Purim Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal The Megillat Esther (Scroll of Esther) tells the story of the deliverance of the Jews in ancient Persia from the villain Haman’s plot “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, [...]
Shabbat Zakhor Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal Shabbat Zakhor, the “Shabbat of Remembrance” is the Sabbath immediately preceding Purim and is named for the additional Torah reading, Deuteronomy 25:17-19, which begins with the word zakhor, Hebrew for “remember.” The Torah [...]
Shabbat Shekalim Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal “The Shabbat of the Shekels” is the first in a series of four special Shabbats that begin before the festival of Purim and continue through Passover. Shabbat Shekalim is named for the supplementary [...]
Tu B’Shevat Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal Tu B’Shevat is a transliteration of the Hebrew date, “the fifteenth of the month of Shevat.” Traditionally named the “New Year of the Trees,” the holiday originated in the Talmud (commentative and interpretive [...]
Hanukkah Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal The eight-day festival of Hanukkah is celebrated with the kindling of a hanukkiyah (Hanukkah lamp). The Talmud (commentative and interpretive writings) recalls that when the Maccabees rededicated the defiled Jerusalem Temple a cruse of [...]
Simchat Torah Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal Simchat Torah, “The Rejoicing of the Torah,” is the day following the feast of Sukkot when the annual cycle of the Torah reading is completed and begins again. The holiday, not mentioned in [...]
Hoshana Rabbah Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal Hoshana Rabba is the seventh day of the festival of Sukkot, the celebration of the fall harvest. Hoshana is Hebrew for “please save (us)” and refers to a series of seven liturgical poems [...]
Sukkot Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal The Torah commands no less than three times to rejoice and be happy on Sukkot, the celebration of the fall harvest (Leviticus 23:39-40; Deuteronomy 16:14-16). Symbols of the harvest, the lulav (palm branch, myrtle, [...]
Ushpizin Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal According to rabbinic tradition, Jews build a sukkah (booth) on the festival of Sukkot to recall the Israelites’ fragile dwellings during their forty years of wandering after the Exodus from Egypt (Leviticus 23:33-43). Tents [...]
Shabbat Shuvah Mark Podwal (b. 1945) Digitial archival pigment print on paper 7 7/16 x 7 9/16" USA, 2020 © Mark Podwal Shabbat Shuvah (The Sabbath of Return) occurs between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur during the Ten Days of Repentance. These ten days are regarded as one’s last chance, through one’s actions, to be [...]
