It’s not always easy to combine two passions, but Rabbi Joanne Yocheved Heiligman, spiritual leader of Columbia’s Congregation Shalom Aleichem, strings together Judaism and art into a perfect tapestry. It’s not always easy to combine two passions, but Rabbi Joanne Yocheved Heiligman, spiritual leader of Columbia’s Congregation Shalom Aleichem, strings together Judaism and art into a perfect tapestry. A Reconstructionist rabbi in Maryland for just over five years, Rabbi Heiligman said she uses quilting as an expression of her rabbinate. She completed several mini-quilts, each time picking up a new technique, all the while collecting more materials and considering what has become a multi-paneled creation quilt. As she works, she said she considers her ancestors her great-grandfather, grandfather and uncle were all tailors, her grandmother was a seamstress but she envisions herself carrying on this tradition in a contemporary way. read more

Tags: quilts, years, jewish, heiligman, rabbi, quilting patterns