Between Heaven and Earth: An Illuminated Torah Commentary [Hardcover]

Ilene Winn-Lederer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2009

Artist Ilene Winn-Lederer's conception of Between Heaven and Earth: An Illuminated Torah Commentary had its roots in the unique invitation she designed for her son's bar mitzvah in the 1980s. The tri-fold card incorporated themes from the Torah, the Haftorah, and the commentaries on both books, and it led to many commissions for artworks based on themes from Jewish liturgy. Eventually this cumulative body of work inspired her to illuminate the complete Torah, and for five years she focused her studies and extraordinary illustrative skills on the creation of this book.

The first five books of the Bible, the Torah, are divided into fifty-four portions, or parashiyot (singular parashah). Each week of the Jewish year, a portion is read and studied; every Jewish congregation in the world reads from the same parashah each week, and the Torah is read in sequence through the year.

Between Heaven and Earth presents a two-page spread for each parashah, with Winn-Lederer's bold and beautiful imagery accented with Hebrew and English text excerpts rendered in her elegant calligraphy. The illuminated Torah is followed by a section titled "AfterImages: Artist's Notes," in which Lederer details the biblical story, symbols, and personal reflections that guided each illustration. She conveys her extensive knowledge of the Torah clearly and accessibly, offering her interpretations against a backdrop of years of scholarship.

Between Heaven and Earth is a signature work from a consummate artist whose vision is informed by both tradition and her vigorous imagination.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Although cartoonist R. Crumb generated plaudits and attention with his new book, "The Book of Genesis Illustrated" (Norton, 2009) is not the only illustrated bible being released this season. Pittsburgh illustrator Ilene Winn-Lederer's "Between Heaven and Earth: An Illuminated Torah Commentary" (Pomegranate Communications, 2009) though given limited attention has also been received with acclaim. Although as radical as Crumb, her trademark color pencil technique gives her work a distinctive feel and conveys a deep understanding of the text. --Forward.com, October 23, 2009

. . . Infusing pop culture and historic events that transpired in the millennia since the Torah was written, the Squirrel Hill-based illustrator depicts selected verses with surrealist imagery and anthropomorphism. Using a pen, a computer and a bit of Hieronymus Bosch, Winn-Lederer's book vividly depicts the Hebrew Bible, creating a child-friendly work that instills the lessons of the original text . . . Citing influences from Rembrandt to Moebius, Winn-Lederer blends ballpoint pen strokes and computer-generated blocks of solid color. It's a method she calls "tra-digital -- a hybrid of traditional drawing and digital media." Her Torah illustrations often weave in contemporary styles and characters, like the Goth chick with facial piercings and purple Bettie Page bangs noshing on a scorpion kabob. Winn-Lederer says the girl, along with her tattooed boyfriend on the adjoining page, illustrates the lessons of Parashah Re'eh about individual holiness in regards to body modification and food choices. In the background, a Holocaust victim leads a lamb on a leash, suggesting that one cannot disguise the Jewish spirit, even with dermal needlepoint or crustacean diets. The book, published by Pomegranate, also includes extensive artist's notes on the Torah verses. With its vibrant depictions of brutal biblical passages, like Dinah kneeling in the blood of her vanquished rapists, "Between Heaven & Earth" is a fascinating introduction for Torah neophytes, and a welcome reminder for lapsed Jews. "I wanted to do this book because when I went to shul, I was bored to death," Winn-Lederer says. "I didn't understand, couldn't fathom the language, I just didn't get it. And so I said, 'I want to come up with something that would help me learn.'" --Lucy Leitner, Pittsburgh City Paper, October 29, 2009

"Between Heaven & Earth: An Illuminated Torah Commentary" (Pomegranate) is brilliantly imaginative and magnificent. Artist Ilene Winn-Lederer "dreamed about the book for 20 years," she told this reviewer, "then spent five years researching and creating it." She illuminates all 54 weekly portions, parashiyot, of the Torah by creating a two-page spread for each. The images are a synthesis of her life experiences seasoned by "my native curiosity, my spiritual journeys and my love of stories." For the parsha Toldot, she has portrayed the twins Jacob and Esau as the opposing figures on a playing card. The more spiritual Jacob holds tefillin in his right hand, proffering his animal hair-covered left arm. The bow-and-arrow-decked Esau holds a bowl of lentil stew in his right hand; an eagle perches on his left wrist. For Mishpatim, where Moses ascends Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah, Winn-Lederer created a Torah out of the figures of a man and woman enveloped by a pomegranate tree. She imagines Moses the Scribe with a paintbrush in his hand, communing with God, who is represented by a mask hovering near his face. The enchanting details and powerful calligraphy will delight readers of all ages. Artist's notes on each Torah portion complete the volume. -- NA'AMAT WOMAN Magazine, Winter 2009/2010

About the Author

Ilene Winn-Lederer attended the Museum School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Her works are in private and public collections throughout the United States and Europe. She has taught illustration and design at Carnegie Mellon University and The Ivy School of Professional Art. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 190 pages
• Publisher: Pomegranate Communications (September 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764950983
• ISBN-13: 978-0764950988
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,739,878 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dear Readers,

You may know me as an artist, illustrator, or writer; perhaps all three.
But did you know that I am also a time-traveller? For the past five years I've journeyed back through the millennia to research my new book, Between Heaven & Earth: An Illuminated Torah Commentary.

And what an adventure it has been! I have never considered myself a scholar in the traditional sense, yet this project has provoked an insatiable quality to my natural curiosity and led me to studies in Torah, Talmud, Aggadah (non-legal texts of rabbinic literature) and Jewish mysticism. Along the way, I also explored the eerily similar stories of many other cultures. But what actually peaked my interest in this whole project is fully explained in the book's introduction.

While no book has been reframed for relevancy more than the Bible,
my new visual commentary (midrash) on the Torah (Old Testament) is designed to be understood from multiple perspectives. It is a unique fusion of selected quotations and highly detailed illustrations from all 54 parashiyot(weekly readings) that honor historic sources and artifacts while allowing the multi-layered back stories within the Torah to speak. I have also provided a section of in-depth commentary to reveal my thought process in creating the illustrations and perhaps to raise more questions than it answers...

I invite you to post your questions and comments at my blog:
http://imaginarius13.wordpress.com/

******************************************************************************

Author and illustrator Ilene Winn-Lederer attended The Art Institute of Chicago and The Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. Based in Pittsburgh, she creates original imagery that navigates the delicate bridge between the mundane and mystical theaters of human experience.

Winn-Lederer's clients include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Hadassah, NY., The Progressive Magazine, Lilith Magazine, Children's Television Workshop, Scholastic, Pomegranate, Charlesbridge Publishers, Simon & Schuster and Cricket Magazine.

Her works are in collections throughout the United States and Europe.
WebFolios: www.winnlederer.com, http://www.paperroadart.com/en/portfolios/details.asp?navid=2&artistID=67
WebGallery: www.magiceyegallery.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Inspirational, November 4, 2009

By 

Harriet N. Kruman "Harriet Kruman" (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Between Heaven and Earth: An Illuminated Torah Commentary (Hardcover)

BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH is not only stunningly beautiful, but the commentary is inspirational and brilliant. The artist/author has captured the beauty and spirituality of the Torah in her text and artistry. The book is magnificent.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful book, October 6, 2009

By 

Helen R. Feder - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Between Heaven and Earth: An Illuminated Torah Commentary (Hardcover)

This book is rich with interesting and beautiful images. Each image has new things to notice every time I look at them. I love the notes in the back which provide details on the symbolism and meaning of the illustrations. The colors and drawings are just beautiful.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exceptional work of Jewish visual culture, April 6, 2011

By 

Religion Faculty - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Between Heaven and Earth: An Illuminated Torah Commentary (Hardcover)

'Between Heaven & Earth' is one of the great monuments of Jewish visual culture of the past century. I'm just waiting for everyone to discover it. Lederer does precisely what medieval patrons wanted their artists to do, looking deeply into the entirety of the tradition and riffing on it visually in a way that is simultaneously deeply satisfying and disturbing, both aesthetically and intellectually. But, like the richest and most wonder-full of medieval manuscripts, this is a work that will take digesting and that will manifest in all its thoughtfulness only to the most thoughtful.
Marc Michael Epstein
Professor of Religion
Vassar College