Kabbalat Shabbat: The Grand Unification

by Debra Band, Raymond P. Scheindlin, Arthur Green (Preface)

BRING NEW SPIRITUAL ENERGY TO YOUR FRIDAY NIGHT SHABBAT CELEBRATION! Debra Band’s new volume…is both visually breathtaking and conceptually very ambitious…This is a book designed to encourage hiddur mitzvah , the amplification of the beauty of carrying out a mitzvah and the deepening of its meaning….It should be invited, like the Sabbath queen, into our homes and Shabbat dinner tables to enliven and deepen our appreciation of Shabbat. —Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance Journal LOOK, LEARN AND BE ILLUMINATED! AN ELEGANT JEWISH HOSTESS GIFT! As Sabbath arrives on Friday evening, Jewish tradition exults in the completion of Creation. Kabbalat the Grand Unification is a full-color illustrated book, essentially a Friday night siddur , offering vivid new Hebrew and English illuminated paintings illustrating the full Sabbath eve liturgy and customs by Debra Band, flowing in traditional Hebrew order, translations and commentary by celebrated scholar of Hebrew poetry and Jewish liturgy, Raymond P. Scheindlin and explanations of the paintings by Debra Band. With imagery drawn from Kabbalah, midrash, the sciences and archeology, the book celebrates the spiritual glory of Creation and the wonder of its physical embodiment as we now see it through the lens of modern science. An inspirational source for prayer, spiritual study and visual pleasure, a glowing and unforgettable gift. A LIFE-LONG GIFT FOR YOUR FAVORITE BAR- AND BAT-MITZVAH!

264 pages, Hardcover

Published September 6, 2016

About the author

Debra Band melds scholarship and art in her inspirational books of Hebrew Bible and Jewish tradition. She works in the intimate classical medium of the illuminated book, an integral part of Jewish, Christian and Islamic religious traditions since the advent of the bound book (around 1000 CE), that fuses beloved biblical and other traditional Jewish texts into jewel-like paintings on calfskin vellum, painted in ink, gouache (opaque watercolor), and “illuminated” in 23KT gold leaf and palladium leaf. Each painting in every book presents intricate symbolic imagery drawn from related biblical sources, archeology, rabbinics, modern science and related classics of Western society. Each book includes commentaries explaining the symbolism of the paintings, as well as explorations of the texts by celebrated Judaic scholars.

Debra holds a BA Honours in History from Concordia University in Montreal and an MS in Political Science from MIT, and turned full attention to Hebrew manuscript arts in 1987. Descended from an eminent rabbinic family, her extensive studies of Jewish texts and research into medieval European and middle Eastern painting and manuscripts inform her work. Her work, celebrated for its intellectual and spiritual depth as well as visual beauty, includes illuminated and papercut books and ketubot, other manuscript pieces and papercuts, in exhibits, private collections, community institutions and galleries across the English-speaking world. Debra works extensively with Jewish women’s organizations across the US. Her many short videos are available on YouTube. Debra’s work tours museums and galleries across the United States. Debra lectures frequently on her work across the United States in Jewish and Christian venues. In addition to her artwork, Debra participates in medical ethics review activities at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Debra has lived throughout the United States and Canada and presently resides in the Washington, DC area along with her family and menagerie.

Reviews

[RACHEL · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume pulls from the wealth of the tradition with all its scripture, poetry and ritual while adding the exquisite art. Also, there are great notes on both the text and art.

My copy was a gift through Goodreads.

[Cheryl Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute joy to receive through Goodreads. It is full of information and gorgeously illustrated. For those looking to learn about their own or different spiritual faiths, this is a wonderful book to invest some time in.

[Debra Band · Rating 5 out of 5]

In today's difficult times, we have such a search for connection, and personal connection to the world of the spirit today...yet a connection that makes sense in our daily world of data and science. Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification offers a gorgeous destination...and beginning...for that search. The book's 90+ richly illuminated paintings and commentaries of the entire Kabbalat Shabbat tradition in synagogue and home, by leading scholars offer a way of fusing the world of the spirit with the scientific world we inhabit every day. In our increasingly visual age, as people search for community and meaning, Kabbalat Shabbat: the Grand Unification, the first fusion of fine artwork and leading scholarship on these traditions offers visual and spiritual inspiration, enhancing its readers’ enjoyment and understanding of these cherished traditions. My artwork and commentaries, renowned for their beauty and complex religious, archeological and scientific symbolism, are complemented by Raymond P. Scheindlin’s mellifluous translations and literary commentaries, and contributions by celebrated scholars Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks and Arthur Green, join to create a colorful Sabbath table resource and all-week coffee-table inspiration.

Read it, love it, and know that I conduct artist-in-residence programs and book-talks around the US, and would be happy to speak with you about scheduling an in-person or on-line book discussion.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated book with some of the best illuminations I have ever seen and they are the authors own works of art. The text is equally inspiring and well researched. There was so much that I learned and it has added a new dimension to my understanding of the joy of Shabbat. This book is a perfect addition for a new household and I will be gifting it to my granddaughter as she begins her own journey.