POMEGRANATE CHALLENGE: The Challenge is Met

Coordinated by Elaine Jaffe

And they made upon
the hem of the robe
pomegranates
of blue and purple
and scarlet and twined linen.
And they made bells of pure gold
and put the bells between the
pomegranates upon the hem
of the robe, round about
between the pomegranates.

Exodus 39: 24—25

These lines from Exodus, describing embroidery of our Biblical ancestors, are the inspiration for the Pomegranate Guild. Special Projects maven Elaine Jaffe provided us the nineteen citations where the pomegranate is mentioned in the Tanakh, and challenged Guild members to create a wall hanging. We are pleased to present the results on our web site.

Find the pomegranate in these verses: Exodus 28:33; Exodus 39:24; Numbers 13:23; Numbers 20:5; Deuteronomy 8:8; Samuel 14:2; 1 Kings 7:20; 1 Kings 7:42; 2 Kings 25:17; 2 Chronicles 3:16; 2 Chronicles 4:13; Song of Songs 4:3; Song of Songs 4:13; Song of Songs 6:7; Song of Songs 7:13; Song of Songs 8:2; Jeremiah 52:22; Joel 1:12; Haggai 2:19.

Note: The text of those verses is listed here

The challenge was also published in The Paper Pomegranate. Extra copies of the special challenge issue send a check or money order for $4 US per copy for domestic mailing ($5 for Canada, $6 for overseas) payable to The Pomegranate Guild with your name and mailing address to Sybil Bernstein, 116 Greenvale Road, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034

Participating stitchers represented a wide variety of techniques and represented chapters from Boston; Atlanta; Philadelphia; Boca Raton, Florida; San Fernando Valley, California; and Washington, D. C.

The participant works have been organized by the verse interpreted and include:

• Elaine Blonder and Ruth Roth: Exodus 39:24-25
• Marie Cotton, Barbara Rucket, and Judith Solomont Exodus 28:33-34
• Sharie Goldfarb, Marilyn Novak, and Barbara Rabin Song of Songs 7:13
• Ruth Ann Feinberg and Bonnie Vorspan Deuteronomy 8:8
• Sidney Freedman, Melanie Grishman, and Dorothy Thursby-Stern Song of Songs Chapter 4 and Verse 6:7
• Elaine Jaffe and Paula Reuben Numbers 20:5
• Marsha Lovatt and Judith Spector Song of Songs 8:2
• Ellen Manson and Patricia Padva: No particular verse

All of the pieces listed are illustrated on the following pages. Please note that in order to ensure high-quality images, the pictures may take longer to load than normal.

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Posted on April 29, 2004