Torah Mantel Project

We’ve kicked off the 5781 year with renewed determination to provide an open door for everyone to enter into their Jewish Soul Journey through our creative, loving and radically authentic approach to Judaism. During this time of uncertainty, we employ human-centered design through offerings that are both online virtually as well as live in outdoor venues with the safest precautions and health standards to nurture what it means to live again.

Our new Torah Mantel, beautifully woven by local artist Rachel Bordeleau, debuted during our High Holiday 5781 Ritual Lab as a symbol of resilience. See below for the evolution of this project and a peak “behind the loom” at Rachel’s artistic process.

Help us complete our Torah Mantel Project to fortify Open Temple as a force for Jewish re-enchantment both locally and globally. Make a contribution you find meaningful and our champions at OpenDor Project will match all donations dollar-for-dollar. Donors over $360 will have their names embroidered onto a plate on the mantle.

Goal:

$3,600

All donations are tax deductible
and go directly to funding programs.

 

Behind the Loom

Open Temple Artist Rachel Bordeleau worked with our students on the Open Temple loom to create tallitot with B. Mitzvah students, challah covers with Arts 36 students and now our Torah Mantle.  Rachel conceived of this unique Torah cover, researching, foraging and dreaming on how Open Temple values could be captured in the embrace of our Torah.  Here’s her creative process.  Read and be inspired!

Yarn – cotton, grown biodynamically in CA utilizing regenerative farming methods that sequester carbon from the atmosphere into the soil, as a carbon sink. If everyone utilized these farming practices we could reverse global warming.

Dye – all yarns dyed with eucalyptus and indigo plants. The eucalyptus is waste from a local Venice florist. After the dye is extracted the eucalyptus is composted instead of ending up in a landfill, which it would if it were not “rescued” for dye.

Weaving – handwoven in Los Angeles, 1280 ends of yarn dyed, wound on the loom, threaded, and woven into

Significance – 

• Mussar, 51 stripes
• Love, Truth, Creativity, 3 primary colors in the mantle
• Strength and celebration of diversity, each stripe a different color, shade, and width. Beauty in all the stripes coming together to make one colorful cloth.
• Artist’s own personal ideas of healing the earth through craft and preserving cloth with meaning