STAV APPEL – THE TORAH IN THE TAROT

Step into the mystery with the second installment of the Ayin Salon series, spotlighting Ayin Press authors who are reimagining Jewish creativity, symbolism, and storytelling for a new generation.

In this hands-on, illuminating evening, Stav Appel invites participants to explore the Jean Noblet Tarot – the earliest known deck in the Tarot de Marseille tradition and a stunning artifact of 17th-century France. Through guided study of the cards’ intricate imagery, Appel will reveal how Jewish mystics and artists may have encoded Hebrew letters, ritual symbols, and sacred narratives into a deck created at a time when Jewish practice was forbidden. Together, we’ll study the cards themselves to uncover the symbols and secret meanings woven into their imagery centuries ago.

Drawing from his groundbreaking work The Torah in the Tarot, Appel uncovers how this remarkable deck became both an artistic masterpiece and a quiet act of crypto-Jewish resistance. With a foreword by poet Ariana Reines, the book pairs Appel’s revelatory text with a 78-card, historically faithful reproduction of the Jean Noblet Tarot, illuminating how art became a vessel for hidden meaning and enduring faith.

About the Author:
Stav Appel is a data scientist and lifelong Torah student whose work bridges spiritual inquiry and historical research. A graduate of Yale School of Management, he studied Biblical Hebrew at Hebrew University and Yale Divinity School and previously directed Nitzanei Shalom and International Service Programs for American Jewish World Service. He lives in New Salem, NY, and writes widely on the Judaic roots of Western esotericism. Follow him on Instagram @torah.tarot.

Prepurchase the deck/booklet from Afikomen with this link!

Our community partners for this event are Ayin Press and Afikomen Judaica & Bookshop.

Questions? Email [email protected]