MEET THE ARTISTS

David Moss was born in Ohio in 1946. In 1983 he moved to Jerusalem where he presently resides. Moss began doing Hebrew calligraphy and illumination in 1968. Hundreds of privately commissioned illuminated marriage contracts, his exhibits, lectures and writing, have caused him to be credited with the contemporary revival of the artistic, handmade Ketubah. In 1992 Moss was selected to receive the Israel Museum's Jesselson Prize for his lifetime contribution to the field of contemporary Judaica.

In 1980, Moss was commissioned by Richard and Beatrice Levy to create an original handwritten, illuminated Haggadah on vellum for their personal collection. This piece which required three years of work, was selected to be the only Haggadah manuscript since 1717 to be included in the definitive exhibit of the Hebrew book at the New York Public Library in 1988. A fine, limited edition facsimile of the Haggadah was published in 1987. Copies have been purchased by private collectors, major libraries, and museums. In 1987 a copy was purchased by the White House and presented as the official gift of state from President Reagan to President Herzog of Israel.

Strongly sensing the vast Jewish potential in a relatively unexplored art form - the Hebrew Artist Book - close collaborations were begun with artists, paper makers, fine printers, and a publisher. In 1993 his collaboration with Mordechai Beck on the Maftir Yonah was published in a handmade, limited edition and exhibited in New York. It was sold out within a few months, exhibited in a New York museum, and written up in several periodicals. The second book, The Book of Lamentations, which includes engravings of Polish Wooden Synagogues by Leonid Gorban, was published in 1997. A Song of Songs is the most current publication.

Moss has also developed a new educational program incorporating imaginative group planning, dynamic inter-arts cooperation, text study and conveying of values through short term projects which combine study, ritual, performance and the hands-on creation of permanent works of art.

His works are currently found at: British Museum (collection), Duke University (collection), Harvard University (exhibited/collection), Hebrew Union College (collection), Getty Museum (collection), Israel Museum (exhibited), Jewish Theological Seminary (collection), Library of Congress (exhibited/collection), Magnes Museum (exhibited/collection), National Library of Canada (collection), New York Public Library (exhibited/collection) Princeton University (collection), Skirball Museum (exhibited/collection), Yale University (collection), and Yeshivah University Museum (exhibited/collection).

Noah Greenberg was born in California in 1955. He holds a degree in horticulture from the University of California. In 1979 Greenberg moved to Israel and since 1980 has lived and worked in the artist's quarter of Safed. He has been working in wood for twenty-five years. His woodworking experience has run the gamut from construction work to design and fine carving. He began his woodworking career in 1975 as a building contractor in California. In 1980, he opened his current studio where he specialized in the design and fabrication of unique pieces of synagogue furniture.

Beginning in about 1983, Greenberg's collaboration with David Moss heralded a change in the focus of Greenberg's work. The excitement of the Shtender project encouraged an evolution from carpentry to artistry. This project allowed him to synthesize his woodworking talents with his botanical knowledge to produce the naturalistically carved floral sculptures that characterize the Shtender.

The Tree of Life Shtender project has virtually been Greenberg's full time occupation since its inception in about 1984. In addition to catalyzing his development into a master carver, the Shtender project forced him to become competent at computer-aided design, project and production management, and international business.

After designing and making the original prototypes for the Shtender by hand, Greenberg spent a full year preparing the piece for production; finalizing and finessing the design with the help of his newly acquired computer design skills. Throughout the nine-year production process of the Shtender, he has personally supervised literally every step of the production of the Shtender in a very "hands-on" way, logging more than a million travel miles and travelling abroad more than eighty times.

In addition to the Shtender, Greenberg has received private commissions and has realized other design and production projects in the field of Judaica and religious art. Notable among them has been The Tzedakah Collection, a series of Tzedakah boxes, selected by the UJA as a tool for its annual fundraising campaign.

In 1991 Greenberg was awarded a grant from the Project Judaica Foundation for his work on the Tree of Life Shtender. In 1995, he was invited to lecture at the opening of the Centro Studi e Formazione per le Arti Applicate all'Industria at the Instituto Marchiondi, in Milan, Italy. He speaks and demonstrates his work regularly at a diverse spectrum of venues, including the Yeshiva University Museum, the Hebrew Union College, synagogues, Jewish Community Centers and schools throughout the world.
Noah accepts private commissions. He has just completed a unique case for a Sefardi Sefer Torah and is currently working on several other projects. One is a piece that addresses the mitzvah of Hachnasat Orchim – to help pamper your guests as did Avraham Avinu. He has also been commissioned to make an elaborate carved Megillah Case for a megillah created by a well know artist. Noah also recently realized a beautiful ensemble of seven mezuzah cases based on the Seven Species.