Rembrandt and the Jews

Observation · December 20, 2018
Rembrandt’s Very Human, Very Accurate, Very Jewish (and Very Unclassical) David
By Rabbi Meir Soloveichik
Michelangelo's universally admired depiction of one of history’s most famous Jews is not the least bit Jewish. Take, on the other hand, Rembrandt.
Observation · September 7, 2018
Rembrandt and What it Means to be Both a Stranger and a Neighbor in the World
By Rabbi Meir Soloveichik
In his rendering of the banishment of Ishmael, the Torah reading for Rosh Hashanah, Rembrandt reminds us of the bond between Jews and humanity at large.
Observation · July 12, 2018
How Rembrandt Understood the Destruction of Jerusalem (and Poussin Didn’t)
By Rabbi Meir Soloveichik
A tale of two paintings and one city.
Observation · June 28, 2018
Rembrandt and the One Gentile Prophet in the Hebrew Bible
By Rabbi Meir Soloveichik
How does the great painter render the tale of Balaam and the ass?
Observation · May 25, 2018
Rembrandt and the Dangers of Vision
By Rabbi Meir Soloveichik
To perceive without seeing, and to utilize sight to sharpen rather than to detract from insight, is an essential Jewish task. This is the challenge that Rembrandt allows us to glimpse.
Observation · December 7, 2017
The Ultimate Portrayal of the Ultimate Example of the Unhappy Family
By Rabbi Meir Soloveichik
What Rembrandt's etching of Joseph and his family shows us about Judaism, and mankind.
Observation · September 14, 2017
Rembrandt’s Jewish Vision
By Rabbi Meir Soloveichik
If Judaism’s idea of art is one that can truly represent our frail, fallible humanity, then Rembrandt, who captured faces "without any attempt to beautify them," is the artist for Jews.