Arieh Allweil: Scroll of Ruth

Posted by scott on Aug 31, 2021 in Art I See

Introduction

Last summer when I first began my communication with Ruth Sperling and Nava Rosenfeld, the daughters of artist Arieh Allweil (1901-1967), we were trying to nail down the dates of the six books that he illustrated with linocuts and published between 1939 and 1944. Sperling wrote about Scroll of Ruth: “This book was created in 1939. I know it was 1939, as I was born in 1939, and was told by my father that I was named after the book. I also have a copy with the date.”

So leading up to this blog on Scroll of Ruth, I asked her: “I was wondering if you felt any special relationship to the book given that you were named Ruth.” She replied in an email:

“I love the name Ruth, and am grateful to my parents for giving me this name, and to my father for giving me the name of first book he created. The connection is not to the story of Ruth, but more through a special plate that my father has made and burned in an oven, in which he has written and decorated a sentence from the Aggada* with the interpretation of the name Ruth. He dedicated this plate to me, and this plate is very dear to me. It is hanged on the wall of my living room.

“The text in Hebrew is: אמר ר׳ יוחנן למה נקרא שמה רות שזכתה ויצא ממנה דוד ש רו הו להקדוש ברוך הוא בשי רות ותשבחות

“The translation is hard as the meaning is in the Hebrew words. My (poor) translation is: ‘Rabbi Yochanan said: Why is she named Ruth, as she was blessed with David, her descendant, whom God empowered with singing and praise.’ In the word “empowered” (ש רו הו) you find two of the three letters of Ruth (רות). Moreover, in the word “singing” (שי רות), you find the full name of Ruth. I hope I managed to convey the idea.”

* Aggadah (Hebrew: אַגָּדָה‎ or הַגָּדָה‎; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic אַגָּדְתָא; “tales, fairytale, lore”) is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporates folklore, historical anecdotes, moral exhortations, and practical advice in various spheres, from business to medicine. (from Wikipedia)

Allweil commemorated the pending birth of Ruth by placing on the hard cover of the second edition of Scroll of Ruth an image that, according to Sperling, depicts a pregnant woman, “my mother Rachel.” (right)

Scroll of Ruth was just one of four books he published in 1939. The others were  Anonymous Jew, Touring The Land, and Book of Amos. Sperling remarked: “This burst of creativity might be explained on a personal level. In 1938 he married my mother and in 1939 they became parents. I think he was very happy for building a family in Eretz Israel. He connects and brings hope from his personal experiences to the building of a homeland, the House of Israel.” 

As noted Allweil first published Scroll of Ruth in 1939. It contained 26 full-page linocuts printed from the block. He then issued a second edition in either 1943 or 1944. It contained the same 26 linocuts printed from the block. What was new to the main body of the book was a second plate in red to highlight parts of the text pages and a caption in red above each of the full-page linocuts. For the second edition Allweil also created a vibrant black-and-red dust cover, placed a large red figurative linocut of the word “Ruth” in Hebrew (רות) on the hard cover and on the title page, and pictorial endpapers inside the front and back covers

This post of Scroll of Ruth illustrates with translations all of the pages of the first edition, examples of the internal pages of the second edition, and shows the dust covers, the endpapers of the second edition, and hard covers and titles pages of both.

The daughters Ruth Sperling and Nava Rosenfeld have kindly sent images of preparatory drawings their father made for Scroll of Ruth. I’ve paired up the drawings with the related linocuts to begin this post. Then I present all of the pages from the first edition. Finally, I illustrate how the second edition differs from the first.

This post is the seventh on the works of Arieh Allweil. Links to the other six appear at the end of this post.

Thanks so much for the tireless contributions of Ruth Sperling and Nava Rosenfeld. These ART I SEE posts on Arieh Allweil would not be possible without them.

The book Scroll of Ruth and its contents as well as preparatory drawings are presented courtesy of the Estate of Arieh Allweil.

Drawings for Scroll of ruth

Fortunately a number of Allweil’s preliminary sketches have survived, and Nava Rosenfeld has provided a selection of them. The following pairings of a drawing with the associated linocut appear in the order that the linocuts are in the book.

Scroll of Ruth: first edition

The first edition of Scroll of Ruth was published in Mandate Palestine (Eretz Israel) in 1939. In an email Ruth Sperling said: “It was the first of the Biblical books created by my father. The book starts with disaster but ends with blossom and leading to the house of David, and signified the new life being build in Eretz Israel. It was created before World War II started.”

All of the full-page images are original linocuts by Arieh Allweil. He also cut a linocut for the lettering on the dust cover. (The linocut of the bent-over woman on the dust cover was also used inside the book.) The title page is also a linocut. However, he made the full pages of Hebrew text–both large and small letters as well as the pictorial elements–with pen and ink. Each page was then photographed, and the resultant transparency was used to make a lead plate (stereotype).

Nava Rosenfeld translated the Hebrew. Her translations of the text pages are limited to the topmost large letters. She also translated the image captions, which were in two locations: 1) another large line of text and 2) in very small letters carved within the full-page linocuts, frequently toward the top.

The book measures 21.8 x 14.8 cm (8.6 x 5.8″).

RIGHT: Dust cover: Scroll of Ruth (top), by Ariel Allweil

LEFT: Hard cover: Arieh Allweil (top), Scroll of Ruth

TOP: Scroll of Ruth written and painted by Ariel Allweil

BOTTON: “Ayala” publishers by “Dvir,” Tel Aviv, 1939

Scroll of Ruth written and painted by the painter Arieh Allweil

A (א): In the time of the judges…

RIGHT: A man went

LEFT: And she was left

RIGHT: The Lord remembered His people

LEFT: And they went on the road

RIGHT: And they went on the road

LEFT: Return my daughters

RIGHT: But Ruth cleaved to her

LEFT: And to her God

RIGHT: Is this Naomi

LEFT: I will go now to the field

RIGHT: And she gleaned in the field

LEFT: May the Lord be with you

RIGHT: The youths not to touch you

LEFT: And drink from that which the youths draw

RIGHT: And she fell on her face

LEFT: May the Lord reward your deeds

RIGHT: Your morsel in the vinegar

LEFT: So she sat down beside the reapers

RIGHT: And she carried and came

LEFT: The Moabitess said, He also said to me

RIGHT: Behold, he is winnowing the thrashing floor

LEFT: And put on your clothes

RIGHT: And she went down to the threshing floor

LEFT: And behold a woman

RIGHT: You are a valiant woman

LEFT: His fellow, for he said let it not be known

RIGHT: Ready the shawl

LEFT: He gave me

RIGHT: I will let you know, saying: Buy in the presence of those who sit

LEFT: And give to his fellow

RIGHT: In the gate and the elders replied

LEFT: Like Rachel and like Leah

RIGHT: And the Lord gave her conception

LEFT: And she became his nurse

RIGHT: A son has been born to Naomi and they called his name Obed

LEFT: And these are the generations

David

TOP: Printed from the original linocuts created by the artist

The text stereotypes by the United Zincographies

MIDDLE: Copyright 1939 by the “Dvir” Co. Ltd., Tel Aviv

Printed in Eretz Israel

Printed in Palestine

BOTTOM: “Gutenerg” printhouse of Zvi Casp, Tel Aviv

SCROLL OF RUTH: Second edition

In 1943 or 1944 Arieh Allweil published a second edition of Scroll of Ruth. His daughter Ruth Sperling said: “The second edition was created and published during the war. He was not aware yet of the Holocaust, but information was coming about the disasters. I think in the second edition our father was conveying and emphasising a message of hope in time of disaster, of building a homeland, the House of Israel.” 

As stated previously: What was new to the main body of the book was a second plate in red to highlight parts of the text pages and a caption in red above each of the full-page linocuts. He also created a vibrant black-and-red dust cover, placed a large red figurative linocut of the word “Ruth” in Hebrew (רות) on the hard cover and on the title page, and made linocut pictorial endpapers for inside the front and back covers.

First up is the second edition dust cover paired with the hard cover.  Then comes the endpapers, followed by the title pages. Finally are four of the inside page spreads as examples of the body of the second edition.

In this edition Allweil made new linocuts to serve as captions for the full-page linocuts and printed the new linocut in red above each image. These captions in red duplicate the captions that he cut within the full-page linocuts. As in the first edition a large line of the text also served as a caption. In a very real sense he just made the captions much more noticeable.

For the text pages Allweil made a new pen-and-ink drawing to highlight the large letters and add a border, usually foliage, around some of the text. In the course of the second edition Allweil changed the type of foliage to reflect the events in the Scroll of Ruth. As Ruth Sperling wrote: “The decoration in the first page starts with thorns, representing the famine the book starts with, but changes into blossom and fruits and ends with wheat.” 

Like the text in the first edition, a stereotype was made for each of the new drawings. The new stereotype was printed first (in red) before the first edition plate was printed in black.

RIGHT: Dust Cover: Scroll of Ruth (large letters), the paintings–Arieh Allweil. Sperling said: “The dust cover depicts blossoms with wheat and the seven species of the Land of Israel that my father loved, with the ascending letter לֹ (L) in  the word מגילת (scroll) also supporting this message.”

Allweil made a single linocut for the dust cover but printed it in two colors on a single pass through the press. This is called a rainbow roll. The printer (Allweil) placed the black ink on either side of the red ink on a glass plate. Then he used a roller to blend the inks together. He then rolled the roller with blended inks over the linocut.

LEFT: Hard cover: The large figurative letters spell Ruth; (below) the paintings–Arieh Allweil. Sperling said: “The word Ruth (רות) is decorated in figures: the first letter ר  (R) with the pregnant Ruth (my mother with me, Ruth, in her womb); the second letter ו  decorated with wheat; and the third letter ת with David (the name David, דוד, is written on the right leg of the letter). This image gives a 20th-century significance to the Biblical story.”

ENDPAPERS 

RIGHT: Like Rachel and Leah which two build the House of Israel. Sperling said: “The internal cover carry the same message of hope, of building the house of Israel.” The image of Rachel and Leah is a variation of the fifth plate to the end of the book.

LEFT: Now these are the generations. Sperling said: “All these images are enforcing the deep affinity  between Biblical times and modern Jewish history.” A variation on this image appears as the next to last linocut in the book and carries the same caption. 

TITLE PAGES

RIGHT: Scroll of Ruth written and painted by the painter Arieh Allweil (same as first edition)

LEFT: Ruth, the paintings Arieh Allweil. Allweil used the same figurative word Ruth on the hard cover, but he recut the letters below.

Previous posts on Arieh Allweil

This post is the seventh on the works of Arieh Allweil.

•  The first introduced the artist and offered a snapshot of his books (LINK).
• The second was the first of two posts devoted to Allweil’s Book of Amos. It examined his production of text in linoleum cuts. (LINK)
• The third presented all of the linocuts in Amos with translations of captions and much of the text. (LINK)
• The fourth stepped back to his days in Vienna, where he created a portfolio of lithograph entitled Graues Band in German and Tura Afura in Hebrew. (LINK)
• The fifth present his book Anonymous Jew and a translation of the essay by Max Brod. (LINK)
• The Sixth covered the book of linocuts called Touring the Land and a translation of its essay by Max Brod. (LINK)

COMMENTS

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