BUSINESS
Jeffrey Sakwa
Steven Weinstock
NOBLE/ADVANTAGE GROUP
Jeffrey Sakwa of Noble Realty and Steven Weinstock
of Advantage Realty Services, Inc. have combined their
companies to form Noble/Advantage Group. This full-service
property management brokerage firm was created to better meet
the diverse needs of present and future clients.
NOBLE/ADVANTAGE GROUP
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Suite 500
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Kuzari Workshop
Rediscovers Heritage
AVA CARMEL SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
(313) 356-6880
OFFICE
The Kuzari Embroidery Workshop in the Morasha Community Center, Jerusalem.
ICES
855-0176 FAX
6016 W. Maple Road, Suite 700, West Bloomfield
nimal skins were
sewn together to
make rough clothing
and decorated with
motifs to protect the wearer
against evil spirits," says Nini
Sverdlov, her blue eyes alight
as she describes the birth of
embroidery.
Nili is the designer for the
Kuzari Embroidery Workshop
in Jerusalem. She kept me
spellbound with her tales of
the magical symbolism of em-
broidery, pointing I out ex-
amples in the many wall-
hangings on display in the
workshop. "Bukhara, Kur-
distan, Persia, Yemen — each
has its own distinctive style
based on traditional motifs
and stitches," she says.
Kuzari is located in the
Morasha Community Center,
on Tribes of Israel Street,
within walking distance of
the Old City. By the door, fit-
tingly enough, is a wall-
hanging depicting the twelve
tribes of Israel. Nearby is an
embroidered Persian peacock,
resplendent in shades of pur-
ple on a creamy white
background and a gold Moroc-
can "hamsah" (a hand-shaped
talisman against the evil eye)
on blue velvet.
Displayed on shelves and
piled on tables are cushions,
tefillin bags, wallets, shoulder
bags and a purple satin etrog
bag with red and white stit-
ching. In cupboards and on
the long cutting table are
velvet ribbons, colorful em-
broidery floss and fabrics of
royal blue and emerald green.
The women embroider,
while keeping up a constant
chatter in Hebrew of varied
Eastern accents. In the
background sewing machines
whirr, as embroidered pieces
are sewn into finished pro-
ducts. The cozy atmosphere
brings back comforting
childhood memories of m
grandfather's tailor shop.
One woman is painstaking-
ly embroidering the words
"mazal tov" on a Kurdish
wall-hanging; another is
creating tassels or a white
flowered cushion. "In tradi-
tional embroidery," Nili
points out, "tassels were
made to use up bits of leftover
thread. Nothing ever went to
waste."
Every once in a while so-
meone asks Nili's advice, or
she points out a minor flaw in
someone's work, her com-
ments never interrupting the
general flow of conversation.
The Kuzari Workshop takes
its name from the Khazars,
whose kingdom was located
between the Black and Cas-
pian Seas. They chose to con-
vert to Judaism and their
story formed the basis of the
12th century Book of Kuzari,
by Hebrew poet Yehuda
Halevi.
The workshop was founded
in 1985 by Avraham Ben-Zvi,
a kibbutznik who had already
set up several community pro-
jects. It is now managed by
his son Menahem. Financial
aid was provided by the
Jewish communities of South
Africa, as part of Project
Renewal.
Menaham, who is scurrying
around gathering up items
for an order, pauses for a mo-
ment to explain. "The pro-
ject's primary aim was to pro-
.