C
an art enrich spiritual exploration?
Jean Eglinton,
C’10,
and
Miriam Ter-
linchamp
,
C’10,
fifth-year rabbinical
students, have answered that question with
a resounding ‘yes!’ Eglinton explains, “Art is
important as an interpretive tool for Jewish
text, history, and experience for several rea-
sons. It can be more engaging than literary
production for some people who are not
drawn to text alone, or even as a change of
pace for those who are. It uses different
parts of our brains and especially appeals to
emotional intelligence.”
Armed with a B.A. in Art from Antioch
College, Eglinton worked as a freelance il-
lustrator prior to attending HUC-JIR. She
continues to work as an artist in a variety of
mediums while completing her rabbinical
studies in Cincinnati. She specializes in pa-
percuts, where she
renders text in He-
brew and English
and layers the text
with interpretive im-
agery. Her skill as
a photographer cap-
tured HUC-JIR
students’ experiences
on the American
Jewish World Serv-
ice mission to
Mexico. (See page
25)
Her capstone
project for Ordination is a visual commen-
tary on
Yotzer Or
,
one of her favorite prayers,
which celebrates the daily renewal of cre-
ation. “Visual art can be a midrashic sort of
interpretation of a text,” she notes.
MEET HUC-J IR’S STUDENTS
2009
ISSUE 72 | 29
Working for the past ten years as a He-
brew teacher, Eglinton has used her art to
help her students, both children and adults,
“
loosen up, enjoy themselves, and think
about what we’re learning in a different
way. I’m sure that this approach will con-
tinue to be a vital part of my rabbinical
career.”
Miriam Terlinchamp has found exten-
sive ways to weave art into her rabbinical
studies at the Los Angeles campus.Terlinchamp
has continued taking art classes throughout
her time at HUC-JIR in an effort to find cre-
ative ways to complement and expand upon
her rabbinical studies. “Art is a mode of
prayer for us, it’s a way of connecting to the
divine,” she explains. “So, visual art is impor-
tant in a worship space. We’ve been so creative
with synagogue music, which heightens
prayer to a whole
new level. We ought
to be able to do the
same with visual
art.”
Terlinchamp
majored in Studio
Art and Religious
Studies as an under-
graduate at Scripps
College and worked
as a graphic designer
before applying to
rabbinical school
and has clearly
made sure not to leave that part of her life
behind. Now in the process of incorporating
art into her senior thesis, she is working
closely with Ruth Weisberg, Dean of the
USC Roski School of Fine Arts.
She has also brought her interest in art
to her internships, from her student pulpit
at Bet Chaverim in Des Moines, WA, and
the Jewish Home for the Aged in Los Ange-
les to her chaplaincy for violent felons at the
Los Angeles County Jail, where she met
weekly to counsel prisoners, Jewish and non-
Jewish, and performed monthly
Shabbat
services. Terlinchamp has also been working
with the Jewish Artists’ Initiative, where she
is a rabbinical mediator between guest rabbis
and the group of professional artists who join
together for
beit midrash
study. Since begin-
ning her work there, Terlinchamp has
brought this program to HUC-JIR, so that
students can find ways to use art to explore
Judaism.
According to Terlinchamp, “Visual
artists are the ‘people of the book’ who are
really good with words. Visual art pushes us
to imagine those words in a very unique way
that benefits artists and non-artists alike. Vi-
sual art can be a channel into our studies and
also an avenue towards Jewish meaning and
prayer. If we explore our own stories, we can
learn more about our relationships with our
traditions.”
The Artist
as Rabbinical Student
Samantha Massell
Miriam Terlinchamp, C’10, and her supervi-
sor, Rabbi Yosi Carron at the Los Angeles
County Jail.
“
M’lo Chol Ha’aretz” by Jean Elington.
