An exhibit of photographs by Todd Weinstein entitled “Legends of the 36 Unknown” will open on Sunday, April 3, 2016 from 2:00-4:00 pm at the Jewish Federation of St. Louis Kopolow Building, 12 Millstone Campus Drive, 63146. The opening event will include remarks by the artist and a presentation by musicians including James Stone Goodman.

According to the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism, the world requires a minimum of thirty-six righteous individuals in order to exist. These individuals, known in Yiddish as “lamed-vov-niks,” live among us with their identities concealed, though they make themselves known in times of great peril.

In 1995, photographer Todd Weinstein traveled to Poland, visiting Cracow and Auschwitz. The artist began to photograph images of figures and faces he found in rock formations, natural forms and detritus. The 36 images in this series emerged from these “ghost” pictures. According to Todd Weinstein, “Finding these images….continued my search for wholeness. My “36 Unknown” brought personal healing. “The 36 Unknown was my attempt to restore and update the rich Jewish lore and to help deepen the context of a renewed society.”

The opening event will be followed by a dessert reception; dietary laws observed. This program is free and open to the public but reservations are required. To RSVP, or for further information, please call 314-442-3711 or email AGoldfeder@JFedSTL.org by March 28.

This exhibit is co-sponsored by the Morris and Ann Lazaroff Endowment for the Saul Brodsky Jewish Community Library and The Rubin (of blessed memory) and Gloria Feldman Family Institute of the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center. Additional support provided by the Center for Jewish Learning, Central Reform Congregation, the Jewish Federation of St Louis and Neve Shalom.