Description

The sacred cycle of ceremonies, festivals, and traditions that give shape and meaning to Jewish life find loving expression in the vibrant and colorful folk-art paintings of Malcah Zeldis. A self-taught artist, Zeldis is a first-generation American whose family emigrated from Russia. She draws on personal history to create richly detailed paintings illustrating the union of the spiritual and domestic that characterizes Judaism. Her work is in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Jewish Museum, and the American Folk Art Museum, among others. Each of the first twelve months of this sixteen-month calendar features a colorful reproduction, accompanied by notes on the traditions portrayed. The last four months are grouped on one page, also accompanied by a painting and commentary. The calendar includes Jewish holidays, days of the Jewish year, weekly Torah readings, and a list of candle-lighting times for selected cities.