For an artist whose biography would be incomplete without the phrase “world-renowned,” David Moss is strikingly humble.

“I think of myself as a folk artist,” he said from Jerusalem, “but a folk artist of an extremely sophisticated folk.”

Moss is indeed a sophisticated master of many media. He is perhaps best known as the creator of the Haggadah that bears his name. Reflecting more than a year of research in libraries on three continents, the Moss Haggadah is filled with personally rendered Hebrew calligraphy, original prints and detailed paper cuts. The result is a tour de force that Rabbi Irving “Yitz” Greenberg describes as “possibly the most beautiful Haggadah of all times.”

He is also acclaimed as the artist who singlehandedly revived the art of the hand-illuminated ketubah (marriage contract) with a collection that has inspired a generation of artists and a vibrant genre of Jewish expression. His portfolio is testimony to a deep devotion to Judaism and what he describes as “the swarm of new pieces and projects teeming in my feverish little mind.”

With trademark attention to craftsmanship as well as beauty, he has manipulated interior and exterior spaces, created graphic art, poetry and pottery and offered educational programming to audiences of all ages. The British Museum, Getty Museum, Israel Museum, Library of Congress, National Library of Canada, New York Public Library, Harvard and Yale University Libraries and Yeshiva University Museum are only a sampling of the institutions that have exhibited his work or have made it part of their permanent collections.

The Kansas City community will have the chance to experience Moss and his many dimensions during his stay as the Jewish Community Center’s artist in residence, Nov. 4 through 7. Public events will include lectures, workshops and exhibitions that, with one exception, are available to the community at no charge. He will finish with “Journey Through Psalms,” an “interfaith, intercultural, interactive gathering.”

Moss will be joined by the senior minister of Community Christian Church, The Rev. Robert Hill, co-host of the popular radio show “Religion on the Line”; Abbot Gregory J. Polan, O.S.B., of Conception Abbey, who directed the revision of the Psalter now used by English speaking congregations throughout the Catholic world; and Congregation Ohev Sholom’s Rabbi Scott White. In educational and entertaining fashion, they will share graphic, literary, liturgical and musical creations stemming from the Book of Psalms before inviting audience members to create expressions of their own. Book/print signing and sales will follow each event. (See box for complete schedule.)

Beyond the publicized programs, the artist’s visit is occasion for another special guest: the elegant Tree of Life Shtender (prayer stand) co-created by Moss and artist Noah Greenberg will make its way from Dallas to the JCC, where Moss will share it with small groups by appointment. The carved-wood shtender, an integrated “treasure chest” that contains within it 14 Jewish ritual objects, is being loaned to the community by Leslie and Howard Shultz.

The Shultz’s purchased the Tree of Life Shtender for the Dallas community where they currently live. It rotated between synagogues before finding a permanent home at the Yavnah Academy, an Orthodox day school. Accompanying the shtender will be a student from the Academy, who will learn from Moss how to serve as its docent and caretaker. Together they will spend a day at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, sharing this and more of Moss’ works.

Jill Maidhof, JCC director of Jewish Life and Learning, says that it was a visit last spring by artist Andi Arnovitz that revealed the community’s “hunger for an expression of Jewish values that is innovative, honest and exquisitely crafted.” The challenge, then, was to identify the next artist who would offer the same level of excellence.

Maidhof described her dilemma to several people and it was Rabbi White who urged her to extend an invitation to Moss.

“I met him in his Jerusalem studio,” Rabbi White said, “and consider him to be the Shlomo Carlbach of the visual arts. He’s a genius, and he’s got a very charismatic side to him, but he’s also extremely humble.”

Moss was a perfect choice. As it turns out, he lives not far from Arnovitz in Jerusalem and they’re close friends. Because his work, like Arnovitz’s, is steeped in Jewish tradition and crafted to bring new form to traditional Jewish expression, it builds beautifully on the conversations begun during her residency.

“While Andi’s work raises our consciousness about social issues such as politics and gender, David’s elevates the physical and spiritual experience of spaces, ritual objects and texts,” Maidhof said. “We’re fortunate to host two such luminaries within the space of one year.”

A native of Ohio, Moss made aliyah 30 years ago, and works in a studio near the Old City walls in Jerusalem. He came to artistic expression through Hebrew calligraphy.

“I had no art training or background, but when I began copying the letters I was enchanted … it was love at first sight — and I’ve continued to explore the incredible creative power in these letters and the culture they so magically encapsulate,” he said. “At this point, my mission is to transform Jewish texts, values, objects, spaces and souls through creative expression.”

Moss’ residency is made possible by funding from the Jewish Federation.

“David is one of the most respected creators of Jewish expression and many members of our community are collectors and supporters of the arts,” said Jewish Federation Executive Director Todd Stettner. “We’re especially pleased to serve as the title sponsor for his visit.”

The interfaith program on Nov. 7 is additionally supported by the Jewish Art Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City.

Moss, too, is looking forward to his visit. “These artist in residencies are one of the best ways I have of sharing my work,” he said. “The chance to work with kids, professional artists, scholars and the general public of all ages is a wonderful opportunity for me to share and learn and grow.”

For more information, call 913-327-8077 or visit jcckc.org.