DDESCRIPTION : The  RUSSIAN - LITHUANIA - ISRAELI ARTIST David LABKOVSKI has dedicated most of his ART to the Jewish - Yiddish STETL ( Shtetl ) Sights, Sights , Types, Images, Famillies , Alleys and Streets , The STETL which was demolished and entirely wiped out by the NAZI BEAST in the HOLOCAUST . In this VERY RARE exquisite ART PORTFOLIO which was published almost SIXTY FIVE YEARS ago , in 1959 he created 15 YIDDISH IMAGES to STETL JEWS , Heroes of  Sholem Aleichem books and stories , A RARE HOMMAGE to a JEWISH CULTURE which no longer exists.  The portfolio itself present  ILLUSTRATED  images of Sholem Aleichem and a view of a STETL. ORIGINAL illustrated PORTFOLIO . Text pages in Hebrew and English. 15 separate thin cardboard ART PLATES .  13 x 11".  15 separate sheets . Very good condition . Inner perfect. The portfolio is slightly worn . ( Pls look at scan for accurate AS IS  images )  Portfolio will be sent inside a protective packaging .

AUTHENTICITY : This is an ORIGINAL vintage 1959 PORTFOLIO( Dated ). NOT a reproduction or a reprint  , It comes with life long GUARANTEE for its AUTHENTICITY and ORIGINALITY.

PAYMENTS : Payment method accepted : Paypal & All credit cards.

SHIPPMENT : Shipp worldwide via registered airmail is $ 29 . Will be sent inside a protective rigid packaging .  Will be sent around 5 days after payment .  

A shtetl (Yiddish: שטעטל, diminutive form of Yiddish shtot שטאָט, "town", pronounced very similarly to the South German diminutive "Städtle", "little town"; cf. MHG: stetelîn, stetlîn, stetel) was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in pre-Holocaust Central and Eastern Europe. Shtetls (Yiddish plural: שטעטלעך, shtetlekh) were mainly found in the areas which constituted the 19th century Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire, the Congress Kingdom of Poland, Galicia, and Romania. A larger city, like Lemberg or Czernowitz, was called a shtot (Yiddish: שטאָט); a smaller village was called a dorf (Yiddish: דאָרף). The concept of shtetl culture is used as a metaphor for the traditional way of life of 19th-century Eastern European Jews. Shtetls are portrayed as pious communities following Orthodox Judaism, socially stable and unchanging despite outside influence or attacks. The Holocaust resulted in the disappearance of the vast majority of shtetls, through both extermination and mass exodus to the United States and what would become Israel. Origins The history of the oldest Eastern European shtetls began about a millennium ago and saw periods of relative tolerance and prosperity as well as times of extreme poverty, hardships and pogroms. The attitudes and thought habits characteristic of the learning tradition are as evident in the street and market place as the yeshiva. The popular picture of the Jew in Eastern Europe, held by Jew and Gentile alike, is true to the Talmudic tradition. The picture includes the tendency to examine, analyze and re-analyze, to seek meanings behind meanings and for implications and secondary consequences. It includes also a dependence on deductive logic as a basis for practical conclusions and actions. In life, as in the Torah, it is assumed that everything has deeper and secondary meanings, which must be probed. All subjects have implications and ramifications. Moreover, the person who makes a statement must have a reason, and this too must be probed. Often a comment will evoke an answer to the assumed reason behind it or to the meaning believed to lie beneath it, or to the remote consequences to which it leads. The process that produces such a response-- often with lightning speed-- is a modest reproduction of the pilpul process.[1] Not only did the Jews of the shtetl speak a unique language (Yiddish), but they also had a unique rhetorical style, rooted in traditions of Talmudic learning: In keeping with his own conception of contradictory reality, the man of the shtetl is noted both for volubility and for laconic, allusive speech. Both pictures are true, and both are characteristic of the yeshiva as well as the market places. When the scholar converses with his intellectual peers, incomplete sentences a hint, a gesture, may replace a whole paragraph. The listener is expected to understand the full meaning on the basis of a word or even a sound... Such a conversation, prolonged and animated, may be as incomprehensible to the uninitiated as if the excited discussants were talking in tongues. The same verbal economy may be found in domestic or business circles.[1] The shtetl operates on a communal spirit where giving to the needy is not only admired, but expected and essential: The problems of those who need help are accepted as a responsibility both of the community and of the individual. They will be met either by the community acting as a group, or by the community acting through an individual who identifies the collective responsibility as his own... The rewards for benefaction are manifold and are to be reaped both in this life and in the life to come. On earth, the prestige value of good deeds is second only to that of learning. It is chiefly through the benefactions it makes possible that money can "buy" status and esteem.[1] This approach to good deeds finds its roots in Jewish religious views, summarized in Pirkei Avot by Shimon Hatzaddik's "three pillars": On three things the world stands. On Torah, On service [of God], And on acts of human kindness.[2] Tzedaka (charity) is a key element of Jewish culture, both secular and religious, to this day. It exists not only as a material tradition (e.g tzedaka boxes), but also immaterially, as an ethos of compassion and activism for those in need. Material things were neither disdained nor extremely praised in the shtetl. Learning and education were the ultimate measures of worth in the eyes of the community, while money was secondary to status. Menial labor was generally looked down upon as prost, or prole. Even the poorer classes in the shtetl tended to work in jobs that required the use of skills, such as shoe-making or tailoring of clothes. The shtetl had a consistent work ethic which valued hard work and frowned upon laziness. Studying, of course, was considered the most valuable and hard work of all. Learned yeshiva men who did not provide bread and relied on their wives for money were not frowned upon but praised as ideal Jews. Interaction with Gentiles The shtetl's main interaction with Gentile citizens was in trading with the neighboring peasants. There was often animosity towards the Jews from these peasants, resulting in extremely violent pogroms from the Gentiles on the Jews, resulting in many Jewish deaths[when?][where?][who?]. This, among other things, helped foster a very strong "us-them" mentality based on differences between the peoples[vague]. This can be seen in the play Fiddler on the Roof[unreliable source?]. Collapse The May Laws introduced by Tsar Alexander III of Russia in 1882 banned Jews from rural areas and towns of fewer than ten thousand people. In the 20th century revolutions, civil wars, industrialization and the Holocaust destroyed traditional shtetl existence. However, Hasidic Jews have founded new communities in the United States, such as Kiryas Joel and New Square. There is a belief found in historical and literary writings that the shtetl disintegrated before it was destroyed during World War II; however, this alleged cultural break-up is never clearly defined.[who?][3] The shtetl in fiction and folklore Chełm figures prominently in the Jewish humor as the legendary town of fools. Kasrilevke, the setting of many of Sholom Aleichem's stories, and Anatevka, the setting of the musical Fiddler on the Roof (based on other stories of Sholom Aleichem) are other notable fictional shtetls. The 2002 novel Everything Is Illuminated, by Jonathan Safran Foer, tells a fictional story set in the Ukrainian shtetl Trachimbrod. (Trochenbrod) The 1992 children's book Something from Nothing, written and illustrated by Phoebe Gilman, is an adaptation of a traditional Jewish folktale set in a fictional shtetl. In 1996 the Frontline programme Shtetl broadcast; it was about Polish Christian and Jewish relations. ****** David Labkovski, Artist David Labkovski was born in either Nevil or Vilna in 1906 to Chaim Shalom Labkovski (1870 - 1940) and Musia nee Chenin(1878 - 1955). . Studies: Hebrew Gymnasium, Vilna; 1924 completed studies at school under auspices of "Hilfe durch Arbeit" (Help through Work), Vilna, as painter and decorator; 1935-37 Art Academy, Leningrad. Member of group of plastic artists of "Young Vilna". 1932 Worked as designer of National Yiddish Theatre, Moscow. Immigrated with his wife Rivka ( daughter of Spector/ Gurevich and to Israel in 1958. From 1960 lived in Safed. 1990 A catalogue of his works was published. 1997 Museum opened in Ramat Gan to house his thousands of drawings. Dedicated his life to commemorating Vilna; the subject of many paintings was the Jewish shtetl. Died 1991. ***** Labkovski, David, Russia, 1906-1990 David Labkovski. b. 1906, Russia. Immigrated 1958. Studies: Hebrew Gymnasium, Vilna; 1924 completed studies at school under auspices of ?Hilfe durch Arbeit? (Help through Work), Vilna, as painter and decorator; 1935-37 Art Academy, Leningrad. Member of group of plastic artists of ?Young Vilna?. 1932 Worked as designer of National Yiddish Theatre, Moscow. From 1960 lived in Safed. 1990 A catalogue of his works was published. 1997 Museum opened in Ramat Gan to house his thousands of drawings. Dedicated his life to commemorating Vilna; the subject of many paintings was the Jewish shtetl. Died 1991. ***** Sholem Aleichem (Yiddish: שלום־עליכם, Russian and Ukrainian: Шолом Алейхем) (March 2, 1859 - May 13, 1916) was the pen name of Sholem Naumovich Rabinovich, a leading Yiddish author and playwright. The musical Fiddler on the Roof, based on his stories about Tevye the Milkman, was the first commercially successful English-language stage production about Jewish life in Eastern Europe Biography Sholem Naumovich Rabinovich (Sholom Nochem Vevik) was born to a Jewish family in the village of Voronko, near Pereyaslav, Imperial Russia, in 1859.[1] His father was Menachem-Nukhem Rabinovich, a rich merchant at the time of Sholem's birth.[2] However, a failed business affair plunged the family into poverty and Sholem grew up in very poor circumstances.[2] His mother, Chaye-Esther, died when he was thirteen.[2] His first writing was an alphabetical vocabulary of the epithets used by his stepmother. At the age of fifteen, inspired by Robinson Crusoe, he composed a Jewish version of the novel. He adopted the pseudonym Sholem Aleichem (lit. "peace be with you" or "hello"). In 1876, after graduating from school in Pereyaslav, he spent three years tutoring a wealthy landowner's daughter, Olga (Golde) Loev. On May 12, 1883, they married, against the wishes of her father. They had six children. Their son, Norman Raeben, became a painter and their daughter Lyalya (Lili) Kaufman, became a Yiddish writer. Lyalya's daughter Bel Kaufman, also a writer, was the author of Up the Down Staircase, which was made into a successful film. Literary career At first, Sholem Aleichem wrote in Russian and Hebrew. From 1883 on, he produced over forty volumes in Yiddish, thereby becoming a central figure in Yiddish literature by 1890. Most writing for Russian Jews at the time was in Hebrew, the liturgical language used largely by learned Jews. Yiddish, the vernacular language often derogatively called "jargon", was however accessible to nearly all literate East European Jews. Besides his prodigious output of Yiddish literature, Sholem Aleichem also used his personal fortune to encourage other Yiddish writers. In 1888-1889, he put out two issues of an almanac, Di Yidishe Folksbibliotek ("The Yiddish Popular Library") which gave important exposure to many young Yiddish writers. In 1890, Sholem Aleichem lost his entire fortune in a stock speculation, and could not afford to print the almanac's third issue, which had been edited but was subsequently never printed. Over the next few years, while continuing to write in Yiddish, he also wrote in Russian for an Odessa newspaper and for Voskhod, the leading Russian Jewish publication of the time, as well as in Hebrew for Ha-melitz, and for an anthology edited by Y.H. Ravnitzky. It was during this period that Sholem Aleichem first contracted tuberculosis. After 1891, Sholem Aleichem lived in Odessa, and later Kiev. In August 1904, Sholem Aleichem edited Hilf: a Zaml-Bukh fir Literatur un Kunst ("Help: An Anthology for Literature and Art"; Warsaw, 1904) and himself translated three stories submitted by Tolstoy (Esarhaddon, King of Assyria; Work, Death and Sickness; Three Questions) as well as contributions by other prominent Russian writers, including Chekhov, in aid of the victims of the Kishinev pogrom. In 1905, he left Russia with some reluctance, forced by waves of pogroms that swept through southern Russia. Originally, Sholem Aleichem lived in New York City, but failed to establish himself in the Yiddish theatre world there. His family, meanwhile, set up house in Geneva, Switzerland. Sholem Aleichem soon discovered that his income was far too limited to sustain two households, and he left for Geneva. Despite his great popularity, many of Sholem Aleichem's works had not generated much revenue for the author, and he was forced to take up an exhausting schedule of travelling and touring in order to make money to support himself and his family. In July, 1908, while on a reading tour in Russia, he collapsed on a train going through Baranowicze. He was diagnosed with a relapse of acute hemorrhagic tuberculosis and spent two months convalescing in the town's hospital. Sholem Aleichem later described the incident as "meeting his majesty, the Angel of Death, face to face", and claimed it as the catalyst for writing his autobiography, Funem yarid [From the Fair].[1] During Sholem Aleichem's recovery, he missed the First Conference for the Yiddish Language, held in 1908 in Czernovitz; his colleague and fellow Yiddish activist Nathan Birnbaum went in his place.[3] Sholem Aleichem spent the next four years living as a semi-invalid; only eventually becoming healthy enough to return to a regular writing schedule. During this period the family was largely supported by donations from friends and admirers. America In 1914, most of Sholem Aleichem's family emigrated to the United States, where they made their home in the Lower East Side, Manhattan. Sholem Aleichem's son Misha was ill with tuberculosis at the time and therefore inadmissible under United States immigration laws. Misha remained in Switzerland with his sister Emma, and died in 1915, an event which put Sholem Aleichem into a profound depression. Death Sholem Aleichem died in New York in 1916, aged 57, while still working on his last novel, Motl, Peysi the Cantor's Son, and was laid to rest at Mount Carmel cemetery in Queens.[4] At the time, his funeral was one of the largest in New York City history, with an estimated 100,000 mourners.[5][6] The next day, his will was printed in the New York Times and was read into the Congressional Record of the United States. Critical reception Sholom Aleichem's narratives were notable for the naturalness of his characters' speech and the accuracy of his descriptions of shtetl life. Early critics focused on the cheerfulness of the characters, interpreted as a way of coping with adversity. Later critics saw a tragic side in his writing.[7] Commemoration and legacy Sholem Aleichem's will contained detailed instructions to his family and friends; both in regards to immediate burial arrangements as well as to how Sholem Aleichem wished to be commemorated and remembered on his annual yartzheit. He told his friends and family to gather, "read my will, and also select one of my stories, one of the very merry ones, and recite it in whatever language is most intelligible to you." "Let my name be recalled with laughter," he added, "or not at all." The celebrations continue to the present-day, and, in recent years, have been held at at the Brotherhood Synagogue on Gramercy Park South in New York City, where they are open to the public. In 1997, a monument dedicated to Sholem Aleichem was erected in Kiev; another was erected in 2001 in Moscow. The main street of Birobidzhan is named after Sholem Aleichem[8]; streets were named after him also in other cities in the USSR, among them Kyiv, Lviv, Zhytomyr and Mykolaiv. In 1996, a stretch of East 33rd Street in New York City between Park and Madison Avenue was renamed "Sholem Aleichem Place". Many streets in Israel are named after him. Postage stamps of Sholem Aleichem were issued by Israel (Scott #154, 1959); USSR (Scott #2164, 1959); Romania (Scott #1268, 1959); and Ukraine (Scott #758, 2009). An impact crater on the planet Mercury also bears his name.[9] On March 2, 2009 (150 years after his birth) the National Bank of Ukraine issued an anniversary coin celebrating Aleichem with his face depicted on it.[10] Beliefs and activism Sholem Aleichem was an impassioned advocate of Yiddish as a national Jewish language, one which should be accorded the same status and respect as other modern European languages. He did not stop with what came to be called "Yiddishism", but devoted himself to the cause of Zionism as well. Many of his writings[11] present the Zionist case. In 1888, he became a member of Hovevei Zion. In 1907, he served as an American delegate to the Eighth Zionist Congress held in The Hague. Sholem Aleichem was often referred to as the "Jewish Mark Twain" because of the two authors' similar writing styles and use of pen names. Both authors wrote for both adults and children, and lectured extensively in Europe and the United States. When the two finally met late in life, however, Twain retorted that he was considered the "American Sholem Aleichem." Sholem Aleichem had a morbid fear of the number 13. His manuscripts never have a page 13; he numbered the thirteenth pages of his manuscripts as 12a [12] and his headstone carries the date of his death as "May 12a, 1916".[13] Works English-language collections The Best of Sholom Aleichem, edited by R. Wisse, I. Howe (originally published 1979), Walker and Co., 1991, ISBN 0-8027-2645-3. Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories, translated by H. Halkin (originally published 1987), Schocken Books, 1996, ISBN 0-8052-1069-5. Nineteen to the Dozen: Monologues and Bits and Bobs of Other Things, translated by Ted Gorelick, Syracuse Univ Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8156-0477-7. A Treasury of Sholom Aleichem Children’s Stories, translated by Aliza Shevrin, Jason Aronson, 1996, ISBN 1-56821-926-1. Inside Kasrilovka, Three Stories, translated by I. Goldstick, Schocken Books, 1948 (variously reprinted) The Old Country, translated by Julius & Frances Butwin, J B H of Peconic, 1999, ISBN 1-929068-21-2. Stories and Satires, translated by Curt Leviant, Sholom Aleichem Family Publications, 1999, ISBN 1-929068-20-4. Selected Works of Sholem-Aleykhem, edited by Marvin Zuckerman & Marion Herbst (Volume II of "The Three Great Classic Writers of Modern Yiddish Literature"), Joseph Simon Pangloss Press, 1994, ISBN 0-934710-24-4. Autobiography Funem yarid, written 1914-1916, translated as The Great Fair by Tamara Kahana, Noonday Press, 1955; translated by Curt Leviant as From the Fair, Viking, 1986, ISBN 0-14-008830-X. Novels Stempenyu, originally published in his Folksbibliotek, adapted 1905 for the play Jewish Daughters. Yossele Solovey (1889, published in his Folksbibliotek) Tevye's Daughters, translated by F. Butwin (originally published 1949), Crown, 1959, ISBN 0-517-50710-2. Mottel the Cantor's son. Originally written in Yiddish. English version: Henry Schuman, Inc. New York 1953 In The Storm Wandering Star Marienbad, translated by Aliza Shevrin (1982, G.P. Putnam Sons, New York) from original Yiddish manuscript copyrighted by Olga Rabinowitz in 1917 The Bloody Hoax Young adult literature Menahem-Mendl, translated as The Adventures of Menahem-Mendl, translated by Tamara Kahana, Sholom Aleichem Family Publications, 1969, ISBN 1-929068-02-6. Motl peysi dem khazns, translated as The Adventures of Mottel, the Cantor's Son (young adult literature), translated by Tamara Kahana, Sholom Aleichem Family Publications, 1999, ISBN 1-929068-00-X. Also appeared as Mottel the Cantor's son (Henry Schuman, Inc. New York 1953) The Bewitched Tailor, Sholom Aleichem Family Publications, 1999, ISBN 1-929068-19-0. Plays The Doctor (1887), one-act comedy Der get (The Divorce, 1888), one-act comedy Di asifa (The Assembly, 1889), one-act comedy Yaknez (1894), a satire on brokers and speculators Tsezeyt un tseshpreyt (Scattered Far and Wide, 1903), comedy Agentn (Agents, 1905), one-act comedy Yidishe tekhter (Jewish Daughters, 1905) drama, adaptation of his early novel Stempenyu Di goldgreber (The Golddiggers, 1907), comedy Shver tsu zayn a yid (Hard to be a Jew, 1914) Dos groyse gevins (The Big Lottery / The Jackpot, 1916) Tevye der milkhiker, (Tevye the Milkman, 1917, performed posthumously) **** Shalom Aleichem (Shalom Rabinowitz) was born in Pereyaslav, the Ukraine, and moved as a child with his family to Voronkov, a neighboring small town which later served as the model for the fictitious town of Kasrilevke described in his works. Shalom Aleichem received his early education in a traditional heder in Voronkov. His father, a wealthy merchant, was interested in the Haskalah (Enlightenment) and in modern Hebrew literature. A failed business affair caused the family to move again. Days of poverty and want followed, and in 1872 his mother died of cholera. In 1873, at the age of fourteen, he entered a Russian gymnasium from which he graduated in 1876. Though he began writing in Hebrew, his first "serious work" -- a dictionary of the curses employed by stepmothers -- was written in Yiddish. Later on he wrote Hebrew biblical "romances" similar in style to those of Abraham Mapu, of which his father was particularly fond. In 1879 he began publishing. For about three years, he wrote reports and articles, mostly about Jewish education, for two Hebrew publications. In 1883, Shalom Aleichem married Olga, and decided to write in Yiddish rather than in Hebrew. One of his first stories appeared in a Yiddish paper under the pseudonym "Shalom Aleichem," which in Hebrew means "Peace be unto you." From this time on, this became his pen name. He explained the pseudonym as a guise to conceal his identity from his relatives, especially his father, who loved Hebrew. In those days, Yiddish literature, greatly despised by the maskilim (enlightened) who wrote in Hebrew and the Jewish intelligentsia in Russia who spoke Russian, led Yiddish authors to write under pseudonyms or to publish their works anonymously. He wrote stories, sketches, critical reviews, plays and poems in both verse and prose. Shalom Aleichem did not limit his creative scope to Yiddish, but published stories, sketches and articles in Hebrew and in Russian. In 1888, his financial situation enabled him to realize a long-cherished dream: the founding of a Yiddish literary annual through which the standards of European taste would be introduced into Yiddish literature. Following a pogrom in 1905, Shalom Aleichem decided to emigrate to the U.S. This was the beginning of a period of wandering which continued until shortly before his death. His immense popularity did not decline after his death but rather increased beyond the Yiddish-speaking public. In 1910 his son-in-law, Hebrew author Y. D. Berkowitz, began translating his works into Hebrew. His works have also been translated into most European languages, as well as Russian and English. His plays and dramatic versions of his stories have been performed by the best Yiddish and Hebrew theatrical companies in America, Israel, Russia, Poland, and many other countries. The dramatic version of Tevye's Daughters has been performed by the finest Yiddish actors, and in the 1960s these sketches formed the basis of the stage and film musical, Fiddler on the Roof. Books Published in Hebrew Shalom Aleichem's Hebrew writings have been published in several journals and collected in: Hebrew Writings, Bialik Institute, 1976 [Ketavim Ivri'im] Shalom Aleichem's main work was written in Yiddish and published among others in:Shalom Aleichem's Collected Works, New York-Folksband Oisgebe, 1917 [Ale Verk Fun Sholem Aleichem] Selected Works, Warsaw-Yiddish Buch, 1952-56 [Oysgevelte Verk] ***** David Labkovski's work doesn't just document history; it brings it to life. ​1906-1991 "The World That Was" Called the Jerusalem of Lithuania, Vilna was a thriving city for Jewish culture prior to World War II. David Labkovski grew up in that vibrant world. From stunning images of the Great Synagogue to expressive oils of his wife's home, he gives the viewer a remarkable glimpse into 'the world that was'. Labkovski's work shows a thriving city, with people participating in their everyday activities. His work is both beautiful and disturbing. Painted from memory, more than a decade after WWII, he uses angle and line to foreshadow the destruction of his community. ​Labkovski followed his brothers to Moscow. There, he worked as a set designer at the Moscow State Yiddish Theater. In 1935, he attended the prestigious Art Academy in Leningrad. But two years later, David was drafted into the Red Army. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested and sentenced to Siberia as ‘an enemy of the state.’ In Exile: Siberian Deportation Sentenced to the Gulag in Siberia for three years, he survived the brutal conditions by sketching portraits and serving as a tattoo artist for inmates and prison guards. His compensation was additional food rations. This collection is almost entirely self-portraiture. His eyes are hollow, revealing utter despair and dehumanization faced in the prison camp. Food and the elements are central themes, revealing the hunger and brutal conditions he survived. After completing his sentence, Labkovski and his wife returned to Vilna, optimistic that the hardships they had faced would be behind them. The Depths of Darkness Unaware of the fate of the Jews of Vilna, they returned to a destroyed city and to the loss of almost the entire Jewish community. At that time, Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union. Constantly living in fear of re-arrest, survivors of both the GULAG and Nazi persecution remained silent about their experiences. When survivors did share their experiences with Labkovski, he was not free to document their testimony. He remained under Soviet oppression until 1958. The art representing this period portrays Vilna eerily void of the community, buildings in ruin. Labkovski's work also documents the survivors' testimony. He explores the fate of Rivka's family and that of his own extended relations. The colors and themes express despair and loss. Gray, cold skies, winter garb, Labkovski uses color and tone as a means of expression. Large groupings of faceless people with few highlighted faces simultaneously represent the magnitude of the devastation and the personal nature of the tragedy. Hope. Renewal. Resilience. David and Rivka immigrated to Israel in 1958. He showed his work a year later with critical success; however, Israeli society was not ready to see the images of the “world that was”. Labkovski’s full body of work was created in Israel. There is a dramatic difference between his early work, depicting scenes from his past, to the landscapes, florals and portraits of his new surroundings. This emerging renewal can be seen in the expressions of his subjects and the vibrant palate. Labkovski was a prolific artist, amassing an extensive portfolio. He refused to sell any of his work; the subjects were too personal and the lingering betrayal was too painful. A museum of his work opened in Ramat Gan, Israel in 1988. It was his dream that the artwork would be shared with a broad audience to bear witness to the past and share his renewed hope in the future. Labkovski died in 1991. ***** Where History Meets Art: The Work of Jewish artist David Labkovski The LAUSD is piloting a program here in the Valley—The David Labkovski Project—aimed at teaching students about the Holocaust. Category People A life, A memory Before the wave of genocide, that latches on and never lets go Before the reign of terror, the separations – the hope that was lost That stole so many lives that scarred them too. How you want, how you wish to forgive, to forget. But never will. The life of Jewish artist David Labkovski was filled with tragedy. Born in Lithuania in 1906, he survived three years of imprisonment in a brutal Siberian gulag during World War II. He then returned to a devastated Lithuania, where over 95% of the Jewish population perished in the Holocaust. Throughout Labkovski’s life (He died in Israel at the age of 85.), he painted the story of his struggles and those of his community—the vanished, as well as the people and places that survived. “If it was a choice between a cup of coffee and paints, it was always paints and paintbrushes,” his great-niece Leora Raikin says of David and his wife, Rivka. “Their entire life’s focus was securing paint supplies in whatever form, to be able to document what had happened.” Today, thousands of miles away in California, the artist’s work is the foundation of the nonprofit David Labkovski Project. The organization is using the artist’s powerful paintings to teach school kids about the Holocaust—and more. Founded by Leora, an artist and educator, and longtime educator Stephanie Wolfson, the DLP has piloted an innovative educational program in four schools, including two in the Valley: the Abraham Heschel Day School in Northridge and Daniel Pearl Magnet High School in Lake Balboa. Over the course of a semester, Leora and Stephanie go into classrooms once a week, with copies of Labkovski’s paintings. Students learn about his life and are encouraged to critique and respond to his work with their own artwork and poetry. The semester culminates in a student-led exhibition of Labkovski’s art. “The ultimate goal is for them to be able to curate an exhibition that they have designed,” Stephanie explains. “They have selected the pieces for it, and they have collaborated with each other on how to tell his story in a historical context.” “Traditionally a lot of Holocaust history has been taught either through survivor testimony or reading a document,” Leora says. This project, she explains, is “much more than just Holocaust education—it’s the creation experience, it’s the ownership, it’s the critical thinking skills, it’s the public speaking, it’s reading art.” Students are given enormous freedom in how they choose to display Labkovski’s work. “When we say it’s up to them, it really is up to them,” Stephanie says. “So we have our lesson plans to explore the history and the art, and then we’re like ‘What are you going to do with this?’ The question we ask is, ‘So now, how do you want to tell the story? How do you want to curate it for the public if you are not there to docent?’” The kids have responded in innovative ways. At Heschel Day School, students decided to use QR codes (matrix bar codes) in their exhibition, so that visitors could listen to information about each piece of art on their smartphones. Another school chose to create a website to serve as a companion piece to its exhibit, ensuring the project lived on after it closed. Leora and Stephanie hope to expand the program nationwide and continue Labkovski’s lifelong mission of bearing witness. The two enthusiastically share student comments. One student told Stephanie, “If anyone ever tries to deny this [the Holocaust] happened, they need to come to me!” Another student, while drawing a portrait of Labkovski, said, “I thought I understood how hard his life was, but when I was drawing the lines on his face, I felt it.” Perhaps empathy is the project’s greatest lesson. ***** David Labkovski, born 1906, Lithuania. Member of group of plastic artists, ''Young Vilna''. 1932 Went to Moscow where he worked as a set designer at the National Yiddish Theatre. Was suspected of anti-Soviet activity and sent to a work camp in Siberia, where he remained until the end of World War II. Returning to Vilna after the war he was deeply shocked by the destruction of the Vilna Jewish community. Immigrated in 1958. From 1960 lived and worked in Safed. 1990 catalogue of his works was published. 1997 Museum of Jewish Art opened in Ramat Gan to house his thousands of drawings. Dedicated his life to commemorating Jewish life in Vilna and the Jewish shtetl, also depicted in his work the people and landscapes of Safed and Israel. Died 1991. Education Hebrew Gymnasium, Vilna 1924 completed studies under auspices of "Hilfe durch "Arbeit", (Help through Work), Vilna 1935-37 Art Academy, Leningrad.    ebay572 meirjune