Miriam Stern

Having grown up in the Orthodox community, Miriam was struck by the fact that women in that community never get a chance to see the Torah, the most holy Jewish document, up close or touch it. Accordingly, when Miriam visited four of the oldest synagogues in Jerusalem’s Old City with her husband, they secretly measured the distances from the women’s section to the ark where the Torahs are kept. She then created an installation attaching strands of lace trimming of the distances to a wall. The lace also reference the partitions that divide men from women in an Orthodox synagogue. In addition a photograph of Miriam holding a torah at the measured distance was taken for each synagogue. A brass plaque naming the synagogue and the distance was displayed.