Title: Choir Loft Grill

Medium: Water Color on Paper

Size: 18" x 27" (nominal)

Framed

Signed: Drew Kopf - lower left under third flower from bottom and dated 2009 under the second flower from the bottom. Also signed in Hebrew "Dov Bear" lower right under third flower from bottom and dated 5770 under the second flower from the bottom.

IInscribed: Choir Loft Grill - Upper left corner under a blue flower.

Original: Artist's collection.

Giclee copy: In the collection of The Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, NY. A gift of the artist.

Text of the artist's letter accompanying his gift:

December 8, 2009

Meredith Deckler
Congregation President
The Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills
71-25 Main Street
Flushing, NY 11367    
USA

Dear Ms. Deckler:

This may be the latest and the longest thank you note ever received at The Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills.

I had the great pleasure of davining during this year’s High Holy Days at The Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills and found it to be a warm, engraciating and stimulating experience.  The sanctuary is extraordinarily beautiful; you and your members were open and welcoming to a new face among them and the clergy offered me a chance to do the introspective self-evaluation, which is perhaps the overarching mission for each of us and for us as a community of the days of awe. Your imported Cantor from Israel struck just the right cord and Rabbi Birnbaum, who you may recall is my long time friend going back to our days as classmates at Yeshiva University High School for Boys of Manhattan, challenged us all to be better than we are and not accept mediocrity from ourselves.

At one point during the services, I was enjoying the way the light from outdoors gets processed through the fabulous stained glass windows of the sanctuary and my eyes came to focus on the grill-like panels high up on the wall above the  “Aron Kodesh” and I started to ask myself: what are those panels about? Why are they there? They seemed to be made up of stylized flowers in an array but why are the flowers all the same color? And why tan?

During a break, I walked up to take a closer look at the panels and noted how the four different buds in the floral display formed a pattern that is repeated from panel-to-panel. In a strange way, it reminded me of the stained glass windows. But, where the glass tells a story, the grills seemingly do not. What do the flowers say? How could these flowers be there in this synagogue with nothing in particular to say?

Then, after services, while visiting with the Rabbi in his study, he mentioned that the stairs nearby lead to the choir loft, and, in a flash, the kernel of an idea began to germinate in my mind.

It had been mentioned that The Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills was an aging Congregaion and that something needed to be done to save it before its memebership, which has appaently been on a decline due to members moving away or worse for a number of years, shrinks to unworkable numbers.

I am not saying that I have the answer, though I really wish I did, but I do have a suggestion that may shine a light in the direction of developing an answer, or perhaps, that might illuminate a pathway to an answer.

The Choir Loft Grill Panels in the sanctuary are, in my humble opinion, very special. I believe I have identified the four flowers represented in them as the crocus satiuus or saffron blossom, a pomegranate blossum, an almond blossom and a myrtle. Each of these blossoms is mentioned in the Torah and may be why they were selected to be included in the sanctuary. If so, and whether my identifications are correct or not, there well may be a story to be told here as to why these flowers are up there in front of as we pray, as we watch our youngsters become Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, as we witness their getting married, as we morn our dead and when we sing the praises of the Lord. I would be very surprised if that were not the case. 

It came to my mind that, perhaps, at one time, the Choir Loft Grill Panels had been somehow colorized in the way of the flowers they depict. Perhaps there are records or pictures or published descriptions dating back to the 1940’s that will fill in some of the blanks about the flowers and their inclusion in the  sanctuary.

It is my suggestion that music, which was so much a part of the  service in the Holy Temple of old, should be reinstated to its former level importance here in The Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills by reestablishing the Choir with a Choirmaster. I am aware of the financial challenge that this would present, but it would be that very challenge that could be rediredted into a fundraising effort targeted at realizing the goal to restore the music compnent of The Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills to its previous level of accomplishment.

As the pathway to the newly rejuvinated music component of the The Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills becomes more clearly identified, it would be my further suggestion to launch a professionally guided membership development iniciative. The idea of blending music, and flowers and the prayers of new members in one fully configured campaign should be of interest to the Jewish Community at large, the Jewish press and to potential members if they are indeed out there.

In support of this membership development idea, I offer what might be adopted as a kind of symbol for the drive. I have created a watercolor painting representing what I believe the Choir Loft Grills might look like were they perfected with the colors of the flowers they are supposed to resemble. I have had a professional high resolution scan made of the painting, which was, in turn, used to create Giclee copies using archival inks digitally sprayed onto watercolr paper resulting in perfectly colormatched recreations of the original in a veriety of sizes as desired.

I have generated a full sized giclee copy of my painting “Choir Loft Grill” and present it to you on behalf of The Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills in honor of my friend and my teacher Rabbi Moses A. Birnbaum, the recently appointed Congrgational Rabbi of your synogogue.

It is my thought that those who sport the Choir Loft Grill Refurbishment and Memebership Drive should receive an appropriately sized giclee copy of my painting to include in their personal art collection and to serve as a reminder to all who see it that the seeds we sew now may be enjoyed by generations yet to come.

I throughly enjoyed the High Holy Days this year and hope and pray that in some small way the efforts and suggestions presented above will serve as more than a sincere “Thank You” for the kind hospitality shown to me by you and your fellow members, but as an impitus and an encouragement to do what can be done to attract new members who will follow in the same way the footspeps of the memebrs who iniciated The Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills so many years ago and of all those who have kept it moving forward to this point.

Best wishes for continued success and for a wonderful year.

Respectfully,

Drew Kopf

Response from President Deckler of The Jewish Center of Kew Gardens Hills:

Dear Drew,

It was with great pleasure that we read your letter and shared the beautiful "Choir Loft Grill" at our Congregation Board meeting last week. The members of the board enjoyed your very kind words and appreciated your sentiments. How lovely it is when someone who comes to our builidng for the first time compliments us on our warmth and welcoming manner!

When Rabbi Birnbaum first came to our synagogue he commented on the grandeur of our sanctuary as well. It is an awesome structure. Now, through your eyes, those of us who have been davening here for years are taking a fresh look at our surroundings and rediscovering the charm, beauty and meaning of our synagogue.

I know that Rabbi Birnbaum has emailed you about our "Year of the Torah" campaign. I hope you will join us when we dedicate the new Torah! It would, of course, be our pleasure to have you daven with us again before that!

We will find a very special place to display your artwork!

Happy 2010!

Meredith Deckler

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