jewishjewish

by D-J Berger

quilts with the Bar Mitzvah images of my three sons. A Bar Mitzvah (Bat Mitzvah for daughter) chants from the Torah, or scroll of laws and heritage, and the selections Celebration Quiltsthey read are chosen from their birth dates. The quilts are named for their selections, which I quilted in the background. Due to a leap year in our calendar, Adam’s por- tion was also read by Joel, my third son. Marc is reading from the Torah scroll in Terumah, Adam holds a Kiddush cup to sanctify the Sabbath in Ki Teitzeh, and Joel holds the (a ram’s horn that warns us to “shape up” on our Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) in . The shofar is blown in the services on those days. My next leap of learning took place in a Ruth McDowell class on pieced pictorial quilts. I used her method for of Gold, made to honor the hopes and dreams of Yitzhak Rabin, Israel’s Prime Minister who worked so dili- gently for peace. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, but was assas- Jerusalem of Gold, 77" x 98". All quilts by D-J Berger. Photos: Marc Berger. sinated by a right-wing extremist of his own faith in 1995. I wanted to eople often ask me where I began quilting in the late create a quilt showing Jerusalem as PPthe ideas for my quilts 1970s after my son, Marc, was born. it could be and should be, united in come from. Maybe because of my While learning about the geometry peace with all faiths. Western faiths job as a registered nurse, or maybe of blocks and the basics of quilting are represented by the Dome of the because religious studies was my was enjoyable, in the early 1990s Rock, the Church of all Nations, first major in college, I find that I took a class from Charlotte Warr the of the Temple, human spirituality from culture to Anderson on how to create quilt and the Russian Orthodox Church. culture has more similarities than faces in reverse appliqué. This leap- Mazzoreh (page 34) depicts differences. I attempt to express this of-learning experience signaled my the tradition of passing down the in my work. entry into Jewish quilting, creating knowledge and responsibility of 32 American Quilter September 2009 our heritage. The Masorites were scribes and biblical scholars from the seventh to the eleventh centuries who helped orga- nize the way Hebrew is pronounced and chanted, part of what a Bar/Bat Mitzvah learns. Centuries of Jewish history are represented by the ancestors muted into the background of this quilt. The Hebrew letters on the reading table mean “choose life.” Jewish wedding ceremonies take place under a huppah, a wedding canopy. My quilt Huppah was begun in a class taught by Elly Sienkiewicz using her book Papercuts and Plenty. The underside of the canopy is what the bride and groom see—a beau- tiful ceiling of holiday and family joys. I adapted Elly’s patterns to make the blocks: the Torah, our “Tree of Life” from our prayer book (left center); and those symbolizing our holidays—Hanukah (bottom, second from left); Rosh Hashanah (top, Huppah, 74" x 74" left); and Passover (bottom, second from right). We celebrate life, family, and hope for the future during our contract. Knot work has been found in handiwork holidays, as do most cultures. throughout the world. Surrounding the center are the The center Jewish star and knot work appear rather Hebrew wedding vows in trapunto. Celtic, but were taken from a Middle Ages wedding The title of my quilt Kipot Gam Yachad (page 34) means “Jewish head coverings all together.” Orthodox services require head coverings. Conservative, Reform,

From left to right: Dayenu, 33" x 45"; Ki Teitzeh, 33" x 48"; Terumah, 31" x 49"

September 2009 American Quilter 33 Above: Detail, Kipot Gam Yachad, 75" x 91" Right: Mazzoreh, 78" x 71" and Reconstructionist services do themes, but most of them express I plan to begin a quilt to honor not, although they are usually worn. a celebration of life. Just com- Islam. Making and viewing quilts This quilt is a bird’s eye view of a pleted is a quilt about the Tibetan that express spirituality is very ful- congregation swirling around in a Buddhist ceremony of brushing filling to me—quilters of all faiths sort of dance. away a beautiful sand painting to and backgrounds convey common Not all of my quilts are Jewish illustrate nothing is forever. Soon threads in our work.

34 American Quilter September 2009