Chapters of Leadership
Words of Wisdom
In January 2020 I was asked to design a book for the incoming Senior Rabbi of a Jewish synagogue in Providence, Rhode Island. The turn around time to have the book designed, printed and bound was 4 weeks.
Former Rabbis, past Temple Presidents and peers of the new Rabbi wrote the text. Everyone wrote a reflection based on a quote from Pirket Avot 1:1, which is loosely translated to “Chapters of Leadership” – hence the name of the book!
This book is an heirloom for the incoming Senior Rabbi, as well as an addition to the Temple’s archives. (No pressure, right?!) When I began, I was thrilled, honored, excited, and nervous! To some, this is just a book, but to me, it is a piece of art that will be treasured by generations to come.
I don’t know if I love the inside of the book, or the outside more! The little details are what make this book so beautiful.
Aside from the end pages, all photographs were printed on 32 lb vellum, and laid over a full-bleed tan page. I chose to do a drum leaf binding so each spread opens up perfectly flat, making it easy to see the image as a whole. The thing I’m most proud of are the photographs themselves. My goal for this project was to take dynamic photos of objects that are commonly overlooked or under-appreciated. These include a Kiddush cup, and even the Main Sanctuary.
The text from former Rabbis, Presidents and peers throughout this book varies in length. I created a template to keep all spreads with messages the same. There are also three beautiful pages designed to look like a page from the Talmud. It has the main Hebrew quote from Pirket Avot 1:1 in the center, and pull quotes from the messages all around.
Design is all about learning. Not being Jewish made this book extra challenging. I had to learn what the Talmud was, how it was meant to be read, and what artifacts are important to Jewish culture.
The challenge and the learning process is what keeps me designing everyday!