Since I believe that Torah is the centre of Jewish life, my Torah paintings are based on the celebration and love of It.
Torah In The Negev
When I moved from Jerusalem to Beer Sheva, I was concerned that the Torah life may not be strong, but this was not the case. So, one of my Torah paintings has a Jew grasping the Torah Scroll with great joy. This joy is shared by all of the desert life surrounding him, making the whole painting a song of praise to The Creator.
Simchat Torah
First of all, I have tried to capture the joy, the rejoicing, the love and devotion that we feel for the Torah. Secondly, in ‘Simchat Torah’ I have tried to express it in as powerful, rich, vibrant way as I was able.
Hachnasat Sefer Torah
A new Scroll is taken into a Jerusalem Synagogue, and then two more Torah Scrolls are taken out of the Ark and the music and dancing begin.
The images can be enlarged by clicking on them.
Bar Mitzvah Boy, The Kerchief
Actually, the short story by S. Y. Agnon, ‘The Kerchief’ is one of my favourites. As I like it so much it moved me to make this artwork. In conclusion, I enjoyed trying to express the love between the boy and his mother and the empathy that the Bar Mitzvah boy has for the beggar, and the understanding the mother has for her son when he gives her beautiful silk scarf to him.
Unity on The Golden Path: Its Symbols and Meaning
Maimonides (The Rambam) called the middle way the ‘Golden Path’ . So I have painted this path on which the feet of Joshua, King David and the Kibbutznik are dancing.
The soldier is a modern day Joshua who is wearing a tallit and holding the Torah.
King David indicates a long time span, connecting modern Jews to their ancient past. Although not perfect, King David trusted in G-d.
Joshua sent the Spies (parashat Shelach) into Israel and they brought back beautiful grapes, and nowadays the Kibbutznik is growing and picking grapes.
עץ חיים היא – The ‘Tree of Life’, which is The Torah. (Proverbs 3:18)
חזק ואמץ – Strong and courageous. ‘Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them’. (Joshua 1:6)
Sun and moon – ‘O sun, stand still at Gibeon, And O moon in the valley of Aijalon. So the sun stood still and the moon stopped’. (Joshua 10:13)