Gathering Sparks: the Origin of Tikkun Olam

At the root of the contemporary Jewish experience is tikkun olam, the Hebrew tenet of repairing the world. In a universe that continues to increase in complexity, each human being is responsible for ensuring that human beings continue to coexist with one another and with the natural world that sustains us. Seemingly small efforts such as smiling at a stranger on the street, mindfully remaining present for a suffering friend, and fostering genuine compassion for ourselves and others, are meaningful expressions of tikkun olam that fulfill this responsibility. More obvious actions, such as turning off the lights when leaving the house for the day, supporting local businesses, and remaining an active voice in social and political issues, are also essential.

The Mizel Museum’s new permanent exhibition, 4000 Year Road Trip: Gathering Sparks, aims to engage visitors in an educational journey in Jewish history and culture. Through various interactive elements, it will also engage visitors in self-reflection and encourage them to take progressive local and global action. Contemporary local and global issues will be presented in the exhibition, and visitors will have the opportunity to actively engage with these issues both on-site at the museum, and off-site in their own homes, schools, and communities. Thus, visitors to the museum’s new permanent exhibition 4, 000 Year Road Trip: Gathering Sparks, will learn about tikkun olam, repairing the world, by actively performing it.

The exhibition gets its title from the 16th Century creation myth, by the Jewish Kabbalist Isaac Luria (Ari) of Safed, which describes the origin of tikkun olam:

At the beginning of time, God’s presence filled the universe. When God decided to bring the world into being, to make room for creation, he contracted himself by drawing in his breath, forming a dark mass. Then God said, “Let there be light” (Gen, 1:3) and ten holy vessels came forth, each filled with primordial light. God sent forth the ten vessels like a fleet of ships, each carrying its cargo of light. But the vessels—too fragile to contain such powerful divine light—broke open, scattering the holy sparks everywhere. Had these vessels arrived intact, the world would have been perfect. Instead, God created people to seek out and gather the hidden sparks, wherever we can find them. Once this task is completed, the broken vessels will be restored and the world will be repaired.

4, 000 Year Road Trip: Gathering Sparks will illustrate the Jewish journey across time and space from a contemporary perspective, including topics such as the roots of Judaism, adaptability and resilience, diversity, creating community, interfaith relations, and the role of the arts in social change. An essential goal of this exhibition is for each visitor, in examining the experience of the Jewish people throughout history, to think about and feel proud of his and her own personal journey, and to feel inspired by the fact that journeys don't end but rather continue to unfold. In highlighting the idea of gathering sparks, or repairing the world, while on that journey or road trip, the exhibition will help visitors realize that each individual’s journey overlaps and interweaves with many others; so together, we must continue to gather sparks and accumulate light for ourselves and for one another.

4000 Year Road Trip: Gathering Sparks

The New Permanent Exhibition of the Mizel Museum
by Ellen Premack, Executive Director of the Mizel Museum

Following an extensive process to re-invent and re-create the Mizel Museum at Kearney Street, we have embarked on developing a new permanent exhibition. Our three-thousand square foot exhibition space will display a new core permanent exhibition that will offer visitors a journey through local and global Jewish culture in historical and contemporary contexts. The exhibition will highlight Jewish culture and its values made manifest within today's global matrix. The themes of resilience and world repair will also be emphasized throughout this celebratory 'road trip'. The exhibition will use artifacts, constructions, video, photography and interactive media technologies.

The new exhibition 4000 Year Road Trip: Gathering Sparks is currently in process. This process includes a complete overhaul of the museum's administrative spaces and will reflect advancements in museum technology and most importantly, a conceptual shift.

In the Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah, G-d first created light and created kelem, or vessels, to contain that light. But, when G-d poured the light into the vessels, they were too weak to contain it. The vessels shattered, the shards made up the material world that we commonly experienced, and sparks of light scattered across the universe. Thus, everywhere in the material world are hidden sparks of light. They are within people, plants and animals, rocks and earth. Human beings must gather these sparks of light, bringing thematerial world closer to the world of Oneness and Light. This job of gatheringsparks is called Tikkun Olam, repairing the world.

As we embark further into the 21st Century, we are reminded daily of the sparks of light that we must collect - the world is in a constant state of flux and humans must continue to pursue justice and peace. The Jewish people have continued to thrive under extreme pressures throughout its history and therefore exemplify a spirit of resilience that serves as a model. Similarly, this resilience instills in today's Jewish people a crucial dedication to the continuation of its own culture, and importantly, to the sustainability of the entire world.

4000 Year Road Trip: Gathering Sparks is a new exhibition for our community, headed up by Project Manager and Curator, Georgina Kolber. The entire staff, with assistance from members of the Board of Advisors, has invested much time and passion for this content by researching and contributing to the new narrative content. We have gathered a talented team of artists, designers, fabricators and reviewers, thus promising a unique, engaging and educational journey. Re-energized gallery spaces will provide safe-keeping for a portion of the museum's collection. A children's gallery and recourse center will be configured along with expanded community and school programming.

Researching Israel's Culture and Legacy

Creating the narrative for the Mizel Museum’s new exhibit about the life and culture of Israel has been fascinating – and a great challenge. The question before us is:

How do we, in limited space and of limited means, lift the veil that has been created by conflict, politics and media to reveal the complex and evolving organism that is Israel?

Thankfully, we have access to more information than any other time in the history of the world. In some ways, that’s the good news and the bad news, since an additional

challenge comes from the task of sifting through all the information made available through the internet, books and magazines, input from friends and colleagues, and a few well-meaning family members. (Remember, “Two Jews, three opinions”)

Though I’ve visited Israel several times, I’ve never been so aware of the diversity and richness I’m exposed to through this research. The physical distance has allowed me to have a new perspective on Israel’s culture. It has become apparent over and over again that it is a culture of risk-takers --and that shows up in the art, the science and daily life.

I’ve become a regular on the website: Israel21c. It is a constant feed of scientific and technological advances. Just this week, there was an article about the Israeli vaccine that is being used worldwide to save bees, as well as news about the “Heart-healing seaweed gel” that was invented there, and sold to a New Jersey firm to develop.

I watched a video of Shai Agassi, an Israeli who now lives in California speaking at one of the TED Conferences. His company, Project Better Place has announced its partnership with Renault-Nissan. Agassi forged an agreement with Israel, making it the first nation in the world to commit to an all-electric car infrastructure by 2011.

One of my leads took me to an Oren Lavie music video on YouTube. It is called, Her Morning Elegance. It is unlike any music video before it, and that is reflected in the fact that it’s been available for only six months, and has registered over 6 ½ million views!

Moment, Jerusalem Report, Zeek and Hadassah magazine, to name a few, are all publications ripe with information about the burgeoning art and cultural world of Israel. The Denver-based organization, ActionIsrael sends out periodic emails with links to articles, lectures, and happenings relevant to learning and supporting Israel.

The writer I’ve come to respect most on the issue of the state of the State of Israel is Daniel Gordis, a scholar and brilliant analyst of the country. He is one of the founders of the Shalem Center in Jerusalem. His most recent book, Saving Israel is inspirational.

We don’t know yet how the exhibit will look. It seems we’ll need the most sophisticated means to keep it current and vibrant, like the country. Perhaps, this is a job for an Israeli!

The Heymann Brothers Film Co has been operating for almost ten years. They specialize in long term documentary projects with a social and political orientation. The company was founded by Tomer Heymann, one of the leading documentary directors in Israel. Tomer and Barak have been described as "the Israeli Coen Brothers," though their films are documentaries, there is a dose of sardonic wit in each one. Look at Netflix for their films.

Steering Straight into the Future

Image: Zion Ozeri, "Oil Pressers, Alibag, India. 2001

Over the course of its 27 year history, the Mizel Museum has inhabited several different spaces, each one informing, to a certain extent, the museum’s identity. On the one hand, the museum’s identity in the community is inevitably shaped by the physical space in which its visitors gather. On the other hand, the museum’s identity is also characterized by the programming it presents beyond its walls and classrooms.

As curator of exhibitions, programs and collections, it is my job to ensure that the museum’s identity is clearly reflected in our on-site and off-site exhibitions and programs, and in the objects we collect. The museum’s first home was a minimal 1,000 square feet located within the BMH-BJ Congregation building. Because the gallery and display areas expanded into the public hallways, the museum’s programming was often created to be portable and deliverable to school groups via traveling trunks for presentation in off-site classrooms and auditoriums. When the museum merged with the Jewish Community Center in 2000, educational programs took place solely off-site to schools and other locations. The museum maximized its travelling exhibit and off-site program capabilities because of its strong desire to continue serving the community despite its undersized physical ‘body’. The museum moved into the current 400 South Kearney Street location in March 2004, just in time to market the first summer camp season. The staff now had the ability to spread out into a physical space with the potential for presenting programs and exhibits within the museum space.

In the past two years, the museum has extended two new branches — The CELL, which opened in the Winter of 2009 and Babi Yar Park, which is a major work in progress. With these two new thematically nuanced projects drawing much attention and buzz, it is increasingly important for the museum at Kearney Street to reflect a strong and consistent identity.

When I arrived at the Mizel Museum three years ago, it was unclear how long we could inhabit our current ‘body’. After curating several exhibitions, I decided that the Kearney Street location would better serve its audience and attract new visitors with a permanent, educational core exhibition. I developed a framework for a core exhibition in which I felt that the themes presented at The CELL and Babi Yar Park would be contextualized, and would allow our programming to evolve and incorporate contemporary developments in Jewish and global cultures.

In June, the staff began writing the script for the new exhibition and it is in development. The exhibition will highlight the resilience of the Jewish people throughout history, their crucial dedication to preserving and continuing their own culture, and their commitment to the betterment and progression of the entire world. We look forward to sharing this exhibition in early 2010! Stay tuned to our web and blog sites for updates.


Georgina Kolber
Curator of Exhibits, Programs and Collections

How We're Alike and How We're Different

One of the surprises for me this year has been the 8th Annual Bookmark Contest. It was one more project in the long line, and I wasn't sure I wanted to be part of it. Historically, it had been one of Janelle's project as Director of Education. We were both buried when it came time to solidify the details with the Jewish Coalition for Literacy with the Synagogue Council of Greater Denver, our partner in this project.
The theme this year came out of Digital Storytelling project and the My Self exhibit (currently on view in the museum). It was meant to get kids thinking about how they see themselves in the world: "How We're Alike and How We're Different."

Thanks to the help of the volunteers of the Jewish Coalition for Literacy (a project of the Synagogue Council of Greater Denver), we had about 400 entries from several schools in the metro area. We had a small jury choose a winner and three runners-up in both categories of Kindergarten through Second Grade and Third Grade through Fifth Grade.

Prizes were purchased for each of the winners and runners-up, and each of them was given a certificate with their prize. We presented them in the kids' classrooms, and took some pictures to mark the event. Janelle went to Place Bridge Academy(below) and
Kelly Wulf, the Mizel Museum Intern, presented Aanika Sukumar from Stanley BPS (above),and two winners at Herzl with their prizes.

The entries spanned the spectrum -- from adorable to sophisticated. What stands out most for me is how revealing of each kids' experience their entries are, especially in the older group.
There is much power in giving kids opportunities to have a voice. Call us at the museum, and we'll gladly send you a bookmark!


Click on each bookmark to see it magnified.