soulful kittel
When God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, God clothed them in “garments of skin” to replace the fig-leaves that they had used to cover their nakedness. A midrash in Genesis Rabbah 20:12 changes the letter ayin in the word “or” to an alef. with an ayin the word “or” means skin. with an alef it means “light.” And so skin is transformed to the evocative “garments of light.”
The Talmud (Sanhedrin 38a) describes the body after death crumbling away like clay leaving the soul standing like a garment. The Zohar (Genesis 224a) expands on this when it interprets the phrase, “Avraham came into his days,” that after death all Avraham’s days came together to form a garment. The Zohar describes the days of our life as waiting to see what we will make of their potential. If we make the most of that day, it becomes ours and will become part of our after-life clothing. but if we don’t, the Zohar warns “Woe to one that has diminished their given days, since when they come to be clad in their days, the ones that they wasted by their sins will be missing, and their garment will be full of holes. Even worse if there are many ruined days and the person has nothing at all to wear in the next world…” But all is not lost. the is a second chance, to realise the loss and making amends. The text continues to describe that with repentance God will clothe the person, quoting the example of Adam and Eve realising their nakedness and then being clothed by God.
I have used these concepts in the past. In my Garment of Light: Bespoke Tailoring by Heaven and Earth I concentrated on the part of the Zohar that described the process of crafting the soul as human life-long activity. The garment is a self-constructed identity marker, using God-given raw material but tailored specifically by and for our individual lives.
For this kittel, I wanted to focus on the metaphorical use of light. Light has two functions. It can illuminate the way, and so by describing the soul as a garment of light, the soul is something that can guide Adam and Eve in the darkness of the exile world outside of Eden. But light also acts as a beacon, drawing attention to whatever is being illuminated.
The Soulful Kittel is made from overlapping squares of white fabric, constructed to tightly fit the body, like skin. The squares are reminiscent of the different days in a block desk calendar, each day is a separate, tear-away piece of paper. I have used different types of white fabric of varying textures and weights to reflect the varying ups and downs of life, good days and bad. And there are holes in the garment, because we all have days when nothing quite comes together. The kittel is lit from the inside by two cycling headlights. Headlights not only illuminate the path for the cyclist, but more importantly they alert others to their vulnerable presence.
On Channukah we light candles in prominent places outside our homes to publicise the miracle, drawing attention to our story and our lives. By describing the soul as a garment of light, our soul is that which alerts others to our living being.
The Talmud (Sanhedrin 38a) describes the body after death crumbling away like clay leaving the soul standing like a garment. The Zohar (Genesis 224a) expands on this when it interprets the phrase, “Avraham came into his days,” that after death all Avraham’s days came together to form a garment. The Zohar describes the days of our life as waiting to see what we will make of their potential. If we make the most of that day, it becomes ours and will become part of our after-life clothing. but if we don’t, the Zohar warns “Woe to one that has diminished their given days, since when they come to be clad in their days, the ones that they wasted by their sins will be missing, and their garment will be full of holes. Even worse if there are many ruined days and the person has nothing at all to wear in the next world…” But all is not lost. the is a second chance, to realise the loss and making amends. The text continues to describe that with repentance God will clothe the person, quoting the example of Adam and Eve realising their nakedness and then being clothed by God.
I have used these concepts in the past. In my Garment of Light: Bespoke Tailoring by Heaven and Earth I concentrated on the part of the Zohar that described the process of crafting the soul as human life-long activity. The garment is a self-constructed identity marker, using God-given raw material but tailored specifically by and for our individual lives.
For this kittel, I wanted to focus on the metaphorical use of light. Light has two functions. It can illuminate the way, and so by describing the soul as a garment of light, the soul is something that can guide Adam and Eve in the darkness of the exile world outside of Eden. But light also acts as a beacon, drawing attention to whatever is being illuminated.
The Soulful Kittel is made from overlapping squares of white fabric, constructed to tightly fit the body, like skin. The squares are reminiscent of the different days in a block desk calendar, each day is a separate, tear-away piece of paper. I have used different types of white fabric of varying textures and weights to reflect the varying ups and downs of life, good days and bad. And there are holes in the garment, because we all have days when nothing quite comes together. The kittel is lit from the inside by two cycling headlights. Headlights not only illuminate the path for the cyclist, but more importantly they alert others to their vulnerable presence.
On Channukah we light candles in prominent places outside our homes to publicise the miracle, drawing attention to our story and our lives. By describing the soul as a garment of light, our soul is that which alerts others to our living being.