Over ten years ago, two Pelech educators, Michal Irshai, head of Arts and Humanities, and Tanakh teacher, Rabbi Shmuel Afek began a dialogue. They discussed how they could bring their students closer to the Tanakh through a creative, religiously-spiritual, personal experience. The goal was to develop biblical themes through art, music, theater, creative movement and creative writing. Such creative interpretation would be used to complement regular serious study of the text and commentary with the aim of reaching a deeper, more complex understanding.
This unusual program at Pelech, the pioneering experimental religious High School for Girls in Jerusalem, is implemented every year in the eleventh grade over an intense six-week period. Because of Pelech’s broad religious educational philosophy, this program has been officially recognized by the Ministry of Education as an innovative unit within the national Bagrut examination in Tanakh. At Pelech, the program is compulsory for all students taking the five point Bagrut in Tanakh. Thus, approximately 90% of the girls in eleventh grade take this course.
Initially, students are introduced to the process of expressing abstract ideas through artistic media. They meet a number of professional artists who take the inspiration for their work from religious themes. This year, the students met with Chana Cromer, a sculptor and artist who specializes in works of religious content. They also met with Chava Pinchas-Cohen, a poet and writer renowned for her literary works on contemporary religious issues.
A major biblical theme or character such as Akedat Yitzchak (The Binding of Isaac) or the prayers of Hannah is presented to the students as an example of the work process they will be expected to follow. The text is studied with the Midrash and traditional commentaries followed by contemporary research articles accessed through the internet and academic journals. The resulting interpretation is then presented through all the different media: art, music, theater, creative movement and creative writing. Within a short period of time, the girls must choose the subject that they wish to research. For teenage girls, having to make this decision can be the hardest part of the course!
The research process begins as each student seeks to reach as deep an understanding of her subject as possible through studying all the sources available. It is only when she has reached this crucial point that the artistic process can begin. Guided by teaching specialists in each of the media, the students then work intensively to produce an artistic interpretation of their chosen subject.
The process itself is dynamic, as the academic study and artistic interpretation complement and complete one another. This process may take unexpected turns leading to a unique, innovative conclusion. In all the years that Pelech has run this program, no work is identical. For the girls involved, the experience is a deeply personal process of identification and self-discovery, uncovering the complexity of the text and its meaning for the individual student.
In evaluating the progress of the ten-year old program, the Pelech staff stresses the following aspects:
- The process of profound, individual study expressed through the arts succeeds in achieving a deep, personal identification with the subject.
- The program enhances the traditional study of women’s sources by describing the lives of the female characters of the Bible with their dilemmas, compromises and complexities. These include biblical episodes, involving women, that are degrading by modern standards: Dinah in Genesis, Isha Sota (the married woman acused of infidelity in Numbers 5:18-24), and Pilegesh b’Givah (the concubine of Givah in Judges 21).
- The artistic process clarifies and sharpens the conflicts described in Tanakh. Many of these themes including love, jealousy, and ambition continue to trouble our modern world and may be discussed and depicted with contemporary significance.
- The program provides an unusual opportunity to analyze and express abstract religious and philosophical ideas such as emunah (faith), ahavat hashem (love of God), sin and punishment.
- The biblical characters are humanized. The major biblical players such as Avraham, Moshe or Shmuel for example, can be described within a day to day context. Shadowy figures, that may appear in “one-liners”, who scarcely seem to exist in Tanakh such as the wife of the prophet Ezekiel or Michal, daughter of Saul and wife of David, can be brought to life.
“The Tanakh and Art program marks one of the highlights of the school year.”
When assessing the impact of the program on the girls at Pelech, one must remember that the art curriculum at the school is taught as part of an interdisciplinary program combining contemporary history, literature and Jewish philosophy. Freshmen take two hours of art weekly. Sophomores and juniors may take an art elective, comprised of practical art and art history for five hours weekly, the seniors for seven hours weekly.
The Tanakh and Art program is not in itself a “feminist” course. Throughout high school, the girls have a panoply of opportunities to focus on halakhic and hashkafic views relating to their role as young Jewish women, as well as the role of women in general culture. This is a natural part of the Pelech philosophy. For example as regards Kol Isha, the school takes a carefully considered view of the subject within halakha. It is studied with all its complexities as part of the halakha curriculum. As much as possible, we look for sensitive, creative solutions, such as replacing a solo vocal performance with a duet. The school offers music as an elective, and a musical ensemble performs for the school and parents several times a year. If there is any halakhic doubt, Rabbi Benny Lau, Pelech’s school rabbi, is consulted.
To give another example, the Pelech theater program is very focused on women’s roles and their unique feminine identity and portrayal. In the eleventh grade, each student taking the theater elective prepares a woman’s monologue and presents it on stage to the entire school. The program emphasizes the need for a profound analysis of the chosen role before learning the technical aspects of appearing on the stage.
In the Tanakh and Art program, the girls are free to choose their own project and are not required to focus on female characters or on themes relating to women. Nevertheless, approximately seventy percent of the annual projects do relate to female biblical characters. One girl focused on Hannah separating from her son Shmuel. Her portrayal was based on photographs of mothers and sons on the day of induction to the IDF (Israel Defense Forces). Another student chose the Rape of Dinah as her topic, and explored the time-worn myth that women bring rape upon themselves. Her installation comprised a path strewn with items of women’s clothing, and newspaper articles describing incidents of rape were juxtaposed with the different commentaries on the relevant biblical verses describing Dinah’s ordeal. A project of the figure of Batsheva and her relationship with David, her husband Uriah, and Natan the prophet used ice and glass as basic materials. For the student, the use of water served as a metaphor for Batsheva’s passivity, as understood from the Midrash. In the portrayal, Batsheva’s lips are prominent because while she may have had the ability to speak out in protest, she remained quietly passive, allowing events to take their course. These are just three examples of recent projects.
The Tanakh and Art program at Pelech marks one of the highlights of the school year. An exhibition of the artistic works is presented to parents and friends at a festive event at the school. Students who have chosen music, theater, creative movement or creative writing perform their work for the audience. The evening is more than a show: for spectators and participants alike, it is a moving, religious, cultural experience not easily forgotten.