Be-ron Yachad

A painting originally created for the cover of Be-Ron Yaḥad: Studies in Jewish Thought and Theology in Honor of Nehemia Polen, and also used for Parshat Kedoshim in the Parsha painting series.

Within/Without

These paintings are part of a series of meditations on two verses associated with the month of Iyar. The verses are "אני י-ה-ו-ה רפאך" from Shmot/Exodus 15:26 (due to the acronym being Iyar), and in Kabbalistic tradition, the verse "יתהלל המתהלל השכל וידוע" from Yirmiyahu/Jeremiah 9:23. Both of these relate to the theme: a mature, fully realized self lives with a true recognition of dependance on and connection with the Divine. In this image, the circle at the center and the surrounding outer circle shape represent the sense of the outer and inner light that we aim to be connected to at all times as a whole community (סובב כל עלמין וממלא כל עלמין/ אור מקיף ואור פנימי/ Immanent and Transcendent presence of God). Within that we are each individuals (with our own details and quirks), who (the goal is) all also have the awareness of God's presence at our individual center.

Parsha Creations

A year of weekly parsha (Torah portion) creations. Each work was created in response to a close reading of the weekly portion as well, personal reflection and inquiry, and through inspiration from modern and classical Torah commentators. They represent a living conversation with the sacred text. All the paintings at atiqmakers.org/creations.

SUN/MOON

Sun and Moon, Together is a chapbook and a father-daughter collaboration, prepared in honor of the August 2017 total solar eclipse. A mini literary magazine of sorts, it represents an initial part of a broader Atiq sun/moon project that is in the works.

Sun and Moon, Together includes different approaches by which we can observe and appreciate the spiritual significance in the cosmic presentation of the sun and moon during a total eclipse. An essay, by Nehemia Polen, explores the astronomy involved which then becomes a springboard for examining the moon in the Jewish imagination, in particular in the Rabbinic tradition. An illustrated poem by Adina Polen is a retelling of a story from the Talmud about the creation of the sun and moon and is meant for children and adults to share. Finally, a selection of family-centered discussion questions and activities are included for further exploration.

Beautifully printed, it is now available in the Atiq shop!

ARK/WOMB

Created for a collaborative Melaveh Malkah (post Shabbat gathering) performance at the Brandeis Collegiate Institute on the theme of “Achat Sha’alti Me’et Hashem Otah Avakesh - One thing I ask of the Lord, that I shall seek” from Psalm 27.

The grey/silver tendrils in the ark/womb served as extensions, refractions, differentiation from the inner oneness, or could be seen as umbilical cords to the womb of Oneness. Performers - dancers and musicians - interacted with the tendrils, pulling and extending one at a time, prior to performing each element, and all returned tendrils to the ark to close the performance.

Boat of Light - A Pandemic Family Fable

Writer, Director, and Performer: Adina Polen

Co-Director: Sarah Plotkin

Composer and Musician: Jared Stein

This play features the poem "Leisure," by Zelda Schneurson Mishkovsky, Translated by Marcia Falk in The Spectacular Difference : Selected Poems, Cincinnati : Hebrew Union College Press, 2004.

“Boat of Light - A Pandemic Family Fable” is a filmed work of devised / interview theater created as part of a “Coming Together,” a virtual community-engaged storytelling project facilitated by Sarah Plotkin and Rebecca Powell that explores the meaning of Jewish community, how we build it, and how it transformed during Covid-19. More details about the “Coming Together” project can be found here.