The Heart of Torah

I am still home bound helping with our precious newborn. As a result, for this week's Shabbos email: a photo shoot at Oneinfocus HQ that really did involve playing with light!

When one finds joy in the light of the soul,
a passageway opens to fulfill the heart of the Torah - infinite love for one's fellow Jew.

Wondering how I did this? A semi complicated set-up that involved the use of red cellophane paper.
Strobist Setup
We had a lot fun setting this up!

• Nikon Flash on a Bogen light stand.
• I covered the flash head with red cellophane paper (see below).
• Set the flash to 105mm to create a narrow beam of light.
• A halogen desk lamp to light the outside of the heart shape.
• Attached to the lamp is a homemade 'snoot.' I rolled up cardboard paper and stuck it with tape to the lamp. A snoot contains and focus the beam of light to a specific area.

Camera and strobist enthusiasts can read detailed flash and exposure settings in the Oneinfocus Flickr Stream.

Below is a photo that shows the red cellophane paper.

Nikon Flash covered with red cellophane paper

Behind the inspirational caption:The Talmud relates that it was Hillel the Elder who authored the well-known statement that ahavat Yisrael (the love of one’s fellow Jew) is the basis of the entire Torah. Hillel was approached by a gentile who declared that he wished to convert to Judaism, but only if Hillel would teach him the entire Torah while he stood on one foot. Hillel replied, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is but commentary."
Additionally, the caption coincides with the forthcoming Chassidic Yom Tov which falls this Sunday. The date is Yud Tes (19th) Kislev which the "Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism." It was on this date, in the year 1798, that the founder of Chabad Chassidism, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi was freed from his imprisonment in Czarist Russia. More than a personal liberation, this was a significant event in Jewish history when Chassidism was born. Rabbi Schneur Zalman compiled the Tanya, the blueprint of Chabad Chassidus and illuminated the Jewish world with the inner mystical aspect of Torah. Chapter 32 of the Tanya, in Hebrew lamed beis which spells out lev (heart) is literally the life force of Judaism and teaches us how to fulfill the special of mitzvah of infinite love of one's fellow Jew.
Wishing you an amazing Shabbos,
Michoel and Sarah