47. - February 3 to March 15, 2013

Circles within Circles - Jewish Time Frames

Poetry by Sherri Waas Shunfenthal

Photography by Lloyd Wolf

Circles within Circles is an innovative and beautifully thoughtful body of work that explores aspects of time as understood and expressed in Judaism. This exhibition was previously shown in Miami, Florida; New York City; and Washington, DC.

From Lloyd Wolf's introduction to the catalogue that accompanies the exhibition:

“In the Beginning Elohim created...” The first words of the Torah mark the beginning of time, and of how creation, God, and the ongoing act of existence are inextricably bound together. Jewish tradition treats time with deep significance, endowing it with reverence. 

From Sherri Waas Shunfenthal's introduction:
Judaism has a unique connection to time and it is ingrained in our rituals, traditions and beliefs. Western philosophy contends that time is linear but as Jews we live in circles - the circle of seasons, circle of memory, circle of traditions and circle of time...
   We celebrate life cycle events from birth that mark our evolution as Jewish people in time, such as a Bris, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, a wedding. We mark time with our ritual prayers and blessings.
   Many holidays follow the rhythms of the seasons. Rosh Hashana - the start of the New Year - comes at the beginning of the harvest season. Sukkot is during the harvest. Being under the over of the open sky and stars allows us to examine ourselves as part of something larger than ourselves in endless time.
   As Philip Cousineau says in his book, Once and Future Myths, "time is to be measured in intensity, not quantity, by the heart as much as the clock."