary skill to give it expression. His medium is silver. He says; "I am offering prayers made of silver." We too can offer prayers and weave meaning into what we create.

Our Judaism can be expressed in innumerable ways. All are relevant. Everyone’s vision is different. We have to be open to listening when the creative process nudges us.

We can add our own insight, our own midrash, to the values and meaning that rituals affirm, going about the Creator’s business of avodah, work and worship, rendering the service of our hearts through the work of our hands.

Susan Vorhand, PhD, is the author of The Mosaic Within: An Alchemy of Healing Self and Soul. She lives in Los Angeles, California.