Introducing VisualTorah cards! 

The Torah is an amazing text bursting with visual metaphors. Every tiny detail of the Torah has significance and multiple meanings that can only be found by looking at Torah through a figurative microscope. I struggle with Torah, so my passion has become to distill the multi-faceted complexity of Torah into simple images from my heart. This deck contains a card for each Torah portion (parasha) containing a single verse on one side and an image of my interpreation of that verse on the other side.

For the past few years I have made a weekly habit of drawing something relating to that week’s parasha. In my first year I searched the internet for divrei Torah that spoke to me, then drew a fairly complex sketchnote to visually outline the points in the dvar Torah I’d selected. In my second year I worked with my colleagues in Bayit to draw sketchnotes based on themed divrei Torah written by Bayit Builders. 

Last year I took a different approach. Instead of focusing on the entire parasha, I searched for a single verse in the parasha that resonated with me, then distilled an image simple enough to be a laptop sticker or tshirt design. The VisualTorah card deck is a product of this weekly Torah distillation work. Some of the verses are familiar to all, like Leviticus 19:18 from K’doshim. Others are the product of deep searching and learning, like Genesis 41:12 where Pharaoh’s butler relays to Pharaoh the presence of a person with a superpower for interpreting dreams.

My goals was to create a set of VisualTorah cards with messages for today. Some messages reflect ways in which we should behave to bring good into the world while others are simple motivations and reminders. I’ve applied humor in some cases to make the message more easily remembered but in all cards the images are simple.

• Put them in Torah order as a learning / teaching tool

• Keep them in your Tallis bag for a little extra inspiration

• Give a card to friends and strangers alike

• Give them as a gift

• Use them as a personal study or meditation aid

• Use them as conversation starter at Shabbat dinner

• Meditate on the card for this week’s Torah portion

• Shuffle the deck while thinking of a question, then draw a card to see what it says to you

Tell us how you use them and how they work for you!

Available now via GameCrafter for $18. 

(And if this speaks to you, you might enjoy the other items in the growing Bayit Games collection!)

 

Steve Silbert is the lead builder in Bayit Games and the originator of VisualTorah, a spiritual technology that uses images to connect our hearts with Torah.