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Custom is an old-fashioned word, and books perhaps a threatened commodity.

But Scott Martin Kisofsky's work is an adventure in bringing books of liturgy and custom to life

for modern people.

To call him a book designer doesn't quite do justice to his art.

He is an inventive typographer who also makes forays into photography, graphic arts, and

music.

I interviewed him in 2004 about his modern adaptation of a Venetian Yiddish guide from the Middle

Ages, the Book of Customs or Minha Geem.

It's a compilation of stories and practical instructions, prayers to recite, and illustrations

to contemplate.

For three centuries, medieval Jewish families used this book to navigate daily life and

sacred time.

But really, as Scott Martin Kisofsky discovered from a secular starting point, it's a handbook

for leading a good life, as helpful in our time as in theirs.

The sacredness of seasons, including Hanukkah and its winding backstory, was just one of

his discoveries.

When one thinks about scripture and about liturgy, inevitably, you know, you just wonder

about the places God is and is not.

Are we dealing with God or just the memory of God?

...