המלצה -כבוד הרב יוסף ויצמן - 22.11.09

 A letter of recommendation from a synagogue of Tunisian Jews, regarding Sara Konforty and her art work, written by the president of Amit synagogue, Dr. Shimon Harari, Amit – the global fund for Tunisi

Vitrage, Stained Glass, Designed special Windows, painted glass

“Always without formulating the concept, I had based my sense of being in the world partly on an unreasoned conviction that certain areas  of the earth’s surface contained more magic than others”.- Paul Bowles. My work- my designing of the interiors of the Moroccan synagogue – the Aron Hakodesh, the rose window-rosette, the other special windows of the synagogue - all those creations were born out of an instinctive love and admiration to the cultural and traditional  Jewish Moroccan. The notion of “Orientalism”, of Islamic culture filtered through the perceptions of the west had captivated me many years ago and influenced my art during all the last 20 years. In my work I tried to combine past and present and to express the mystical, the sense and a little bite of the soul of Morocco.

I was influenced from the Islamic Architecture in Morocco, from the walls covered with mosaic tiles (zelliges), and the motifs which are always geometrical and abstract. Since it is not allowed to paint in the synagogue motifs of figures or animals - it was very convenient to express my art and to be connected with the artistic traditional Moroccan.

During the last weeks of designing, painting and working for the new synagogue “Schemesh Oumagen” – mainly for the Jewish Morocco, I spend many nights of learning about the tradition, ways and environments of Morocco, Synagogues, colors, designing, while creating the vitrages for the synagogue. Jews were clearly part of the Roman cities that developed in the first century. Many of them moved into Morocco by migrating westward along the Mediterranean coast from the large Jewish center in Carthage (Tunisia). Traces of Jewish life can be found in Volubilis, the large excavated city near Meknes. Volubilis was the most Western settlement of the Roman Empire.  The Jews of Morocco tend to respect tradition but are not religiously observant. The community life is focused around the synagogues and social clubs. The Jews speak with nostalgia and longing of the wondrous past of the community, and continue to observe the rituals of saint worship.

Sara Konforty is an artist, who specializes in interior designs for synagogues. Sara designs Torah Arks, Teivat Chazzan, Parochet, Vitrages and other objects d’art to synagogues. AS an Artist, any design,  plan to a synagogue, including her paintings, her hand made glass and ceramic, becomes a unique art work.

 Sara Konforty is also working in collaboration with Architects and designers to synagogues.

Konforty designed the unique Torah Ark  for the synagogue Amit, and  in the last months Sara Konforty is creating and designing the very special  Torah Ark , windows and the extraordinary rose window above the "Aron Hakodesh", which becomes a part of it –for the new synagogue "Schemesh Oumagen".