The art of our rabbi on our Aron Hakodesh

This article also appeared on the Minian's Blog.

Today's story is about our awesome rabbi Moishe Brand and his art and how it got onto our Aron Hakodesh.

When we began the Minian, Moishe got a loan from another shul for a Torah we can use. The Minian had existed for 20 previous years, but only with a Tora on special occasions. It was beautiful to have a Torah.

But we didn't have an Aron Hakodesh. Moishe kept it in his house, brought it to Hebraica every Friday, and we kept it on a table at the front of our little room, the famous Doradito.

Until mid-2024, when we got a donation from an amazing, anonymous friend of ours to gift us an Aaron Hakodesh!

We found, in an old antiques market in San Telmo a beautiful, wooden closet that was once owned by a famous tango musician, Lucio Demare. You can read about him and more about the discovery of our Aron Hakodesh in this article we wrote about it here on the Minian blog.

But there was a problem: this cubbard had a mirror on the front! And you can't have a mirror on the Aron Hakodesh: you'll pray looking at yourself, among various other reasons.

So what did Moishe do? As an inspired artist, he created some art to put on the front, instead of the mirror.

You can see the photo above, and it is a mix of many Jewish symbols: the Beit Hamikdash, the Shofar, Tefillin, the Tzeddakah box, the Shabat Candles, a Mezuzzah, with light iluminating everything.

This art was created digitally and printed in the exact, unique size, to cover where the unique mirror had been.

Every time we pray, we look at the art and remember it inspires the whole Minian. It's a constant topic of conversation. How many other shuls have the honor of seeing their own art when they pray?

Of all the symbols, my personal favorite is the illumination. The Torah is a light for all of us and seeing it on our Aron Hakodesh is a constant reminder. And seeing is in such an artistic and creative representation helps remind us of the special spark that each of us have!

Shortly after the purchase, another Minian member donated the cost of a beautiful curtain to use when we open the Aron Hakodesh. I didn't take a photo of that one, unfortunately!

This article also appeared on the Minian's Blog.