I have not yet seen Leonard Nimoy’s book “Shekhina,” though I know that I will.
And there is a strong possibility that I may even own a copy one day. Even so, I was disturbed to see the image from the book’s cover, a graphic illustration of a nude woman swathed in a sheer fabric and wrapped in tefillin, on the front page of last week’s Jewish Bulletin. I fear that Nimoy’s combining of nudity and ritual objects confuses the uninitiated and trivializes the sacred.
I am a woman who is strongly connected to Jewish community and spirituality and one who is very cognizant of the feminine aspect of the Divine spirit.
For more than 10 years, I have committed my life’s work to the creation of Jewish ritual objects that capture the fabric of Jewish life, honoring tradition with contemporary design. This has included, among other things, making tallitot for hundreds of women and men of all ages.
For more than two years now, I have taken on the daily mitzvah of putting on tefillin — which I experience as a very deep, personal, powerful and private spiritual practice. Donning tefillin is a practice I never imagined would become part of my life — unlike, for example, lighting Shabbat candles, which I watched my mother do weekly as child. But laying tefillin is indeed an integral part of my life today.
Your article states that “most of the book’s 54 photos are of nude women, many wearing prayer shawls and tefillin. Nimoy said that some of the women are Jewish.” I was surprised to learn that not all of the women were Jewish.
What does this say about the artist’s regard for these ritual objects? Does that mean that these holy objects were used merely as visual props? And why does he combine these ritual objects with female nudity?
Jewish ritual and its ritual objects are sacred. Their power is not to be minimized or trivialized. There is also no question that women’s bodies are sacred. I do not believe, however, that artistically merging what have been seen as traditionally male ritual objects with the beauty of the naked female form is an appropriate way to acknowledge and honor the feminine aspects of the Divine. I consider this imagery as misguided as the old popular concept of portraying HaShem as an old man sitting on a throne with a long white beard.
Our God includes masculine and feminine and transcends both. It is without form and yet is visible in everything around us. To anthropomorphize the Holy One is in itself problematic. Both language and imagery are limited. Liturgists have always worked diligently to articulate the holiness of the Divine in poetry and with integrity, in a way that speaks to those who use the words in worship. Artists of today have no lesser task.
The Shechina is not a woman in a tallit and tefillin, as Nimoy’s imagery suggests. Some Jewish women, however, do wear either tallit or tefillin or both ritual objects as part of a spiritual practice. As one who does, I speak from the heart when I say that the kavanah/intentionality and commitment of both the men and the women who do so is great.
As a community member, I have conversations almost daily with people on similar yet unique spiritual journeys. Some make prayer shawls with me in my art studio or are the parents of young people who do so. Others stop me in the grocery store or at a Shabbaton and, having learned that I lay tefillin, want to talk with me about their personal struggle and desire to claim this mitzvah. They represent all levels of halachic observance and understanding of Jewish practice.
People are searching, delving and exploring for spiritual meaning in their lives. We are turning to traditional texts and to each other in order to claim the richness and fullness of this religion that is our birthright.
As an artist, I can appreciate that Nimoy’s photographs are “part of a longtime journey into his Jewish roots and a trek into exploring the feminine aspect of God.” I hope that his journey continues with responsibility and integrity.
May we also be blessed on our spiritual wanderings to grow and expand. And may we reach increased understanding of the multiplicity of ways that the Divine masculine and feminine manifest themselves in our own lives.