Join artist Laya Crust for a conversation about the artwork featured in her book, Illuminations: An Exploration of Haftarah Through Art and History. Selections from the book will be on exhibit in the Leon Family Gallery, September through October 2023.

The Haftarah is a Bible reading that follows the Torah reading each Shabbat and every major Jewish holiday and fast day (82 total). 

The Haftarah is traditionally written by a scribe on scrolls of animal parchment. Beth David Synagogue in Toronto commissioned a Haftarah scroll in 2013 and later commissioned Laya Crust to create a painting for each haftarah of the year.

Crust painted these illustrations directly onto the scroll in gouache paint, and has now reproduced them in her book, Illuminations: An Exploration of Haftarah Through Art and History.

Free to attend, Registration Required

Register for the Online Event

 

Laya Crust is an inter­na­tion­al­ly rec­og­nized artist and sofer­et (Torah scribe). Fore­most a painter, Laya cre­ates hand-made artist books, cer­e­mo­ni­al objects, and archi­tec­tur­al instal­la­tions. She has also writ­ten and illus­trat­ed sev­er­al books. Laya’s work is in col­lec­tions through­out the world. She teach­es, leads work­shops, and gives lec­tures on art and Jew­ish text. She lives with her husband in Toronto.

Illuminations: An Exploration of Haftarah Through Art and History can be purchased at Haftarah-Illuminations.com. High-quality reproductions of the paintings are also available for purchase on the website.

This event and exhibit are made possible through support from the the Jewish Book Council, the longest-running organization devoted exclusively to the support and celebration of Jewish literature.