The annual Jewish Arts Exhibition got its start during the pandemic, when Chava Edelman was the rebbetzin at the Shul Center in Bayside.
“She was just thinking, it’s COVID, people are at home, and they need a creative outlet or something to bring us together and showcase this, and it inspired her to get this started,” Tova Tornek, Edelman’s friend and fellow rebbitzen, told the Chronicle in an interview.
“What she shared, which really speaks to who Chava was, she was incredibly creative, and like really thought outside the box in terms of how to bring Jewish values and education and meaning to every single Jew that she met, every single person that she met,” Tornek added.
“She decided that this would be a phenomenal way to get Jewish artists together, discuss a topic, learn a Jewish topic in depth, and then to have these fantastic Jewish artists take that topic and express it through art and then show it to the rest of the community and just like have that much broader of a reach to the whole community,” Tornek said of Chava’s vision.
“Let’s bring Jewish art, but not just beautiful art; let’s make it meaningful and have depth to it, and then allow it to be shared with the world.”
The Jewish Arts Exhibition first took place in 2023 and has been held annually since then. Chava Edelman passed away last August at age 41, after a cancer battle that lasted three and a half years.
Now, Chava’s friends, including Tornek, Rebbetzin Mushka Lein, and the event’s other cofounder, artist Jacqueline Redlich, are preparing the 2026 edition of the event, which will be dedicated to Chava Edelman’s memory.
This year’s theme is “Ahavat Yisrael,” and it’s set to take place on Sunday, Feb. 15, from 3 to 5 p.m., at the Shul Center in Bayside. The exhibition, in its history, alternated between the Shul East and Bayside.
“The event is really elegant,” Redlich said. “It’s very elegant and it brings adults from the community and beyond. And the food is always elegant too.”
Around 20 artists contributed art to the exhibition. Some of the art comes from participants in classes at the Shul Center. Tornek said that this year, there were six classes on the “Ahavat Yisrael” theme, and the artists are encouraged to draw from that, as well as their own research.
One of the contributors is Chava’s 9-year-old daughter, who created a piece to honor her late mother. Redlich herself created four pieces for the event.
“Because Chava is no longer with us, Tova and Mushka came up with this incredible theme, which is Ahavat Israel, love of your people,” Redlich said. “And I think it just epitomizes Chava’s character. It really shows exactly who she is, a person who is selfless, who’s putting other people before [herself].”
Tova remembered that in her final text exchanges with Chava before she passed, the two discussed a potential theme for the art show.
“Chava would feel good about this theme of ‘to love our fellow Jew,’ because although it is lofty, it really has a lot of depth to it, but it’s also incredibly practical and something that everyone can relate to and connect to,” Tova said.
“The whole thing is dedicated to Chava and done in her memory and merit, so it should be a really special.”
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How to go
Jewish Artists Exhibition
- Theme: “Ahavat Israel,” love of your people
- Sunday, Feb. 15, from 3 to 5 p.m.
- The Shul Center in Bayside, 8825 N. Lake Drive.
$18/person couvert, with wine and cheese reception
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