By Ari Plotkin
Cantor Karen Webber’s spiritual journey has taken her from singing liturgical music, jazz and folk songs to teaching, and from performance art to writing poetry.
And now co-authoring a book.
The Mount Washington resident’s “Vessels of Light” (Salara Publishing) is a spiritual meditation through poetry, song and visual storytelling. The book features images by Winchester, Virginia-based photographer Ellen Zimmerman, accompanied by spiritual ruminations and observations by Cantor Webber.
Jmore recently spoke with Cantor Webber, a native of West Hartford, Connecticut, about “Vessels of Light.” Ordained in 1990 by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, she has worked in the pulpit for more than three decades, as well as in mental health services and wellness circles.
What is ‘Vessels of Light’ about?
It’s kind of a marriage between words and images. And the poetry in it is very sparse.
‘Vessels of Light’ comes from the story of when God is creating the world. There were vessels that stored this holy, divine light, but it was almost too big to be contained. But it was in these vessels and they burst, and that light gets sort of distributed all over the world and shards of light get tucked into grass or a tree.
It’s a book about the natural world. It’s a book that includes seeing the world in a Jewish way.
Can you talk about the research process for writing the book?
The process worked like this. We began with photos Ellen had already shot. She spent hours paring down a grouping for consideration. The first batch was 100 photos which we studied together. Then, I looked at them again and chose to write to photos that grabbed me the most.
This book was written intuitively and responded. The images and words danced. I responded to the patterns and colors of Ellen’s otherworldly photos.
What do you hope readers take away from the book?
I want them to take the idea of creativity, of looking at how many ways we can look at something.
I’m inviting people to see what they will, to dream, to expand their notion of what something looks like. [For instance] there’s a photograph of waves on a beach. And I say, ‘Shadowed sand welcomes back waves.’ I want people to access the book on every level, any way they can.
Any plans for another book?
I know Ellen is photographing like a fiend and working on several projects at once. This may include a book.
I am a poet-in-residence at Teach the Shoah and have been itching to write a play. The piece explores the relationships between a Holocaust survivor who coaches theater in New Jersey, her daughter, a therapist, and her granddaughter, an artist. The play demonstrates the power of ritual to help us heal, the power of the woods to both hide and reveal, and the power of story to wake us and get us unstuck.
Cantor Karen Webber will speak about “Vessels of Light” with Joey Reisberg on Sunday, Oct. 5, at 4 p.m. on the patio at The Ivy Bookshop, 5928 Falls Road. For information, visit theivybookshop.com/.
For information about “Vessels of Light,” visit amazon.com/Vessels-Light-Ellen-Zimmerman/dp/B0F1YWHLCX.
Ari Plotkin is a Jmore editorial staff intern.
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