Meet Edgar the Hoopoe

You might notice a new addition to our backyard, a mural of a hoopoe. Why a Hoopoe? The hoopoe is a migratory bird long associated with the land of Israel — some imagine it as the bird visiting Bialik in his poem To the Bird — and with regions central to the Jewish diaspora. A bird that travels throughout the Jewish world felt right for the Lehrhaus mural. In Jewish legend, the hoopoe is said to have guarded the Shamir, a mythical worm used to split the stones of the Temple so that no tools of war would be needed in its construction.

The bird also appears far beyond Jewish tradition. In Farid ud-Din Attar’s 12th-century Sufi masterpiece The Conference of the Birds, the hoopoe is the wise guide leading the flock on their search for truth. That mix of migration, myth, and meaning makes the hoopoe a fitting presence for Lehrhaus—a place where ideas, traditions, and people are constantly in motion. Also, who doesn’t love a bird with a mohawk!?

The mural, created by local artist Chloe Rubinstein, captures that spirit in vivid color. Learn more about the hoopoe’s role in Jewish tradition and Sufi literature, or stop by Lehrhaus to see Chloe’s mural and meet the bird yourself.

We’re not 100% sure what we’ll end up calling our hoopoe friend, but for now we're calling it Edgar.