The Kalsman Institute has been involved with co-sponsoring two art installations with the HUC-JIR New York Museum. Both exhibits tied into Kalsman's intersection of Judaism and Health and used visual art to reflect the nature of life and healing.

Psalmsong
Carol Hamoy: PsalmSong
September 15, 2005-January 20, 2006

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Museum, Manhattan Carol Hamoy: PsalmSong, was a fine art installation at HUC-JIR Museum New York. The work was inspired by three elements: the ten Psalms deemed by Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav to promote healing, Kabbalah's mystical illumination of the connections between the divine and human worlds, and herbal healing traditions from diverse ethnic and cultural heritages. The diaphanous environment provided a sanctuary for reflection and meditation. PsalmSong encouraged visitors, students and staff to quietly search within themselves for a restful place for renewal and wellbeing - one in which spiritual, physical, and emotional healing and education took place. PsalmSong was presented in cooperation with the Kalsman Institute and the National Center for Jewish Healing.

The Art of Aging
September 2, 2003 – June 25, 2004

This fine arts exhibition celebrated the positive aspects of maturity through the lens of Jewish values. The work explored the ways in which aging is a process that begins with birth – as a lifelong journey affecting the dynamics of human relationships, creativity, memory, continuity, and growth. The Kalsman Institute was a co-sponsor of the installation and a seminar for professionals and lay leaders as well as a lecture inaugurating Rabbi William Cutter, Ph.D., as the . Paul M. and Trudy Steinberg Distinguished Professorship in Human Relations and Counseling.

The Art of Aging: Cultural Representations
Thursday, April 29, 2004, 3:00-6:00 PM

Healthcare and social service agency professionals, clergy, artists, and the general public were invited to explore creativity and the aging process. Panel speakers included:

  • Rabbi Richard Address, D. Min., Director of Department of Jewish Family Concerns, Union for Reform Judaism  
  • Nancy Berman, Director Emerita, HUC-JIR Skirball Museum, Los Angeles
  • Dr. William Cutter, Dr. Paul M. and Trudy Steinberg Professor of Human Relations and Counseling, HUC-JIR/LA
  • Bel Kaufman, Author of Up the Down Staircase; Grand-daughter of Sholom Aleichem
  • Rabbi Nancy Wiener, Clinical Director, Jack and Hilda Blaustein Center for Pastoral Counseling, HUC-JIR/NY

New Stories, New Poems, and the Ancient Art of Healing
The Inaugural Dr. Paul M. and Trudy Steinberg Distinguished Professorship in
Human Relations and Counseling Lecture
Rabbi William Cutter, Ph. D
Wednesday, April 28 at 7:30 PM

Click here to read a transcript of Dr. Cutter’s lecture: Old Stories and Old Poems: New Healing? (Note to David: we have this article and are looking for an electronic link).

More information on the Art of Aging installation.