Temple Beth Sholom
Donor Recognition Project
"Deeds of Lovingkindness"
“Torah, Worship, and Deeds of Lovingkindness are the three pillars upon which the world is built”
Pirke Avot 1:02
These meaningful words were the inspiration for the donor recognition artwork for Temple Beth Sholom. Judaism encourages people to reach out and help those in need. By performing these actions, we can help make the world a better place to live.
Temple Beth Sholom brings people together to pray, to learn, to celebrate holidays and family simchas and to perform acts of loving-kindness. When life presents us with challenges, we gain strength, courage and comfort from our caring community. Even the smallest act of loving-kindness can make a difference in someone's life and those acts of loving-kindness create the underlying theme and energy for this artwork.
The quote that will be featured on the donor wall, “Let them build me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them" comes from the Torah portion that describes the building of the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary that G-d commanded the Jews to build. Among the many specific instructions given to Moshe, there was a detailed description of the Menorah. Today the Menorah is still the most recognizable Jewish symbol and that is why it was chosen as the starting point for this design.
This artwork emerged from a stylized image of a Menorah combined with the Hebrew letter "shin" at its center. The "shin" begins the word "Shaddai", one of the names of God.
The mosaic includes colors described in the Torah portion: blues, purples reds, and gold. The mosaic artwork contains predominately recycled mosaic glass tiles as well as unique handmade tiles.
There is inspiration in seeing new ways to interpret our sacred symbols. The names of the generous donors, whose names will be part of this exciting wall, have taken action to make sure that their children will continue to fulfill God’s commandments by studying Torah, praying together and performing acts of loving-kindness in the caring community that is Temple Beth Sholom.