Snippets — hebrica
A lot of trouble. And you're worth it.
berakhot hebrica jewish greeting card jewish thank you card kim phillips talmud todah rabbah
In the movie The American President, Sydney Ellen Wade receives a Virginia ham after her first date with President Andrew Shepherd. The assistant who gives it to her says, "It took him 10 minutes to write the card." Ten minutes? Surely he didn't write it himself, he staffed it out, thinks Sydney. Nope. Wrote it himself. And it took ten minutes. In the Mishnah (Berakhot 58a), it says, "What does a good guest say? How much trouble has my host gone to just for me!" If you are a guest, don't think, well, they had a caterer, or it was...
Giving light.
hebrew name hebrica jewish papercut art judaic art judaica kim phillips Rabbi Meir talmud
When asked to create a papercut for the Hebrew name "Meir," the challenge was on... how to "illuminate" with paper a name that means "creator of light?" In my head, I saw the blue of the daytime sky contrasting with the dark of night, and rays of fiery light bursting through the darkness. "Let there be light, and there was light." (Gen. 1:3) The recipient of this piece shares a name with one of the most revered sages of the Talmud, Rabbi Meir. It is thought that his name was given to him later in life for protection and because he...