{"product_id":"the-carved-wooden-torah-arks-bracha-yaniv-9781906764371","title":"The Carved Wooden Torah Arks of Eastern Europe","description":"National Jewish Book Awards Finalist for the Visual Arts Award, 2017. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe carved wooden Torah arks found in eastern Europe from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries were magnificent structures, unparalleled in their beauty and mystical significance. The work of Jewish artisans, they dominated the synagogues of numerous towns both large and small throughout the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, inspiring worshippers with their monumental scale and intricate motifs. Virtually none of these superb pieces survived the devastation of the two world wars. Bracha Yaniv's pioneering work therefore breathes new life into a lost genre, making it accessible to scholars and students of Jewish art, Jewish heritage, and religious art more generally. Making use of hundreds of pre-war photographs housed in local archives, she develops a vivid portrait of the history and artistic development of these arks, the scope and depth of her meticulous research successfully compensating for the absence of physical remains. In this way she has succeeded in producing a richly illustrated and comprehensive overview of a classic Jewish religious art form. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eProfessor Yaniv's analysis of the historical context in which these arks emerged includes a broad survey of the traditions that characterized the local workshops of Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine. She also provides a detailed analysis of the motifs carved into the Torah arks and explains their mystical significance, among them representations of Temple imagery and messianic themes-and even daring visual metaphors for God. Fourteen arks are discussed in particular detail, with full supporting documentation; appendices relating to the inscriptions on the arks and to the artisans' names will further facilitate future research. This seminal work throws new light on long-forgotten traditions of Jewish craftsmanship and religious understanding.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Bracha Yaniv\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1906764379\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781906764371\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Littman Library of Jewish Civilization in Ass\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/01\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 10.80h x 8.40w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBracha Yaniv is Professor Emerita of Jewish Art History at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and founding editor of Ars Judaica: The Bar-Ilan Journal of Jewish Art.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bracha Yaniv","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43978762780927,"sku":"9781906764371","price":67.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_242d8961-593e-4138-8183-82ad6a898d1e.jpg?v=1683242923","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-carved-wooden-torah-arks-bracha-yaniv-9781906764371","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}