“Illuminated Pages – Tanya” embodies the essence of the Tanya’s first page. The stenciled stainless steel is carved with this excerpt and placed before a Plexiglas pane. When the work is lit, the letters are like flames proclaiming what is written in this important Judaic text. Artist Rabbi Yitzchok Moully gives much insight into the work on his website:
The Tanya is the `Torah SheBal Peh` – the Oral Torah – of Chassidus. It is a pathway to Kabbalah, the hidden part of the Torah handed down from teacher to disciple through the generations. The Tanya reveals these secrets and makes them accessible to all.
Each letter of the Torah is holy and pure and written with tremendous intent. Mere ink and paper lie lifeless and cold when withheld from their higher purpose. Learning the Tanya reveals the hidden light. The very letters of the Tanya are the source of light in the darkness and confusion of this world.
This work, created with permission from the Kehot Publication Society, is meant to be the first of several illuminated pages. It will be included in the Kestenbaum and Company auction on Thursday March 8, 2018. For more information, visit: https://www.kestenbaum.net/hi_0221.php
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