{"id":3080,"date":"2020-08-21T11:56:41","date_gmt":"2020-08-21T18:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/?p=3080"},"modified":"2022-04-06T16:50:36","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T23:50:36","slug":"escutcheon-for-a-sanctuary-of-the-jewish-imagination-in-the-land-beyond-the-river-sambatyon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2020\/08\/escutcheon-for-a-sanctuary-of-the-jewish-imagination-in-the-land-beyond-the-river-sambatyon","title":{"rendered":"Escutcheon for a Sanctuary of the Jewish Imagination in the Land Beyond the River Sambatyon"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

A personal escutcheon derived from “Scheibler’sches Wappenbuch, \u00e4lterer Teil<\/a>” in Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Cod.icon. 312 (ca. 1450-1480) (Aharon Varady 2020, CC BY-SA)<\/p><\/div>\n

Since founding the Open Siddur Project<\/a> and its spin-off, Dimus Parrhesia Press<\/a>, I’ve been keen to explore symbolism for expressing Jewish identity beyond the star\/shield of David. For the Open Siddur Project, I adopted and adapted the “Farbkreis<\/a>” (color wheel) of the Bauhaus artist, Johannes Itten<\/a>, in order to suggestively reference both the diversity of Jewish liturgy, prayer literature, and ritual praxes, but also the angel Sandalfon<\/a>, who constantly weaves the prayers offered by the world into a wreathe crown for the daily coronation of the blessed Holy One. <\/p>\n

For Dimus Parrhesia Press, I chose to appropriate the yellow Judenhut<\/a> imposed upon court Jews under medieval Christendom. In that context, the Judenhut became a signifier of the imagined power of a vast armed population of “Red Jews<\/a>” who lived peaceably outside the bounds of Christendom in distant lands to the East beyond the river Sambatyon<\/a>. While Daniel Boyarin identifies the Talmud as the mental territory of Jewish diaspora, I identify the landscape of the Jewish imagination with this land beyond the river Sambatyon, a sanctuary defined by a hermetic inaccessibility unreachable with any compass. This is the landscape and lore I like to explore through tabletop fantasy adventure roleplaying in Midbar Quest<\/a>, where history, apocryphal literature, ethnographic details from the Talmud, midrash aggadah, and storytelling tropes from the Hellenistic, Arabic, and European worlds are all mixed together. So the Judenhut I think works well as a signifier for this imaginary land. <\/p>\n

Today being the New Year for Animals<\/a>, I thought to fulfill a wish I’ve long held for making an escutcheon to further embellish this very romantic project. The image source for this bit of nerdery is “Scheibler’sches Wappenbuch, \u00e4lterer Teil<\/a>” in Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Cod.icon. 312<\/a> (ca. 1450-1480). A little cleanup in photoshop, and my 11-year-old self is happy to claim this escutcheon on this Rosh Hashanah LaBehemah – \u05e8\u05d0\u05e9 \u05d4\u05e9\u05e0\u05d4 \u05dc\u05d1\u05d4\u05de\u05d4 in the name of Queen Salom\u00e9 Alexandra<\/a>, God save the Queen!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An escutcheon (shield herald) for the landscape and lore of my imagination. . . . → Continue reading: Escutcheon for a Sanctuary of the Jewish Imagination in the Land Beyond the River Sambatyon<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3081,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,25,2],"tags":[60,310,311,312],"class_list":["post-3080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mythology","category-kittehs","category-yiddishkeit","tag-romanticism","tag-escutcheons","tag-derivative-art","tag-i-am-a-nerd","odd"],"yoast_head":"\nEscutcheon for a Sanctuary of the Jewish Imagination in the Land Beyond the River Sambatyon • Aharon's Omphalos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2020\/08\/escutcheon-for-a-sanctuary-of-the-jewish-imagination-in-the-land-beyond-the-river-sambatyon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Escutcheon for a Sanctuary of the Jewish Imagination in the Land Beyond the River Sambatyon • Aharon's Omphalos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An escutcheon (shield herald) for the landscape and lore of my imagination. . . . → Continue reading: Escutcheon for a Sanctuary of the Jewish Imagination in the Land Beyond the River Sambatyon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2020\/08\/escutcheon-for-a-sanctuary-of-the-jewish-imagination-in-the-land-beyond-the-river-sambatyon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Aharon's Omphalos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/aharonium\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/aharonium\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-08-21T18:56:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-04-06T23:50:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/escutcheon-L-Scheibler197ps-Aharon-Varady-2020-CC-BY-SA.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"571\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Aharon N. 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I got involved in a relationship with a lovely young woman and I began to find a foothold in the world of Jewish social entrepreneurship. Happenstance the first: a creative project I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Judaica"","block_context":{"text":"Judaica","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/yiddishkeit"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1732,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2002\/08\/update-2002-08-08","url_meta":{"origin":3080,"position":1},"title":"update 2002-08-08","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"August 8, 2002","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm working on a proposal for a project that I'm calling the \"Open Siddur\". The goal of the project is to bring back the creative power of t'fillah to the individual while encouraging the feeling of solidarity with and awareness of the larger Jewish community and their diversity. The draft\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Judaica"","block_context":{"text":"Judaica","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/yiddishkeit"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2824,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2017\/12\/open-source-judaism-charting-course-american-future-essay-kenissa-community-meaning-network","url_meta":{"origin":3080,"position":2},"title":"Open-source Judaism and Charting the Course of the American Future, an essay for Kenissa: Community of Meaning Network","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"December 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Rabbi Schwartz asked prospective participants in his \"Kenissa: Community of Meaning Network\" to respond to his chapter, and in particular how our initiatives are aligned with one (or more) of the four propositions he offers to heading off the crises facing the American Jewish community, and in what ways they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Judaica"","block_context":{"text":"Judaica","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/yiddishkeit"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/DPVU4QRX0AAm9ex.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/DPVU4QRX0AAm9ex.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/DPVU4QRX0AAm9ex.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/DPVU4QRX0AAm9ex.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/DPVU4QRX0AAm9ex.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/DPVU4QRX0AAm9ex.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":756,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2009\/09\/post-presentense","url_meta":{"origin":3080,"position":3},"title":"Post-PresenTense","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"September 23, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Fellow Omphalos gazers might wonder what I've been doing. And not just in the sense of, \"Hey I'm wonder what Aharon's been up to lately.\" Well, after two months of productive work on the Open Siddur Project as a fellow with the PresenTense Institute in Jerusalem this summer, I spent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Judaica"","block_context":{"text":"Judaica","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/yiddishkeit"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/IgnitedbyPT.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/IgnitedbyPT.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/IgnitedbyPT.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/IgnitedbyPT.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/IgnitedbyPT.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/IgnitedbyPT.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1037,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2012\/01\/testing-web-browsers-as-platforms-for-hebrew-text-publishing","url_meta":{"origin":3080,"position":4},"title":"Testing Web browsers as Platforms for Hebrew Text Publishing","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"January 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Given that one important aspiration of the Open Siddur Project is the development of a web application for anyone to edit, maintain, and share the content of a personal prayerbook that they can craft online, I'm very concerned at how well web browsers today display the Hebrew language with all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hacking"","block_context":{"text":"Hacking","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/craft\/hacking"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/banner.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/banner.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/banner.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/banner.png?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1397,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2013\/01\/on-the-sia%e1%b8%a5-of-the-orthography-of-tu-bishvat-romanizations-and-jewish-environmental-education","url_meta":{"origin":3080,"position":5},"title":"“Tu biShvat” vs. “Tu b’Shvat”: Orthography and Presumptions of Authority in Jewish Environmental Education","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"January 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Nigel Savage made public this week his reply to Ben Dreyfus[ref]For more on this, see here, here, and here[\/ref] and others concerning \u1e24azon's orthography of \u05d8\u05f4\u05d5\u05bc \u05d1\u05b4\u05bc\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05d1\u05b7\u05d8 as Tu B'Shvat rather than Tu biShvat. Given the seriousness of the environmental and food justice issues that Tu biShvat gives voice to,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Judaica"","block_context":{"text":"Judaica","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/yiddishkeit"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3080"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3257,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3080\/revisions\/3257"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}