From modest beginnings…

Torah Stitch by Stitch is a monumental collaborative textile art project launched in June 2013 by internationally renowned textile artist Temma Gentles. At the time she was the first artist-in-residence at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, and saw this as an activity that might attract a few local participants.

Thanks to Hadassah magazine the project soon “went viral” and rapidly attracted broad community participation, creativity and education that invites women and men of all faiths to “engage with words of Torah” in a contemplative, physical process.

Stitchers are encouraged to research their verses and many have translated their learning into scholarly creative expressions. Sewn together, the panels of the assembled tapestry reflect the personal, cultural, and spiritual ideals of its thousands of makers.

Entering our seventh year, about 95% of the 1464 text sections have been completed, plus hundreds of illuminations. In addition to about 1450 stitchers in 28 countries, volunteers in Toronto and elsewhere had committed huge amounts of time – about 150,000 hours so far – and expertise to assemble the individual panels, raise funds, and perform numerous crucial tasks in order to bring the first half of the project to exhibition at the Textile Museum of Canada in June 2019.

The Project

Stitchers register and contribute $18 to receive all the materials they need and an individually formatted template of their Hebrew text block. They work with rigorous precision on a blank canvas. Each panel requires 50-100 hours of exacting work. A personal coach is assigned to every stitcher, and the process is further supported by a comprehensive website and periodic newsletters.

Although embellishments beyond the text are entirely optional, many stitchers choose to illuminate their panels. Restricted to only 7 colours of embroidery floss, the scholarly interpretation of their verses, creativity, and sheer zest fill us with amazement. A number of accomplished artists have also contributed illumination designs that we format for counted cross-stitch, further adding to the beauty and meaning of this artistic legacy project.

See more of these wonderful artworks: June 2020 and previous-slide-shows-and-newsletters/

Exhibition

The Textile Museum of Canada (TMC) in Toronto has embraced the project and will exhibit this “Tapestry of Spirit” from June 12-November 17,  2019.  Partly because of TMC space constraints the exhibit will include approximately 50% of the project – Genesis, Exodus, and half of Deuteronomy – or 150 feet of tapestry. To place the Torah in dialogue with the other Abrahamic faiths, the exhibit will also feature cross-stitched selections from the Gospels in Greek and the Qur’an in Arabic that reflect on the theme of Creation.

We intend to assemble all five books of Torah and to travel the installation to museums and cultural centres, first in North America, and then internationally, reaching many audiences who have no idea that the words and ideas of this magnificent text underpin, not just three religions, but the literature and culture of the western world. The size of the completed scroll – 7’ x 300’ – will make it one of the largest tapestries in the world.

A free-standing installation design has been finalized, in the spirit of the design envisioned below by distinguished Canadian set designer Phillip Silver. It invites viewers to literally walk contemplatively among the words and images. This flexible design can transition from a free-standing scroll in large open spaces, to venues such as the Textile Museum where some of the Tapestry will be wall-hung.

A Community of Stitchers

Most people join TSBS because they want to be involved in a meaningful, communal project.  The completed tapestry will represent over 150,000 hours of collaborative work!

Many of our stitchers reflect on what they learned about the text, as well as powerful feelings and even life-changing events connected with their stitching experience.  For example,

“It reconnected me to Jewish culture every day and made the Torah into something new for me: a friend. A piece of history and religion I could hold in my hand, whose texture and colors were familiar and comforting to me.” — E. R. W. New Jersey USA

“This project is … a tremendous, fantastic and courageous undertaking on the part of those who initiated it and those who are devoting so much time, energy and expertise to … bring it to a marvellous conclusion on many levels. It is a wonderful work of faith, trust and fellowship bringing so many disparate people together…for a holy and godly cause.” — Mother Superior, London U.K.

“It was great pleasure for me to be part of this wonderful event. I tried to do work with the conscious of worshiping. When I was handling the work I was always careful to have ablution. Because I thought this was the words of God, I tried to show the same respect to the work as I show to Qur’an.” — G. A. a Muslim stitcher in Toronto, Canada

“When Temma Gentles put out a request for participant, …she made the Torah accessible to people all over the world, and in many cases allowed them to engage with Torah for the very first time.” — published in WRJ Voices: Noach

“The project is an ode to women and the fiber arts as it applies to their love of the Torah.” — S. B. Jerusalem, Israel

Documentary Film

“Stitchers: Tapestry of Spirit”, a 15-minute documentary about the project, financed by a grant from Bravo, and produced by the award winning 90th Parallel Productions, was completed in July 2017. It has won awards at a number of film festivals, and will be shown at project exhibits.  more…

Catalogue & Interactive Archive

A full-colour 198-page catalogue has been the “Tapestry of Spirit” exhibit. It features each of the 132 columns of text and illuminations shown at the Textile Museum of Canada.  All of the stitchers are recognized, and their dedications recorded, and much of the textual narrative and creative features will be explained. This catalogue will serve as a lasting legacy to our participants, volunteers and supporters; and it is also a basis for a future volume encompassing the entire project.

From the beginning, each stitched panel has been scanned at high resolution, and a database established to record stitchers’ information, and their many moving anecdotes and reflections. When complete, such content will be available as digital accompaniment to exhibitions.

Organizational Structure
TSBS board
L>R: Paul Kay (secretary), Lili Shain (chair), Anita Goren (treasurer), Amy Bayersdorfer (US rep), Temma Gentles (founder & creative director), Joel Troster

Torah Stitch By Stitch is a not-for-profit corporation registered in Ontario.  We are not a registered charity. Lili Shain is the board chair; Temma Gentles is the founder and creative director.  We are also fortunate that a number of subject matter experts offer their knowledge and resources.