Images of Jewish Counterculture

"Sukkot in Connecticut," 1970s

Sukkot in Connecticut, 1970s, by Bill Aron.

Courtesy of Bill Aron.

Simchat Torah

People gathered around an open Torah being read during Simchat Torah as others hold a tallit aloft over the children and Torah.

Courtesy of Bill Aron

Questions For Close Looking

Use some or all of the following questions to guide your class's analysis of the two photographs taken by Bill Aron.

  • What do you notice in this photograph? What else do you see?
  • What do you think is happening in this picture? What makes you say that?
  • How would you describe the photograph?
  • What is your emotional response to it? What makes you feel that way?
  • What is distinctively Jewish in this photograph?
  • What kind of vision of the Jewish community do you think this photo communicates? What makes you say that?
  • These photographs were taken by Bill Aron, a photographer who documents Jewish life in much of his work. These two images show members of the New York Havurah in the 1970s. How does this information affect your understanding of the photographs?
  • What else do you notice about them? Consider what in your own experiences or knowledge shapes the way you interpret the images.
  • As we move on with the next activity, keep in mind how these photographs communicated stories, values, and choices to you. Think about the specific decisions the photographer made of what to capture and how to capture it that informed the way each of you understand these photographs.

Donate

Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women.

donate now

Get JWA in your inbox

Read the latest from JWA from your inbox.

sign up now

How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Images of Jewish Counterculture." (Viewed on November 6, 2024) <https://jwa.org/teach/livingthelegacy/documentstudies/images-of-jewish-counterculture>.