TO GO: New Designs for Jewish Ritual Objects

For this exhibition, the Israel Museum invited leading designers around the world to create portable kits for a Jewish holiday or life-cycle event of their choice. The resulting works, often using cutting-edge techniques and materials to produce objects associated with ancient rituals and ceremonies, reflect a fascinating blend of tradition and innovation. Making for especially unexpected and thought-provoking encounters are works by designers who have no connection with Judaism or Jewish tradition – such as Yuri Suzuki and Assa Ashuach, who created a Havdalah set, or Katharina Mischer and Thomas Traxler, who designed a kit for making matza that meets strict Halakhic requirements. The strikingly aesthetic, richly illustrated catalogue features a comprehensive survey by exhibition curator Weiser-Ferguson as well as short texts by the artists themselves – including Vered Kaminsky, Yaacov Kaufman, Maya Muchawsky Parnas, and Gali Cnaani – opening new and inspiring avenues for the design of ritual objects in the 21st century.