Clockwise from top left: The glass nir tamid features a menorah design. Kawer chose copper cloth for the reader's
table. Semi-precious stones, used in the breastplates of the high priests, form the corner fringe of the table cover.
Ram's horns grace the entry doors.
Kawer drew the templates, and Blair Reed, a renowned glass artist who
recently passed away, sandblasted the designs in each panel.
Other meaningful elements in the chapel include the nir tamid, fabricated
by Herb Babcock of hand-blown glass, featuring a menorah design, in relief,
on each of the three facets. Entry door handles are in the shape of ram's
horns, chosen to symbolize a call for the Jewish people to gather. All of the
significant metal design elements in the chapel are copper. "Copper is used to
enhance the ark and to form the legs of the readers table, as well as the capi-
tals and bases of the two columns that flank the bimah," says Kawer. It was
the first utilitarian metal, mandated for use in the construction of the ancient
holy temple. Copper-colored fabric is also used for the reader's table cover.
The entire installation was a year-long labor of love for Kawer, made possi-
ble by benefactors Joel and Shelley Tauber. Today, she has resumed her other
artistic pursuits — Polaroid transfer, painting and printmaking. And she
recently packed her two children, Shay and Shanna Goldenberg, off to sepa-
rate colleges.
STYLE Al' THE JN • OCTOBER 2002 • 1 1