Observant Jewish men, from the age of 13 onward will pray every morning. In doing so, they put on what are called Tefillin (don't look it up - the Dictionary defines them as Phyllacteries - which I'm sure is very helpful ) and a a Tallit (Prayer shawl) on on all four corners of which are wound Tzitzit - or special fringes - one cord ow which is a specific blue color thread. The Tefillin are made of leather. There is one with a little box that goes around the head - postitoning the box at the center of the foehead with two leather cords hanging down in front. Another one is looped around the left arm and then the long leather cord is wound around that arm seven times, finishing in a winding that spells out the Hebrew word "Shaddai" which is one of the names of God. You can see the box on the arm in this photo. Inside the boxes are specially written parchments that contain very specific prayers. I could write pages and pages on all the inherent symbolism but there isn't room for that here. I intended to take a portrait photo of an old Rabbi I know but logistically it didn't work out so I had to do this shot instead.

Edited by Strad on May 13, 2008 at 10:43 PM GMT

Great lesson and an outstanding photo, Endre. The lines and monochromatic colors are very effective, and the symbolism is fascinating. Best of luck.--Frank

Nice shot Endre, First time I seen someone do that, learn something new every day.

Norm

Wow, what a fascinating shot. Wonderfully captured! Thanks for the info, too, most interesting. Shalom!

Hi Endre,

Wonderful shot with your usual exquisite lighting. Thanks for explaining at least a bit of the symbolism. A very interesting explanation, but the picture makes it all come alive. Thanks so much for sharing this. Good luck this week.

Steve S.

Wonderful shot Endre! Wish I knew more about the traditions and symbolism, yet I'm glad you fill my gaps of knowledge with entries like this one.

Hello Endre,
I find this very interesting, especially since I just finished reading the Source, by Michener. Thanks for the brief lesson. Your lighting is super, the detail wonderful.
-Nick

wonderful lighting, and just love the contrasting lines and colors. Feel a little mixed about the composition---it really focuses on the prayer and gear, but I feel disconnected from the person depicted.

I echo what everyone said. The lighting, the composition, the unusual headless portrait, the lot. Simply a great shot. Also, as a member of the Jewish religion, this picture has added symbolism for me. I remember when I was 13, oh so long ago……

Just one thing bothers me, the cropping of the book. Unlike the head (which is completely missing and thus it's not disturbing) the slight crop of the edge of the corner of the book leaves a bit of an uncomfortable feel of something which is incomplete. I think a step back (prime) or a slightly wider angle (zoom) would be more appropriate here.

JMHO of course.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Thank you, Frank! So glad you like it.

All best wishes,

Endre


FJR1 wrote:
Great lesson and an outstanding photo, Endre. The lines and monochromatic colors are very effective, and the symbolism is fascinating. Best of luck.--Frank

Thanks for the lesson.. I like your composition a lot, you boldly left the head outside the frame (works for me)

Great shot.. great lighting.
Love the subject, but would love to have a face to go with it. But that is just me... I love people shots, and the face communicates so much. But this is great, too!
~ Carrol

Wonderful shot, and the lesson brought it to life. The composition keeps us focused on the objects and their symbolism.

PS - One question:
How does the leather binding spell out the word "Shaddai" ?

What a beautiful shot! The blue on the book is a very nice accent. Good luck this week!

Tom

Thanks, Norm. I'm happy you find it interesting! I always try to make my shots informative, too.

All the best,

Endre

Hightraxx wrote:
Nice shot Endre, First time I seen someone do that, learn something new every day.

Norm

You are always too kind in your praise of my shots, Bev, my dear friend! Thanks so much! Glad you like it!

Shalom back at ya'.

Endre

Beverly Guhl wrote:
Wow, what a fascinating shot. Wonderfully captured! Thanks for the info, too, most interesting. Shalom!

Thanks, Steve! So glad you like it! If you are interested in learning more, there are good Wikipedia articles about all the things I mentioned.

All best wishes,

Endre


Steve Spencer wrote:
Hi Endre,

Wonderful shot with your usual exquisite lighting. Thanks for explaining at least a bit of the symbolism. A very interesting explanation, but the picture makes it all come alive. Thanks so much for sharing this. Good luck this week.

Steve S.

Thanks, Jim, my friend! I'm always happy when you like my shots. I wish I had time to write a big dissertation about all that but, sadly, I hardly have time to even write my responses to everyone's kind comments!

Fond regards,

Endre


1_of_9 wrote:
Wonderful shot Endre! Wish I knew more about the traditions and symbolism, yet I'm glad you fill my gaps of knowledge with entries like this one.

Thanks so much, Nick, my friend! As always, I'm delighted that you like my photos!

Fond regards,

Ende


nlamendo wrote:
Hello Endre,
I find this very interesting, especially since I just finished reading the Source, by Michener. Thanks for the brief lesson. Your lighting is super, the detail wonderful.
-Nick

Thanks so much for your kind comment. I'm glad you like it. I think if I had simply shot a whole person, the emphasis would have been on the portrait rather than on the ritual elements. At least, that was my thinking. As I wrote on top, I had intended to shoot an old Rabbi with a long greay beard for this, but we couldn't arrange our schedules to coincide.

All the best,

Endre


laokai wrote:
wonderful lighting, and just love the contrasting lines and colors. Feel a little mixed about the composition---it really focuses on the prayer and gear, but I feel disconnected from the person depicted.

Thank you so much, Yakim! I appreciate your kind comments and the great suggestion. Of couse, I immediately went back and re-cropped it. It was an easy fix and I am surprised i didn'd do it right the first time. Sometimes we get caught up in the photo of the moment and forget to take a look at it with fresh eyes.

I'm glad you find the shot meaningful in other ways, as well. Where in Israel do you live? I've never been to visit but will someday. Soon, I hope.

All best wishes,

Endre


Yakim Peled wrote:
I echo what everyone said. The lighting, the composition, the unusual headless portrait, the lot. Simply a great shot. Also, as a member of the Jewish religion, this picture has added symbolism for me. I remember when I was 13, oh so long ago……

Just one thing bothers me, the cropping of the book. Unlike the head (which is completely missing and thus it's not disturbing) the slight crop of the edge of the corner of the book leaves a bit of an uncomfortable feel of something which is incomplete. I think a step back (prime) or a slightly wider angle (zoom) would be more appropriate here.

JMHO of course.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Thanks, Jouko! I always appreciate your kind comments. There was some controversy at my house over the setup without the head but I am convinced it is necessary to focus the attention on the ritual and not on the person.

All the best,

Endre


ruuskan wrote:
Thanks for the lesson.. I like your composition a lot, you boldly left the head outside the frame (works for me)

Thanks, Carrol. I am glad you like it! I would have had a face if I could have gotten my Rabbi friend to come over for the shot but the deadline was looming and I didn't want to miss it. As it happens, I might have had another day since it hasn't closed yet.

As to spelling the Hebrew word "Shaddai"... In Hebrew it is made of three letters Shin, Dalet, and Yud. Shin looks sort of like a W or three fingers held up. You can see another Shin just behind the Tefillin box on the upper arm as well as a little bit of the Shin on the hand. Dalet looks sort of like a backwards small r. That is done by winding the strap around the middle finger twice and then a third time around the middle and ring finger. (Hard to describe without a photo). Finally, the Yud is the smallest letter that looks like an apostrophe. ( ' ). It is also done by winding once around the tip of the middle finger leaving a space between it and the start of the winding for the Dalet. Does that help?

All the best,

Endre


wrote:
Great shot.. great lighting.
Love the subject, but would love to have a face to go with it. But that is just me... I love people shots, and the face communicates so much. But this is great, too!
~ Carrol

Thanks so much, Tamara. So glad you like it. I'm happy that you got what i was trying to accomplish.

All the best,

Endre


Tamara Lambert wrote:
Wonderful shot, and the lesson brought it to life. The composition keeps us focused on the objects and their symbolism.