Midrash Manicures

I love my friends! I know, I use that opening fairly often, but it's so true. Today's post comes courtesy of my friend Din who passed a link along that she thought I would appreciate!

A manicure for Yom Kippur.

Let's be honest, lots of us love nail art, but how many of us use it for a positive purpose? Well, Rabbi Yael Buechler of Westchester, N.Y. does just that, using her nail art to teach Midrash, the Jewish tradition of Bible interpretation. I know, I know... nail art as a teaching tool? But hear me out!

Huffington Post had an interview with Rabbi Buechler yesterday which explains a lot.

When asked how her manicure business is an extension of her rabbinic position Rabbi Buechler is effusive: “This is truly hands-on Judaism. The hope is to expose all people, Jewish and non-Jewish, to creative forms of Judaism through this nail art, so that they might be inspired to create other forms.”

A manicure for Sukkot.

Buechler not only does a weekly manicure based on the Parasha, holidays, or other lifecycle events, she also has her students create their own manicures based on the week's lessons prior to showing them her own. She talks with the students about the themes they'll encounter that week and encourages them to spend time reflecting on them. These themes then end up reflected in the students' designs.

I absolutely love this idea! When wearing interesting nail art, I end up getting lots of questions and comments. I can see this as a way to bring awareness and information to people. I'm kicking around ideas for manicures about diabetes awareness and depression, and maybe more!

I also really like the idea of getting the students to think visually. I've found that when I approach a subject from a strange angle it helps cement the ideas into my head. I'm sure this helps the students internalize the lessons they're learning about.

I just wanted to share this with you all, and get your thoughts: what do you think about this? Can you think of any other manicures you could do to either spread awareness or help yourself learn things?

Til next time!

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Images courtesy midrashmanicures.com.

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