Artist Jean-Pierre Weill recently spoke to Alene Jo Kaufman of KBH Synagogue about his book, Evolve: A Children’s Book for Adults as part of the Lee 
and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival. The conversation took place on Zoom. Weill, a father of five who was born in France, moved to the United States as a child and later made aliyah to Israel, refers to himself as a poet, expressing himself through multimedia art.
In Evolve, Weill puts a philosophical spin on Torah stories many readers know well. Through the eyes of Adam, Cain, and Abraham, Weill takes the reader on a journey through the concept of self as an open-ended thought. “Through the ego, we invent ourselves,” Jean-Pierre explained. “’i’ is the path to becoming the inventor. By making decisions and choosing, this is how you grow and become your true self.”
When asked about the book’s title, Weill noted that he sees the world as built up of two things, evolution and love. “Evolution is everything and everywhere,” Weill said. “From a more personal evolution comes internal consciousness, culture, and global exploration. The word EVOLve has LOVE embedded in it. Without love, we cannot evolve. Love brought me into the world, and love will take me from it.”
Illustrations from Evolve: A Children’s Book for Adults are on exhibit in the Leon Family Gallery at the Sandler Family Campus through the end of February. The illustrations are paired with text from the book curated by Weill, telling an abridged version of the story. Copies of the book are also available for sale at the Simon Family JCC front desk.
To view a recording of the conversation or for more information about the festival or gallery, contact Hunter Thomas, director of Arts + Ideas at the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, at HThomas@JewishVA.org.
The Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival is held in coordination with the Jewish Book Council, the longest-running organization devoted exclusively to the support and celebration of Jewish literature.
–Mia Klein and Hunter Thomas