THE ART LAB AT NEVE SCHECHTER
The Art Lab Neve Schechter, trip to Jerusalem, 2024, photo: Georgiy Rusyi
Neve Schechter is a center of contemporary Jewish culture located in a restored 18th-century building along the border of Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek and Florentine neighborhoods. As part of the Midreshet Schechter, the center provides various educational activities intersecting religion
and secular studies, including art, literature, sociology, and philosophy. Through its diverse public programs, the center engages with a range of communities.
The Art Lab emerged from within this context. Realized in partnership with KakdelArt—a platform and community for artists’ integration in Israel—
and its founder, Dasha Ilyashenko, the program was conceived as a hub
for Russian-speaking creatives who immigrated to Israel.
The initial goal of The Art Lab was to introduce participants to ways of engaging with Jewish culture via their professional interests. Participants studied Jewish texts and cultural features of the Hebrew language, to inspire their personal practices. They were encouraged to create new work, supported by monetary grants and consultations with laboratory heads
and guest lecturers.
The conceptual idea and structure of The Art Lab were developed by Rabbi Irina Gritsevskaya. In addition to a formal structure of lectures, workshops, collective holiday celebrations, and weekend trips, Irina contributed her personal scholarly perspective to The Art Lab experience. To better understand Irina’s framework, an article based on a talk she gave about
the Hebrew language and Jewish textual tradition is presented below.
The Art Lab Neve Schechter, trip to Jerusalem, 2024, photo: Georgiy Rusyi
Text and language —
two different characters
that play together
Text is like part of a triangle, created by two partners and the text. It becomes part of us, but the medium for engaging with the text is the Hebrew language; even when working with a translation, we’re fully aware of the source. These components are interconnected and we explore them in parallel. While text is familiar to us, the Hebrew language is enigmatic and new. Connecting and fusing them together by the end of the laboratory is one of our goals.
JEWISH BOOKSHELF —
ARON HASFARIM HAYEHUDI
It’s important to tell that we use a wide definition of the «Jewish book shelf», like we are allowing us self to enter different types of books that are not necessarily Jewish, to the pool that we use for our inspiration. Whether it’s Israeli modern poetry, that I really like, whether it’s Jewish contemporary philosophers, that I’m in conversation with, whether it’s the comparative narratives from other religions or other cultures.
The laboratory was the key to this book shelf, when the idea was to give this key. And maybe a little bit to low the level of fear from approaching to those books by reading the original sources.
LAYERS OF MEANING
There were several considerations, while structuring this program. On a basic level I wanted to create
authentic encounters with a wide range of books. We read original materials (with translation), and
introduced different types of thought: Tanakh, Talmud, codifications of Jewish law, responsa, philosophy
and poetry.
Additionally, we concentrated less on what Judaism has to say about something, and more on the ways
of thinking that are found in Jewish texts. Those ways of thought can be applied to other areas, art, or
life itself. Jewish texts can provide examples of narrative thinking, critical thinking, dissenting opinions,
zooming in or zooming out to find ways to creatively interpret
the same text.
In terms of what we explored, we looked at some key Jewish values and ideas such as Shabbat, shmitah,
freedom, and brit. After gaining a basic level of understanding with these concepts, students could ask
their own questions about what Judaism has to say.
It was important to bring in comparative materials from various religions or cultures, to demonstrate
mutual influences and differences.
The Art Lab Neve Schechter, trip to Jerusalem, 2024, photo: Georgiy Rusyi
THE WAY I ENGAGE WITH THE TEXT
Of course, it’s important to understand texts in their historical context. When was a text written? Why was it written? Who wrote it? What did they mean? But that isn’t enough, at least not for me.
We don’t usually take the next step and ask the next question: what does this text mean to us today? I try to find ways to engage with texts holistically, bring in my own and my students’ backgrounds into our interpretation.
A text is a sort of meeting place. It allows us to engage with each other and create space where sincere, open conversation is possible, and then you can take the same techniques or ideas and transfer them to any medium you use. For me it’s about ways of thinking.
Here is the part that isn’t easy to do alone — to gain an understanding of where these books stand on this bookshelf, and how to use them. That’s what I like about our laboratory — it puts all of those names and books in order.
It’s like continuing to read the pages of the Talmud, the sages argued with each other and asked questions for many generations, and now our generation has to continue the conversation. If we can’t connect this way, then something is wrong. Either we’re not doing the good work or the text isn’t suitable for us at this moment. The idea is to find the right alignment between ourselves, the text, and
our ability to engage.
It’s like inviting someone like Rambam, the Hasidic sages, or others to sit with us at the table, and ask them questions. And to let them ask us questions in return, that continue this conversation.
And what’s next
We come to these books bringing all that we are now — our backgrounds, knowledge, and experience — which enriches engagement with the texts.
For me, the next stage would be if every student actually took the conversation that we created in our group further, in their own art, and saw flashes of it in their own thinking and work. I believe that it is not only the artists can learn and benefit from the engagement with Jewish text, but also Judaism I like and cherish can be sharpened and further developed by opening its doors to those amazingly creative people, bringing their passion and experience.
The text is prepared by Art Lab participant — Mikulinskaya Lena.
Lab creators
IRINA
GRITSEVSKAYA
Executive Director of Midreshet Schechter. She was ordained by the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary. Rabbi Gritsevskaya is a teacher and beit Midrash group’s facilitator; made Aliyah to Israel as a teenager and currently resides in Tel Aviv.
Dasha
Ilyashenko
Independent curator, producer of art events and founder of KakdelArt — a platform for artists’ integration in Israel. Ilyashenko made aliyah from Moscow to Tel Aviv in 2019.
Irina
Gritsevskaya
Dasha
Ilyashenko
Executive Director of Midreshet Schechter. She was ordained by the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary. Rabbi Gritsevskaya is a teacher and beit Midrash group’s facilitator; made Aliyah to Israel as a teenager and currently resides in Tel Aviv.
Independent curator, producer of art events and founder of KakdelArt — a platform for artists’ integration in Israel. Made Aliyah from Moscow to Tel Aviv in 2019.
lecturers
Alexandra
MaNdelbaum Kupaev
Research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, as well as a post-doctoral fellow at Bar Ilan University’s Culture and Interpretation program.
Anna
Zakai
Born in Russia and a graduate of the Stieglitz St. Petersburg State Academy of Art and Design (2009), Zakai has specialized in Hebrew calligraphy since 2005. She lives and works in Jaffa and teaches in addition to her personal artistic practice.
Hanna
Klebansky
Hanna has worked as a soferet stam (scribe) for over 15 years. She also works as a spiritual care provider and is the director of the Yad laNefesh Center for spiritual care.
Leonid
Feldman
Rabbi Leonid Feldman is the first and only Russian-speaking conservative rabbi ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. After serving for 34 years as a congregation rabbi he recently made aliyah and lives in Tel Aviv.
Vice President of The Schechter Institutes and co-founder of Kol Ha-Ot, a Jerusalem-based venture devoted to exploring the arts and Jewish learning.
Rami
Ozeri
Rami Ozeri is founder and director of The Jerusalem Biennale. He specializes in contemporary Jewish art and has directed, curated and produced exhibitions in Israel and around the world.
Romina
Reisin
Romina is the director of Neve Schechter, and has served as a Jewish educator and cantor in South America, Europe, and Israel. Born in Argentina, Reisin made aliyah in 2012 and is based in Tel Aviv. She views Neve Schechter as a center for contemporary Jewish learning and creativity, that serves an empowers women and men of all backgrounds.
Vera
Gailis
Gailis is an artist, art historian, educator, and social activist. She completed an interdisciplinary master’s program at the Faculty of Arts of Tel Aviv University.
