The story behind Orayta

A longing for home.
How Orayta began.

I wanted to look at the walls of my home and feel my connection to Judaism, too.

Shani Berger Arad

Co-Founder · Creative Director

Read Shani’s story

A connection that travelled with her.

IsraelHome
KazakhstanThree years
RomaniaToday

Making a home, far from Israel

In recent years, I have been living outside Israel with my family. After three years in Kazakhstan, we moved to Romania, where we still live today. In every new home, it was important to me to create a place that was beautiful, warm and thoughtfully designed. But over time, I felt that something was missing.

What was missing from the walls

I wanted to look at the walls of my home and feel my connection to Judaism, too. I wanted words of blessing and holiness, in a form that would truly belong in a modern home and in the kind of design I love. I searched, but could not find exactly what I imagined. That was when the idea of making this connection a reality began.

A feeling others shared

I began developing the concept of Jewish artworks with a modern, considered look, pieces that would not ask us to choose between holiness and design. When I started sharing the idea and the works, more and more messages arrived from people who felt exactly as I did. That was when I understood that this was not only my own longing. There was a real desire to bring more meaning, roots and holiness into the home, without compromising on design.

How Orayta began

That is how Orayta began: from the wish to take words, verses and symbols that connect us to our roots, and bring them into our homes in a contemporary, beautiful and meaningful way.

Shani Berger Arad

The figures in our gallery

Rabbis and sages. A living heritage.

Behind each figure is a life of learning and influence. Meet the rabbis and sages represented in Orayta’s artworks.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994), the seventh Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, led the movement from New York. His work expanded its worldwide network of emissaries, with an emphasis on Jewish education, observance and connection to every Jew.

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Rabbi Ovadia Yosef

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (1920–2013) was a leading Sephardic authority on Jewish law. He served as Israel’s Sephardic Chief Rabbi from 1973 to 1983 and as the spiritual leader of Shas. His scholarship remains central to contemporary Sephardic religious life.

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Baba Sali — Rabbi Israel Abuhatzeira

Rabbi Israel Abuhatzeira, known as the Baba Sali, was a Moroccan rabbi and kabbalist from the Abuhatzeira family. He later settled in Israel and became closely associated with Netivot. He died in 1984; his burial place remains a destination for prayer and pilgrimage.

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (1772–1810) founded Breslov Hasidism. Born in Medzhybizh, he later lived and taught in Breslov before moving to Uman. No successor was appointed after his death, and his followers continue to regard him as their Rebbe.

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Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was a Mishnaic sage and a disciple of Rabbi Akiva. His teachings appear throughout rabbinic literature. Jewish tradition associates him with the Zohar and with the celebration of Lag BaOmer at Meron.

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Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes

Rabbi Meir was a second-century Mishnaic sage, a disciple of Rabbi Akiva and the husband of Beruriah. His teachings appear in the Mishnah and Talmud. Jewish tradition also knows him as Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes, the master of the miracle.

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