In Yossi Makais's little Baltimore workshop, precious metals are transformed into holy objects fit for the King’s table
As a longtime Judaica and Jewish art collector, I’m always on the lookout for undiscovered artifacts and esoteric treasures. So when I came upon the precious metals workshop of world-class craftsman and artisan Yossi Makais, a seventh-generation Yerushalmi living in Baltimore whose extreme modesty always kept him out of the public eye, I knew I’d found a hidden gem.
His is the story of two life journeys: a journey that began with a gift from Hashem — a talent of artistic design making beautiful jewelry and eventually, ritual Judaic items; and a second journey — realizing that Hashem was in his life all along, directing his path and pushing him forward.
Yossi’s father’s family came to Eretz Yisrael from Morocco back in 1830, and his mother, born in Baghdad in 1927, settled in Jerusalem in 1930. She was a young bride — Yossi, the oldest of 12 siblings, was born in 1945 when she was just 18. Yossie’s parents were traditional, but not strictly practicing Jews, raising their large family in Jerusalem’s Bukharian Quarter where Yossi lived until he was 25.
Yossi was just a young kid when his mother noticed his talent for drawing and painting. His parents enrolled him in a boarding school headed by famous Israeli educator Moshe Tokayer, where for five years he developed his art talent mainly in drawing, sculpture, and painting. Tokayer recognized Yossi’s gifts, and personally took him under his wing, providing him with special instruction to maximize his potential.
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