Los Gatos Sculptor's Work on Its Way to Israel

After years of making bronze sculptures of the Hebrew alphabet, local artist Joyce Steinfeld is now creating letters that spell the word Hadassah and which will soon be on their way to the prestigious Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.

Hadassah is the name of the women's Zionist organization in the United States founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold.

Hadassah is also the translated Hebrew name for Esther, the main Jewish character in the Biblical Book of Esther.

Steinfeld's connection with the hospital began when she visited Israel last June with a group led by Rabbi Melanie Aron of in Los Gatos.

Steinfeld, who belongs to a local Hadassah chapter, took a tour of the medical center. At that time, she met the woman who headed the tour department and offered to donate a sculpture of the word "one" done in Hebrew letters, she said.

After some back-and-forth with her contact and the woman’s boss, Steinfeld was asked to create a new sculpture using the Hadassah name.

The hospital will incur all the costs associated with shipping the art piece to Israel, but Steinfeld will donate the work.

The sculpture uses Hebrew letters in a special font style that Steinfeld has developed. It stands more than 6 feet tall due to the height of its pedestal, which is made out of a granite base with fabricated steel.

A viewing reception is being planned at the to allow the public to see the sculpture before it is shipped to Israel, according to a news release.

Steinfeld is hoping to raise money to send a donation check with the sculpture to the Hadassah hospital, the release stated.

According to Seinfeld's website, she's focused on sculpture and fine art digital prints.

Between 1972 and 1993, she worked as a jewelry designer for a fashion jewelry manufacturer, an art teacher for adult education at San Francisco Community College, and owned a business that sold advertising specialties, the website said.

From 1993 to 2007, she created collections of “Art to Wear Jewelry” that she sold wholesale and retail.

She studied fashion design, multimedia art and updated her sculpture and foundry skills.

Steinfeld created her own font style for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet and made a poster with all of their shapes, the website said.

Through this exploration of the Hebrew alphabet, she discovered that the letters have significance and meaning beyond a letter representing a sound, the website expanded.

Additional information about the sculpture and the meaning of the letters in the word Hadassah can be found at thewordsacred.com.