One…
“Merging” 15x22” Original Watercolour
I finished this painting at the end of last month and remember what I said about it…
“There are times on the West Coast, when I’m on the beach in the evening, that the sky seems to merge with the ocean. Because of the reflections, it isn’t always easy to tell where one ends and the other begins. And I love it. It’s a wonderful reminder that everything is One….”
Even the title alluded to what I had seen and understood. “Merging” meant that everything melds together, and ultimately it all becomes One.
And then yesterday I was continuing to read in a novel and saw this:
“And over the steppe rises the evening sky, and the earth is reflected in it; or maybe it is the sky that is reflected in the earth, or maybe earth and sky are two huge mirrors, each enriching the other with the miracle of the struggle between light and dark.”
From Vasily Grossman’s “Stalingrad”. A novel that beings in 1942 and follows the Russian characters as they navigate the war with the Nazis. Even in this, Grossman is able to stop and see the beauty of the land, how everything comes together and reflects the beauty of each other. And he is describing the landscape of the battlefield. Even in this he sees that all is One.
It was an incredibly profound moment. Have been thinking about it ever since.
And all of this takes me to Israel. The land, my land, thinking about it constantly since October 7th, and the beautiful people within it. The land there is stunning, beyond beautiful, with so much rich history and so many beautiful stories. Even in this time when it seems she has so many enemies coming against her, I realize because of Adonai, there is nothing that can come against Israel that can defeat or destroy it. It reflects its beauty despite the battlefield and despite the struggle between darkness and light.
And I know it so because Adonai’s face is reflected in this land, our Eretz Israel, and in His people. And in the same way this land and her people are reflected in the face of Adonai Himself.
Her strength is in this unity. It remains One. And will remain One.
And of course, from today’s Torah reading…
“See, Adonai your G-d has laid the land out before you. Go up, take possession, as Adonai, G-d of your ancestors, has promised. Do not fear and do not be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 1:21)
From one painting comes so much learning and reflection. There’s nothing else like it for me….
