Home is a Road: the Greenwald-Hromadka Ketubah

Mazal tov to Adam and Anne! I was so honored that they asked me to make their ketubah, and my wife and I were so pleased to celebrate with them today as they became husband and wife.

The Greenwald–Hromadka ketubah is a labyrinth: an intertwined collection of paths with infinite choices, and the potential for serendipity and coincidence. A labyrinth is designed for discovery; wandering is the intent, and every path leads to the center. A labyrinth encourages you to walk slowly, to pause here and there, to experience the path instead of just focusing on a destination. In Bereshit we read about Jacob wandering and wrestling with an angel; afterward, he realizes that he has found holy ground. That’s Adam and Anne’s story: walking the multitude of paths until they met, realizing they had found something holy, and then wandering those paths together. For Adam and Anne, home is a road.

The ketubah text is surrounded by this labyrinth, built in a palette of blues, purples, and reds. These are the colors of the mishkan — the desert tabernacle constructed by Bezalel and the Jewish people during their desert wanderings; it was a focus for worship and a work of art in itself. These colors also reference grapes (for wine and joy) and pomegranates (for fertility and the mitzvot). The building of the mishkan is a wonderful metaphor for the couple, combining Adam’s commitment to serving the Jewish community through his rabbinate, and Anne’s drive to bring beauty to the world through creation and curation; accordingly, verses from Shemot/Exodus chapter 26 are incorporated into the labyrinth.

The colorful spaces surrounded by and created by the wandering paths are cut-up comic books representing Adam and Anne — their courtship, their couplehood, and the life they are planning together. Adam’s intelligence and focus are found in the characters of Professor X (leader of the X-Men) and Mr. Terrific (the third smartest man in the world), and his passion is seen in his namesake Adam Strange, who travels between worlds to be with the love of his life. Anne’s creativity and her gypsy and cajun roots are represented in Gypsy (a member of the Justice League of America) and Rogue (a member of the X-Men, whose real name is Anna Marie), and the power of her love is personified by Star Sapphire.

The ketubah is filled with speech bubbles that relate to the couple and their wedding, and glimpses of the superheroes that stand in for them; there are allusions to many of their stories, including references to Los Angeles — which Adam and Anne describe as a key player in their relationship.

The Greenwald–Hromadka ketubah is made of cut-up comic books; this is a partial listing:

• All-Star Superman #2 –Jan 2006
• Archie #1 – May 2016
• ETC #1 – 1989
• Green Lantern: New Guardians #15 – Feb 2003
• Justice League of America #121 – Aug 1975; #234 – Jan 1985; #39 – Jan 2010
• Justice Society of America #14 – May 2008
• Loki #1 – Dec 2010
• ODY-C #1 – Nov 2014
• Promethea #31 – Oct 2004
• Rogue #3 – Mar 1995; #4 – Apr 1995)
• Runaways #15 – Jun 2006; #16 – Jul 2006
• Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #15 – Apr 2007
• Strange Adventures #1 – May 2009; #2 – Jun 2009
• Superman: The Wedding Album #1 – Dec 1996
• Swamp Thing #63 – Aug 1987
• Tales of the Teen Titans #50 – Feb 1985
• The Wedding of Deadpool #1 – Mar 2016
• Ultimate X-Men #53 – Jan 2005
• Wonder Woman #23.2 – Nov 2013
• X-Factor #14 – Mar 1987
• X-Men ‘92 #1 – Aug 2015

#adamandanne2016

"Rise Up"

This is my newest papercut, "Rise Up" (click it to see it bigger), which I unveiled last night at the annual Temple Ahavat Shalom Gala and auctioned off LIVE to raise money for the synagogue community. My wife and I were proud the be honorees at the gala, the theme of which was "The Art of Jewish Living." Our thanks go out to everyone who contributed and supported us and the community!

"Rise Up" presents the figure of Bezalel standing in front of the parted curtains of the mishkan, revealing the ark and ner tamid of Temple Ahavat Shalom within. Its title comes from a speech bubble in Bezalel’s cloak: “Simply rise up to the task at hand,” reflecting the choice that each person must make to contribute to the building of a community.

A FEW MORE LIMITED EDITION SIGNED, NUMBERED GICLEE PRINTS ARE STILL AVAILABLE – CALL AARON SOLOMON AT TEMPLE AHAVAT SHALOM AT 818-360-2258 TO ORDER YOURS TODAY! (ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE TEMPLE)

In the Book of Shemot (Exodus) we read that Bezalel has been named by God to build the mishkan — the desert tabernacle which houses the tablets Moses received on Mount Sinai. The name “Bezalel” means “in the shadow of God,” and it is written that God granted him skill in all of the arts in order to design and build the mishkan — but he was not solely responsible for its construction. We are told that all of the Israelites — each member of the community — contributed what they could: their goods, their talents, their commitment to the community’s goals. In "Rise Up," Bezalel represents each individual Israelite then and now, coming together in a kehillah kedoshah — a sacred community.

Midrash tells us that God showed Bezalel a heavenly model for the mishkan, which Bezalel represented in his plans; the blueprints he holds in this papercut reflect the movement of planets and heavenly bodies in the skies. Bezalel’s hammer and his clothing are constructed of cut-up Thor comics; just as the person who can lift Thor’s hammer is deemed worthy to control its power, so too does the person who commits to picking up a hammer (or any gift) in service of the community find the power to help; it is the choice to rise up and serve that gives one the power to do so.

The blue, purple and crimson of this papercut match the colors of the mishkan as described in Shemot 36:35-37, while at the same time, the brown wood of the ark and jagged lines of the ner tamid (eternal light) are modeled on the sanctuary at Temple Ahavat Shalom. There are speech bubbles and panels throughout the piece, hinting at more midrash. The bit of green grid in the blueprints comes from a Green Lantern comic; John Stewart was an architect when gifted with the green will-powered ring, and many of the creations he built with it to protect and defend others reflected his original calling.

The background comics include:

• All-Star Western #3 (January 2012)
• Automatic Kafka #1 (September 2002)
• Batman #23.3 (November 2013)
• Buck Rogers #2 (July 2009)
• Daredevil #49 (September 2003)
• Etc.: Book One (1989)
• FF #1 (April 2014)
• Green Lantern #165 (June 1983)
• Justice League of America #7.3 (November 2013)
• The Names #3 (January 2015)
• Promethea: Book Five (2005)
• Revival #16 (December 2013)
• Secret #1 (May 2012)
• Shazam! Power of Hope (November 2000)
• Silver Surfer #9 (August 2015)
• Superman Unchained #9 (January 2015)
• Thor #395 (September 1988), #616 (December 2010), #615 (November 2010), #619 (March 2011)
• Thor #2 (October 2007), #6 (February 2008)
• Astonishing Thor #1 (January 2011)

From the Genizah:"The Mobile Tabernacle"

Just completed a piece based on the representation of the original tabernacle (the ark of the covenant that the Jews carried with them through the desert) at Kfar Nahum in Northern Israel:


I've always loved this image -- a classic Greek style building, on giant wheels. Too ridiculous to be anything other than awesome.

I've been working with this idea for a while, and I've previously cut the whole tabernacle as you see it shown above, but this time I tried a view from the side only. Backed with a page from a book that had been destined for the genizah -- a section about the building of the tabernacle. It's a nice, simple cut -- very geometric, not too serious.

Starkman Anniversary

In February 2008 I completed a ketubah for David Starkman and Samara Polansky. It reflects their desire for a contemporary feel and a non-standard shape. I based the elements and color scheme on the Torah portion from the week they were to be married, which detailed the building of the traveling Ark of the Covenant. I spelled out their Hebrew names, found quotes from the Torah that related to their biblical counterparts (David and Sarah), and voila:


This year David called me to do a related piece for their first anniversary -- which is, traditionally, celebrated with paper. This one is smaller, but you can see how the letters-on-patterns is carried through, as are the warm reds and burgundies of the ketubah; however, here the Hebrew word is "ahava" -- "love." And of course, some grape vines around the piece for joy and celebration.