Here's a thread from my #Tetzaveh essay. Full essay: 🇬🇧 bit.ly/38nUZIO / 🇮🇱 bit.ly/2TxqESI / 🇪🇸 bit.ly/2TAW3DH / 🇫🇷 bit.ly/2x2NutI / 👨👩👧👦 Family Edition bit.ly/2x5jFst / 🎧 Listen spoti.fi/33Npq9s. #ShabbatShalom
There is a place for aesthetics and the visual in the life of the spirit. In modern times, Rav Kook in particular looked forward to a renewal of Jewish art in the reborn land of Israel.
Hiddur mitzvah – bringing beauty to the fulfilment of a command – goes all the way back to the Mishkan. The vestments of the officiants and the Sanctuary/Temple itself were to have the glory and splendour that induced awe.
The purpose of the emphasis on the visual elements of the Mishkan, and the grand vestments of those who ministered there, was to create an atmosphere of reverence because they pointed to a beauty and splendour beyond themselves, namely God Himself.
The great difference between ancient Israel and ancient Greece is that the Greeks believed in the holiness of beauty whereas Judaism spoke of hadrat kodesh, the beauty of holiness.
I believe that beauty has power, and in Judaism it has always had a spiritual purpose: to make us aware of the universe as a work of art, testifying to the supreme Artist, God Himself.
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.