Ludwig Yehuda Wolpert, (1900-1981), was a German-born Israeli-American goldsmith and designer. Wolpert is celebrated as the first artist to design Judaica in the Modern style and was greatly influenced by the Bauhaus movement.
In 1933, he immigrated to Israel and worked in the B. Friedland Workshop where he designed silver tableware and Jewish ceremonial art. In 1935 he began teaching at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem where he headed the Department of Metal together with jeweler David Heinz Gumbel. Wolpert emphasized Hebrew calligraphy in Jewish ceremonial art. In 1942 he established an independent workshop in Jerusalem. In 1956, Wolpert moved to the US where he headed the Tobe Pascher Workshop for Modern Jewish Art at the Jewish Museum in New York City.
Two of our torahs are adorned by crowns designed by Wolpert. The crowns were donated by Mary Linda Schwarzbart and her sister, Anne Tomlinson, in memory of their mother, Virginia Morrison, and the Balloff Family of LaFollette in Honor of Mr. and Mrs.Louis (Esther) Balloff, 1962.
Our torahs also are adorned with breastplates designed by Wolpert. These three breastplates were donated by Heska Amuna’s Religious Sunday School 1958-1959, Bar Mitzvah Class 1958-1959, and Religious Sunday School 1960-1961