arts & life

coll e c t i on s

Hand
In Hand

An assortment of
yads from the Barr
collection

Suzanne Chessler | Contributing Writer

A gorgeous collection

of yads, on display at

Temple Israel, helps

tell the story

of Judaism.

Clay and Jay Barr

C

lay and Jay Barr built suc-
cessful interior design
careers working together.
The wife and husband team oper-
ated their own business out of
Virginia for many years before he
accepted a design position with a
hotel chain.
Whether advising clients or
planning his home space, Jay was
attracted to artistry involving the
hand. He admired intricacies in
paintings of them, and he bought a
small hand sculpture of bronze on
malachite for the couple’s New York
apartment, their second home.
When Jay passed away after
more than 30 years of marriage,
Clay decided she wanted to memo-
rialize him in a way that would
capture his artistic interests, reflect
the comfort experienced through
Jewish traditions and bring beauty
to various communities.
Yads — Torah pointers designed

to replicate hands — seemed a
natural fit.
Taking a cue from Judaica dona-
tions made by her husband, she
amassed a large collection of yads
and makes them available for
display. Seventy-eight of them can
be seen through June 6 at Temple
Israel in West Bloomfield with the
exhibit Pointing the Way: The Art of
the Torah Pointer.
“This won’t be a completed proj-
ect until I die,” says Barr, 75, in a
phone conversation anticipating a
visit to see the exhibit. “I have more
than 100 yads [Hebrew for hands]
that are not there and continue to
commission them. Hopefully, my
family members will be able to
carry on with this after I’m gone.”
The yads represent different
centuries, countries and creative
approaches. They reach from a
straightforward pointer made of
ebony, rosewood and silver to an

individualized concept by Wendell
Castle, a furniture-maker and
sculptor who has placed a pointer-
holding hand on a table form (see
photo below).
A contemporary yad made of
bronze and sterling silver was
designed by Michele Oka Doner,
who earned bachelor’s and master’s
degrees from the University of
Michigan and lived in Franklin for
a time.
“This exhibit is completely dif-
ferent from anything we’ve shown,”
says Susan Loss, co-chairman of
the Goodman Family Judaic &
Archival Museum of Temple Israel.
“Each of these yads is so com-
pletely interesting. One is made of
bullet casings held by an American
soldier in World War II.
“Our goal is to teach about
Judaism and hand down traditions.
The yads are especially appropriate
at this time because a new Torah is

continued on page 64

LEFT: A c. 1970s Michael
Ende silver Bazalel pointer,
acquired at auction

details
det

Pointing the Way: The Art of the
Torah Pointer will be on view
through June 6 at Temple Israel in
West Bloomfield. (248) 661-5700;
info@temple-israel.org.

A 2012 pit-fired,
painted and
gilded Bennett
Bean yad

A silver and
stained-walnut
yad rests on a
rosewood
table, all by
Wendell Castle

April 28 • 2016

59