The Art of Jewish Sisterhood

THE JEWISH WEEK
March 1, 2011

“Sota” by Ofri Cnaani

NEW YORK--The 14-line Talmudic story known as “Sota” is a parable about adultery: a husband accuses his wife of cheating on him, and then orders her to drink from a special fountain with “bitter water.” If she’s guilty, she’ll die; if she’s innocent she’ll be blessed with fertility. In the hands of most rabbis, the text has not been especially important, as it seems merely to add a male-centered twist on the original commandment against adultery. But in the hands of the Israeli artist Ofri Cnaani, “Sota” has become fodder for an ambitious work of art. “The Sota Project,” which recently opened at the Kunsthalle Galapagos gallery in Brooklyn, includes a 22-minute film that challenges the text’s patriarchic assumptions. “We all know [‘Sota’] is written from a male perspective,” Cnaani, 35, said in an interview at the exhibit. “For me, though, it’s a story about sisterhood.”“The Sota Project” is on view at Kunsthalle Galapagos in Brooklyn through April 23. [link]