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For the cover photo of The Jewish Photographer, I wanted an image that expressed my overcoming of the doubts and uncertainty of embarking on this journey, and one that vibrated with optimism, not only for this effort but also for the lives of those exposed to this book. A photograph that spoke of the verse… Read more

TJP Without Photography We Would Be Bodies without Souls Oy Veh! The emphasis in The Jewish Photographer is on the ability to catch a moment. This photograph is from the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The split-second opening of the camera lens caught what could be a single frame of a video, or we could… Read more

This gallery has 49 images representing a series of weeks, six of seven images indicate the stress, and mundane days of the week, with the seventh image holding forth the promise of the Sabbath. The images of the week are a collection of my own photos, editorial images from the 1970s media, and advertisements promising… Read more

A collection of photographs of Jewish content, ritual items, synagogues around the world, starting with the Vilna Shul in old Boston. Read more

A Moment in Time, but not a Static Image For The Jewish Photographer an ideal expressed by Ya’akov Agam, namely, Jewish Art including photographs that are dynamic and not static, is  a challenge and an opportunity.  Agam contrasts dynamic with static being a proponent of the kinetic and visual. His artistic realm has been in… Read more

A proof of concept for The Jewish Photographer is an image from a visit to a horse ranch in Argentina which we visited on the way to Antarctica. The horseback ridder is participating in a competition among the ranch hands using a pencil like object to be placed, if successful, in a circle hanging from… Read more

A key concept of The Jewish Photographer comes from Rabbinic teachings about multiple meanings derivable from a scriptural verse. This teaching within these pages is applied to photographs. I call it “SplitRock Thinking”: The scriptural source was Jeremiah that mentions a hammer splitting the rock, and the Midrash or interpretation becomes pre-approval for expounding multiple… Read more

Currently, our cellphones effectively operate as “brain extenders,” hooking us into vast networks that aid our memory and enhance our knowledge. Soon, though, the computing functions of a cellphone will likely become an internal brain “add-on”: Schiff, Danny. Judaism in a Digital Age: An Ancient Tradition Confronts a Transformative Era (p. 193). Springer International Publishing.… Read more

“the Mashal and the Nimshal”. The Mashal is what is initially presented, and the Nimshal is the lesson or learning intended by the presenter.   An Example in form of an advertisement Mashal Nimshal The Mashal image of the Ten Commandments below is an old advertisement for Microsoft Word 3, a software version from the early… Read more

The Jewish Photographer is a metaphor for living a Jewish life in the 21st century. The preponderance of smartphones has given each of us tools to capture images. Whether through “selfies”, images to remember, or artistic photos, we are photographers of the world around us and of what is important in our lives. The Jewish… Read more