Obj. ID: 43613
Sacred and Ritual Objects  Archie Granot, Roi Book Bar Mitzvah Book, Israel

Archie Granot created this book for his son Roi on the occasion of his bar mitzvah in October 1989. 

The first page is a colored and multilayered papercut, encapsulated by two texts in Hebrew, with the name Roi at its center. The central element of the front page papercut is repeated on the front cover with inlaid in cut leathers.

All remaining pages in the book follow the design of the first page and contain the haftarah, (the supplementary portion from the prophets), chanted by the bar mitzvah boy in the synagogue. This text has been enhanced by a decorative border incorporating excerpts from a piyyut, a lyrical composition, for the Shabbat eve, that was composed during the second half of the 16th century by the Italian philosopher and kabbalist, Rabbi Mordechai ben Judah Dato.

The final page of the book also contains a colophon, signed by the artist, that reads:

I hereby give this haftarah book to my son, Roi, in the holy city of Jerusalem as he accepts responsibility for observing the sacred commandments. I completed the book on the eve of Rosh Hashana, 5750.