Art Midrash • Vayeitzei

Looking for a more creative connection to the weekly Torah portion? Join teacher Jay Smith to discover how art-making can deepen your relationship with the Torah. Each  week there will be a new series of creative prompts to spark conversation and provide scaffolding to push you (warmly) out of your comfort zones. Join us to learn more about yourself, the text, and most importantly, the relationship between the two.

This class is for people who are interested in:

• Developing a text-based, spiritual art-making practice
• Diving deeper into your existing art practice utilizing creative prompts and exploring new materials
• Discovering new ways of relating to sacred Jewish text

Just as Torah studio welcomes people at all levels of learning, this class is for people with all levels and experience with art-making. And just as everyone has their individual relationship with the divine, so does each person have their own individual relationship to art-making. No special arts materials are required. We do not expect anyone to prepare anything outside of class time.

In each 2-hour class, you can expect time for: Hevruta paired text study, prompted individual art-making, gallery viewing, and group discussion.

ABOUT THE TEACHER

Jay Smith (they/them) is an illustrator, clinician, and longtime Torah Studio learner based in Western Massachusetts. They have no formal arts education and credit their grandmother Sylvia with teaching them to paint at an early age. Their work explores themes of Jewish identity, ancestry, queerness, and longing. They currently reside in Florence, MA with their partner, Clare, and two fur babies Gene and Charlie.

ACCESSIBILITY

Live Automated Captioning will be offered.

Verbal participation is required during Hevruta and any form of participation is encouraged in discussion.

Video is optional the whole time.

The Torah Studio believes that all persons are entitled to equal access opportunities. We do not discriminate based on gender, disability, race, or religion. If you have an accessibility or accommodation request (including financial) please reach out to Lexi Kohanski at lexi@thetorahstudio.org.