Nekudah Institute is about experiencing our Jewishness and heritage through creativity.
Judaism is about how we experience life. Torah is all-encompassing: it teaches us how to confront the world, and how to interact with it in a meaningful way. And that’s also the key to creativity.
We explore the why, where, when and how of Jewish creativity. Why do we need it? Where do we encounter it? When is it most appropriate and effective? How has it been done in the past, and how can it be used in the future?
What do we do? We create music, art and multimedia presentations that help us discover our heritage, culture and our insights. And we teach talented Jews how to use their talents in a uniquely Jewish way, not just in the context of secular arts and entertainment.
The Nekudah is a mystical concept of discovering our essence, and bringing it to fulfillment and expression, with a sense of purpose and connection. This is the goal of Jewish creativity. Our Nekudah Program, Jewish Creativity Center, and Jewish Creativity Training are all dedicated to this core principle.
Special thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Howard Jonas for their generosity and support.
Nekudah Institute Inc. is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization with the State of NY. Federal ID #81-1816788. Donations are tax exempt. Address is 7 Laura Pl, Spring Valley, NY 10977
About the Director
Reb Shaya Guttman, founder and director of the Institute, has long been using his variety of talents for the furtherance of Jewish experience. In his teens, he was already teaching cantorial skills, writing and directing Jewish plays, and composing Jewish music. Upon graduating summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota music school, he married and moved to New York, where he eventually returned to his roots in the Chassidic world, his great-grandfather having been a Tolner chossid in a Ukrainian shtetl. This transformation led him to new insights into the meaning of Jewish music and Jewish culture as a whole, as explained in a feature article about him in Mishpacha Magazine, Jan. 15, 2015 edition.
Over the years, he has served the Jewish community as a provider of Cholov Yisroel milk products in the midwest through his company Finest Offerings, and since 1987 providing graphic and web design services through his studio Creative Ideal Inc. as art director for Jewish publications such as Good Fortune Magazine, Jewish Holiday Consumer, The Network of NJ, Kosher Today, and Chai Today, as well as numerous kosher food companies and other Jewish owned businesses and institutions.
Since moving to Israel in 2004, first to Beit Shemesh and then to Tzfat, he has produced 4 music CDs. A video based on his first CD has reached over 800K views, and its soundtrack was licensed for use in the new Jewish Museum in Moscow. He has also developed a large portfolio of digital artworks, some of which can be found in the Nekudah marketplace.
For the past 40 years, Reb Shaya has been a respected member of Jewish communities in Brooklyn, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Monsey, Beit Shemesh and now Tzfat. He has spoken regularly in Beit Shemesh, and now gives shiurim in Tzfas in both English and Yiddish. His latest project is preparing for a US tour as a Scholar/Artist in Residence.