Rebbe Nachman's Chair, Israel Museum

Tuesday evening I was privileged to attend the opening of the new exhibit in the Israel Museum, Seated in Seclusion: Bratslav Hasidim and Contemporary Design. It's a photography exhibit of broken chairs in isolation symbolizing the popularity of the prayer in seclusion among followers of Bratslav Hasidim.

Hitbodedut – self-secluded prayer and introspection – is practiced by Bratslav Hasidim in forests throughout Israel. These Hasidim use the salvaged parts of old chairs to create “new” chairs for this very purpose. Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav (1772-1810) believed a regular practice of hitbodedut was perhaps the most important element in one’s relationship with God. In this state the Hasid addresses God directly, sharing his most personal prayers and thoughts without the mediation of a prayer book or synagogue, as he strives to achieve spiritual affirmation and restoration. (Israel Museum)

Catriel and Heidi Sugarman and I 

The most famous of the Bratzlav chairs is the one that had belonged to their rabbi, Rebbe Nachman. A few decades ago the chair was clandestinely sent to Israel, in pieces. The carpenter chosen to restore it was Catriel Sugarman, who at that time had a Judaica woodwork workshop on Shlomzion Hamalka Street, Jerusalem. He and his wife happen to be old friends of ours.

Curators of the museum exhibit contacted Sugarman and brought him to the synagogue where the chair is now located. They filmed his examination of the chair, reminisces, his descriptions of what he was given to work with and what he had to recreate. A short movie of that visit is part of the exhibition, and that's where we spent our time.

Catriel Sugarman, master Judaica craftsman/carpenter and writer

I must visit the exhibit another time to see the photographs and replicas of the broken chairs in situ. Yes, I do recommend seeing the exhibit and others in the Israel museum.

As part of the exhibition opening there were some speeches and a wonderful performance by Shuli Rand, a popular chassideshe singer and actor.

Shuli Rand

So it's Saturday night

Saturday night's not "Saturday night" as it was when I was a kid.
It's called motzei Shabbat and means that the Sabbath has gone out. I end up blogging and washing dishes. Nothing very exciting. I could be going to see Shuli Rand of Ushpizin fame, who will be performing in Eli, but I'm not.
I hope to do my "social thing" tomorrow night when there's a women's Rosh Chodesh party here. I could have signed up for a "light dairy dinner" and some sort of comedy in Beit El as a staff party, but I really don't feel like wasting time after work until it starts and then being dependent on a ride home after finding a ride home.
Periodically they have those "surveys" at work about how we feel and one of the questions is always about how much we socialize with the staff. Sorry, but I don't, even though I got the job through friends, and we still work together. I spend so many hours at work, at least it feels that way, I just don't feel like making an effort to socialize with them. We're a rather varied group, considering ages, background etc.
Last week I spent hours at that parents meeting, and almost none of the parents showed up to talk to me. Three out of twenty-one. (I teach tiny groups in each grade.) There were others, but their darling sons convinced them not to come in. And for those three I waited around over three hours.
The week before we had that staff meeting, a total waste. I waited four hours between finishing work and the meeting, which didn't accomplish anything but took another three hours plus to accomplish that nothing.
Sorry for all this ranting.
I should have had blogged about our quickie second birthday party for Porat. And I have to work on the Kosher Cooking Carnival! Get your posts in and any others you see which fit the bill, please, and if you want to guest-host please let me know. Either send to shilohmuse at gmail dot com or to blog carnival.
Thanks