Farteiched und Fabessered

In the heyday of  Yiddish theatre Shakespeare's plays were regularly advertised as being “ farteiched und fabessered”, translated and improved.  That wonderful expression is used to describe anything that is slightly improved.

So I would like to show you two pieces that have been farteiched und farbessered by me.

I had completed this challah cover earlier this summer. The text comes from the Shabbat Z’mirot, the liturgical poems that are sung sung the Shabbat meals.  This text reads “ This day for Israel is light and joy.”

My friend wanted to purchase it for her niece's bat mitzvah. The niece loves pink and baby blue. I told my friend that I would over paint the challah cover so it would read as pinker.

I think that the pink actually improves the piece. I never would have thought to add it on my own. This is why I love working with clients. Their requests and needs usually push me to do better work.

 

This matzah cover was also pert of that same order and also needed a bit of improvement.

I had made it several years ago, before I could draft my own letters. the cover is supposed to re-create the experience of walking through the parted seas. The text reads ‘ In every generation…” I hope that the rest of the verse ‘” each person is supposed to see themselves as if they themselves left Egypt”.

So, this is what I did…

This is before…

and after