Urim and Tumim

Western Wall (Mizrach) Archival Print 21 x 29 in.	The Twelve Tribes Archival Print 21 x 29 in.
"The righteous shall flourish, like a palm tree." -Psalm 92:12 Limited Edition Print 28 x 40 in.	Cactus Polyptych Limited Edition Print 22 x 30 in.
"Who is rich, the one who is happy with his lot." -Pirke Avot "Shuk, Ashkelon" mixed media on ricepaper (example of paintings taken from "Urim and Thummim)	"Dancing on the Sands of Ashkelon" "And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them." -Judges 21:23

 
 Nobody knows what the Urim and Tumim were physically.  They were hidden under the breastplate of the High Priest, with its array of twelve inlaid precious and semi-precious stones, inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Urim and Tumim served as an oracle through which the nation got direction and specific answers to their queries.  This, along with the Ark of the Covenant, its contents, and the Shekinah, or manifest glory of God, which had hovered between the gilded wings of the carved  cherubim above the Ark, disappeared after the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians.
     Some commentators believe that the Urim and Tumim consisted of the inscribed ineffable name of God (forbidden to be uttered but once a year by the High Priest). Whatever it was may have been inserted within the breastplate.  Others believe that the Urim and Tumim had no physical form at all but was integral to the breastplate itself.  How the oracle operated is also a mystery. The word Urim can be translated as “lights,” thus it is believed by some that the stones of the breastplate actually lit up like a switchboard (though this bears a little too much similarity to the operation of a Ouija board).
     This project was first presented as an exhibition at the museum gallery of the city of Ashkelon, Israel.  The museum itself is located in a historic, restored mosque.  The project was titled “Urim and Tumim” because it is based upon a series of polyptychs (multi-image panels) laid out in twelve’s.