Designing a Sacred Centerpiece

Three years of design committee meetings were just the beginning of the process of constructing an Ark for the Reconstructionist Synagogue of the North Shore (RSNS), the temple my family has been part of for several decades. When I agreed to this commission, I knew that the process would be equally if not more important to its success than the final form. Committee members and clergy had to feel ownership of the design and their feelings needed to be heard and incorporated into the final piece. Still, the visual power of the final piece would be crucial too – an Ark is a sacred enclosure at the heart of any Jewish temple. It holds the Torah or the holy scriptures that are read from at each service, and is always designed to be the focal point of the sanctuary space. 

Where does one start when designing a spiritual centerpiece in collaboration with and for a congregation? A congregation, by definition is a community: "a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals."  In this case, it was useful to reflect on the collective values that this particular congregation had articulated for itself, as conveniently defined in the RSNS handbook:

Where:

* Community is core

* Jewish living is creative, inclusive, joyful, intergenerational

* Children are nurtured and treasured

* Here we reach out beyond our congregation to help improve the world

* Member2member is the essence of mutual support

* Green is more than a color

* Jewish tradition and culture inform the present

* Learning is a lifelong endeavor

* Values translate into action

In my many years of experience building teams, and my observations of what does and doesn’t work, I really believe that community can emerge as a joint effort.  Ideals can be set at the top or at the outset, but they only become true markers of the group when they come from within each member and are put into practice collectively. This is one of my core concepts, as an entrepreneur, project leader and proud community member. RSNS’s values, set out in writing but also felt over the years, are why my family chose this congregation. So, finding ways to incorporate these qualities into the process and into the final results were very important to me as an artist and personally. I knew that if we had this as our goal, the design elements would fall into place in a very organic fashion.

In practical terms, this meant I had to build a vocabulary of shapes, materials and movements that we could discuss and see as embodying these values. And together we had to consider the functional needs of the vessel, so they could be fully addressed by what would also be an abstract work of art.  It is through the nuances of aesthetic choices that I knew we could address the intangibles – the sense of “community as core,” of nurturing joyful creative togetherness, of reverence for learning from the past and brightening the future, and of radiating love for those seated next to you and those you’ve never met. How we got to the final design is a long a tale—to long for this blog!-- but as I describe the ultimate experience, I think you’ll see we arrived at something that is truly unique and expressive of our shared aspirations.  

Now, when you enter the main sanctuary at RSNS, the Ark immediately inspires attention and awe.  The Ark is a floating orb, centered behind the Rabbi’s podium, bathed in light both from outside and from within its wrought steel frame. Walking in the room, you are engulfed in the rays that emanate out from this core and through panels of translucent, tinted glass.  These beams rake the textured white stone backdrop, creating a timeless drama, illuminating everyone present, linking earth, life, spirit, and community. 

Protecting the sacred text at the heart of all this drama are longitudinal steel ribs that define sections of modular, glowing glass. The effect of this layered play with transparency, opacity and luminosity is to spark curiosity. The glimmer of things hinted at but not-quite-seen beckons the viewer to come closer and discover the mystery and knowledge inside. The vague outlines and chromatic colors of the scrolls can barely be made out through this luminescent veil. Above the Ark floats a parabolic blue eternal light. No form or vessel contains it; it merely floats as an ethereal halo above this sacred chamber.

As you get closer, the dark lines of forged steel ribs reveal themself to have been crafted to evoke human gestures. Sculpted details simply extend from and express the functional elements of the piece. Pulls for opening the Ark are precisely formed to fit the participants’ thumbs and fingers, eager to be touched. “Tails” extending down from these pulls further invite small children or wheelchair users to open this accessible structure—what is contained here is for everyone!

When closed, the Ark looks like a sealed glass egg with no visible doors.  But it easily unfurls, telescoping open from the center. Its eight concentric sections fold into themselves like an accordion hand-fan, ultimately creating a strong dark border that dramatically frames the colorful ceremonial covers that adorn the scrolls within. The Torah scrolls appear to radiate, set against a bright white background and supported by a glass shelf. The central scroll seems to float out in front, easily embraced and lifted out by the Torah reader who then carries it to the podium with the tenderness of a parent with a precious child. The mystery of the Ark’s contents is now clear, but the secret, sacred wisdom can only be accessed by unrolling each text, sharing the words, then reflecting and acting on them. Just as there is a gentleness in the Torah’s removal, there is a shared security in knowing it will return and once again be protected within the Ark’s glowing glass. From beginning to end, this Ark is not just a vessel; it is an experience and embodiment of what we hold dear.  

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