This trail starts here

The sculptor Zvi Yehuda Aldouby was born to a Hassidic family in Carpathian Galicia, and immigrated to Eretz Israel in 1924. He studied in Jerusalem, followed by a study tour of Italy and Paris. His sculpture is figurative in style. Aldouby was among the founders of Ein Hod Artists’ Village on the Carmel. Aldouby described the challenge for his creation, the Breastplate of the High Priest (HaChoshen), for the Ohel Aharon Synagogue at Technion (April 1975).

“I was inspired by the beauty and splendor of the… breastplate which the high priest wore over his heart… adorned with 12 precious stones, each one different, symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel… In our own times, the breastplate of the high priest might serve as a symbol and a hope for the unification of the Jews living in Israel and for the unity of the Jewish people everywhere.”

The sculpture is a massive rectangle of flat Hebron stone, asymmetrical and rough. Protruding from the two parallel surfaces are twelve bronze rectangles arranged in four rows, set into the stone with concrete. Each bronze rectangle appears to be the continuation of the opposing one on the other side. The face of each bronze rectangle has a natural roughness with a different finish in each case.

Commissioned by the Jesselson Family