BUTLER INSTITUTE Jewish master scribe to speak on art

YOUNGSTOWN -- Dr. Eric F.L. Ray, a rabbi, master scribe and authority on Jewish art and ancient manuscripts, is the speaker for the annual Rabbi Samuel Meyer Memorial Lecture.
He will give a slide presentation on faith sharing in art, titled "Artistic Expressions of Faith."
The free ecumenical event is at 7 p.m. June 2 in the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown.
Rabbi Ray serves as principal adviser on Torah scrolls for the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York. He helped restore Europe's oldest known Torah scroll, written in Spain in the 1300s.
Rabbi Ray was also involved in the recent Torah restoration project at Temple El Emeth in Liberty.
His articles have appeared in scholarly journals in Europe, Israel and the United States. He has also been in demand as a scholar-in-residence, lecturer and consultant to museums. His synagogue art and fine art have been featured in many publications and are found in the White House, the Israeli Knesset and many private collections.
He was awarded the title "master scribe" in 1976 in Jerusalem, based on his ability to write all 2,000 of the letter designs in Hebrew developed through history.
During World War II, he was smuggled into the Dachau concentration camp to use his calligraphic and artistic skills to forge documents to get sick survivors into France, and displaced persons out of the camps.
The Rabbi Meyer Memorial Lecture Series honors the memory of the late leader of Temple El Emeth who was instrumental in creating the Jewish/Christian Dialogue series in Youngstown.