2016 RAVSAK Artists’ Beit Midrash
Artwork and Artist Statements
Drawing and Painting Elementary School Eve Young Fifth Grade Brandeis School of San Francisco 1st Place
Jacob Working to Marry Rachel Colored Pencil I decided to draw a scene from Vayeitzei about Jacob working for Laban for seven years so he can marry Rachel. In my drawing, Jacob is working in a field of wheat, and Laban and Rachel are in the distance. Jacob has a happy, contented facial expression because, even though he has to work seven years, he still gets to marry his true love in the end. Laban has a slightly worried face, because Rachel is going to get married, but she is his youngest daughter. I used colored pencils, because I wanted it to look more like a dream or a memory.
Rachel Ichel Fifth Grade Shalom School 2nd Place
Untitled I used transparency, paper and pencil, sharpie permanent markers in many colors. The idea was to make it look like Marc Chagall stained glass. I learned about the Love of God to the entire world. God is good as long as his people are good. Yom Kippur teaches us that it is never too late to make amends. This is what the story of Jonah and the whale is teaching us. OI draw the Kikayon, and where Jonah stayed to sleep, after telling the people of Ninveh that they have 40 days to change their ways. The kikayon represents the love in this story. מֵ ָרעָ תֹו, לְהַ צִיל לֹו, ר ֹאׁשֹו-לִהְ יֹות צֵל עַ ל, אֱ ֹלהִ ים קִ יקָ יֹון וַיַעַ ל מֵ עַ ל לְיֹונָה-וַי ְמַ ן י ְהו ָה
Lev Cohen Fifth Grade Brandeis School of San Francisco 3rd Place
Love of G-d Watercolor, pastel and colored pencils For my artwork I used a variety of materials. I used a strategy where you smear the pastels to give it a cool effect, because love does not always come in clean lines. I was also trying to represent the towns people giving all their love to G-d. The hearts in the picture represent the rising love from the people into the hands of G-d. Where it stated in Deuteronomy 6:5 “you shall love the Lord with all your heart�, that’s what inspired me to draw it this way. The hand coming from the sky represents G-d receiving all the love from the people, which in return creates love between people. My artwork is a metaphor for hope for all people of all religions to love their G-d.
Middle School Mya Bodnick Seventh Grade Arthur I. Meyer Jewish Academy 1st Place
Love is Hard Work Pastel, colored pencil and watercolors on paper Love is not just an emotion that one feels toward another. It's a way of life, and can be difficult road to travel. The ladder drawn, symbolizes love as a beautiful thing, but also hard work. On the ladder are drawn the following: ""אהבה עבודה קשה, or "love is hard work". I wrote these words to portray that love is amazing, but, like climbing a ladder, is hard work. Torah teaches to love one another. As a Jewish community, we need to work together and strengthen our love for one another. The colors covering the paper change as one's eyes gaze up the ladder, from dark to light. The ladder, along with the colors, symbolizes the journey of love. As one reaches the top, one's love is strong and the colors are light and beautiful. Towards the bottom of the ladder, the colors are dark, symbolizing darkness when love isn't as strong or certain. An adult hand on top of the ladder shows that as you get older, loving relationships with others are stronger. The smaller, younger hand is on the bottom, symbolizing newness, and a love that is not as strong. The hope is for everyone to spread. אהבה
Jillian Barry Eighth Grade The Emery Weiner School 2nd Place
Embraced By Faith Drawing and Painting I used a mixture of neutral and vivid colors in my drawing. I used colored pencils and watercolor. The techniques I used were blending and shading. I drew myself alongside my two cousins at my Bat Mitzvah. I am holding a Torah that is dressed in a cover that says “ahava, shalom, and mishpachah� which mean love, peace, and family. I included these words because I feel that they embody love and represent what I felt on my special day. My cousins and I are wrapped in my beautiful tallit. This symbolizes that we hold Judaism close to our hearts and are not only connected to our religion by family ties, but also through our own faith as well. In my drawing, I depicted myself and my cousins with enthusiastic expressions because we are extremely proud of where we have come as young Jewish women and we are also looking forward to see how our Jewish faith expands as we mature. I hope that my piece brings people joy and inspires them to embrace their own faith as well.
Taya Kol Seventh Grade The Emery Weiner School 3rd Place
Soar Drawing and Painting My artwork is two dove birds forming a heart with their beaks. Doves are a sign of peace for the Jews and they were the birds that Jonah set out to find land when they were in the ark. Inside the doves’ heart, I have colored it a bright red to symbolize the strong love that God has for the Jewish people. In the background of my birds, I have written the verses of Deuteronomy in Hebrew and English. I chose to color some words blue and to make it form a Jewish star.
High School Dasi Sessel Twelfth Grade Rohr Bais Chaya Academy 1st Place
Untitled She lays there. Her little eyelashes flutter as they greet the warmth of daylight. She looks content, her body hugged in the embrace of her mother’s arms. Her mother wonders what her future will hold. She knows that all she can do is guide her along this long road of what we call life. This is the bond… the bond that started a while ago. From the moment a child is conceived, there is an inseparable connection that is created. This painting captures raw emotion through displaying the vulnerability and sensitivity of a child. After all, a child is unable to live without a mother figure because their capacity to tend for themselves is almost non-existent. A mother must nurture her child, enabling her to successfully transition into this world. Although the child has nothing to give in return, the mother takes care of her simply because she is hers, and hers alone. We see the gift of having a child in the book of Samuel. In the story, Chana shows her desire for a child by pleading to God. When she is finally granted the blessing of having a child, it is clear that her main goal is to nurture him so he can serve God. As written in the text, “until the child is weaned, then I should bring him, and he shall appear for the Lord and abide to her ever.” This is an ultimate example of the role the mother has in the growth of her child. I used charcoal because the softness of the medium allowed me to display the tenderness of the moment.
Abigail Thurmond Tenth Grade Milken Community Schools 2nd Place
The Absence of Love! Graphite, paint, and colored pencil The absence of love results in disconnection and depression. I am interested in how the brain works when there is an absence of connectivity between the neural transmitters. When two people are in a relationship and break up, depression from losing a relationship with someone can cause a person’s thinking to slow down from hurtful thoughts. To show this concept, I choose to represent a brain with disconnected neurons in a still life, neurological landscape. A brain is placed in the middle of the landscape that has multiple neural pathways coming out of it. Some of these pathways are connected and some are disconnected. Inside the brain there are multiple neural pathways that are colored red to symbolize the intensity of the person’s distorted thoughts. Larger neurons are placed outside of the brain that are broken apart which symbolizes the person’s neural disconnection. The background is shaded in dark tones of gray and many disconnected smaller white neurons are floating around in the background.
Michael Gonzales Twelfth Grade Donna Klein Jewish Academy (Rosenblatt High School) 3rd Place
Loving G-d “We are obligated to love the almighty.� (Yesodai Hatorah 2:2) The way to love the almighty is to appreciate all the beautiful, complex things that he has created on our earth. We need to slow down and feel gratitude for the amazing amount of detail and beauty that exists in nature all around us. I feel grateful for all the loving and supportive people in my life. I feel grateful for the huge amount of love I feel for my family, my dogs and my friends. I feel grateful for G-ds love and wisdom. It is easy to love Hashem when we consider that he has blessed us with so much!
Photography and Digital Art Middle School Roy Ad Eighth Grade Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School 1st Place
The Love of Nature When I first saw this log with mushrooms on it, I didn't think much of it except for it being a good photo. Later on, after I developed the photo, I looked deeper into it and noticed that even though it is a picture of a dead tree, it was made into something beautiful. Even though the fallen tree was just left there to shrivel up and die, this photograph made it into something meaningful. This relates to the story of Joseph where his brothers sold him, and he was able to later turn into an admirable figure. He turned into the person that was in charge of selling grain, and he gained much respect. He was the second most powerful person in Egypt.
Joshua Ehrlich Sixth Grade The Brandeis School of San Francisco 2nd Place
G-d Above Jerusalem Digital Arts, Made in Minecraft I was especially inspired by the part of the text that said “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her…” because I realized the when the text said to be glad with her, not only people, but G-d could do it too. I really enjoy being allowed this type of creativity, so it drove me to making my own interpretation of the text where the people look up at G-d and thank G-d for Jerusalem's jubilation. My artwork says that love isn’t just something that someone shares with another, but it can be something a whole community shares with each other, or a whole community shares with someone else, like G-d. Therefore Judaism is love, because it brings people together that all love the same thing. In my art people are expressing their love to G-d as a community by going outside, even onto their roofs, and looking up at G-d and raising their arms to the sky. When people look at my art, I want them to feel happy about these people sharing a love for G-d, and because this makes them have an even stronger connection as a community.
Shoshi Walder Eighth Grade Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School 3rd Place
Dried Hydrangea When I found this aging hydrangea flower, I noticed that it looked kind of like a bunch of moths. Each dying petal could be a symbol for what the blossom has been through and what Joseph and his brothers might have been through. Joseph was left to die in the pit by his brothers. Years later when he reconnected with his brothers, they did not recognize him at first, probably because he had become so much older just as we almost do not recognize the flower blossom for the same reason. The petals remind me of the troubles and struggles that people have to deal with every day.
High School Yael Elrom Tenth Grade Frankel Jewish Academy 1st Place
Distance When my teacher first assigned me this project I couldn't think of anything to draw. As I thought more about it I realized that I could create something that is very meaningful and close to my heart. Most of my family lives in Israel and is suffering everyday by the tragedies that occur there. Just talking on the phone with them once a week doesn't resolve the fear I have of something ever happening to them. My project represents the physical distance I have from my family and all the anxiety I have when I hear about another tragedy. For this piece, I combined three photographs, two from my trip to Israel, and an image of me and my brother parasailing. I chose to make our figures small to represent this feeling of being at a great distance and experiencing anxiety and insecurity. When I visit Israel the love I have for that country is indescribable. "These them, are the generations of Jacob: At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended the flocks with his brothers, as a helper to the sons of his father’s wives, Bilhah ad Zilpah. And Joseph brought bad reports of them to their father". This quote explains how everyday I get a bad report about another misfortune that happened in Israel. The minute I get the news I can’t think about anything else but if my family is safe. I never fully understood why Israel is under attack and why people would hurt innocent citizens for their own benefit. Israel is my home and always will be.
Chen Etzion Ninth Grade Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School 2nd Place
The Dove of Peace This picture reminds me of the dove in the story of Noah’s ark. In the story the dove is a symbol of peace between God and humans and also a symbol of hope (the dove found land). The dove reminds me that even though everything that is going on in Israel is very frightening for everyone there is still hope and maybe one day there will even be peace. I see peace as the love of the world.
Hadas Elazar-Mittelman Twelfth Grade Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School 3rd Place
The Face I was playing with water, a mirror, a timed flash, and a camera, and I got something I never expected to get. With a trick of light, I managed to capture an image that resembles a face, what I like to call "The Face." Combining my love for photography with my love of experimentation, I ended up with a beautiful piece. When I look at the face in my picture, I think about how God is omnipresent; anthropomorphized yet abstract. Love is a uniquely human emotion, and when I am able to identify a human emotion within God, within the face in my photo, I understand that you can find love where ever you look for it.
Sculpture and Mixed Media Elementary School Alex Amid Fifth Grade Adelson Educational Campus 1st Place
The Universe of Love You may think someone loves someone else more but in ways their love is still connected. Jacob favored his sons but he still loves his sons the same in different ways. Their love is like a universe, the huge sun in the middle and the little planets around which the big sun gives heat to all planets but those that are closest get more heat.
Joey Friedman Kindergarten Akiva School 2nd Place
Joseph’s Rainbow Coat Joseph’s dad gave him the coat. My art project is the coat and it makes me think about the gift Joseph’s dad gave and Joseph felt loved and happy about the coat.
Ainsley Resig Fifth Grade Syracuse Hebrew Day School 3rd Place
When Love Leads To Hate This story is about when Jacob gave Joseph a coat of many colors. His brothers are jealous of this because they didn’t get a coat like that. So this showed that Jacob loved Joseph more than his other sons. Joseph bonded with his father while breaking the bond with his brothers. This was part of how love leads to hatred. In this collage I used scrap paper, glue, and painted paper rub.
Middle School Jillian Barry Eighth Grade The Emery Weiner School 1st Place
Sewing Generations Together I used computer parts and hot glue to create my piece. I sculpted a sewing machine with colorful thread. My piece is inspired by my great grandma who was a very talented seamstress. I know that my great grandma and I are connected through our love for art. My sculpture also has influence from Patricia Polacco’s incredible book, The Keeping Quilt. In the beginning of The Keeping Quilt, Patricia’s great grandma, Anna, grows out of her old clothes. Anna’s mother turns her clothing into a quilt which is passed down from generation to generation, l'dor vador. Just as Anna passed down her quilt to Patricia, my great grandma passed down her sewing book, filled with many of her creations, to me. Personally, family fills a large portion of my heart and I believe that having connections between generations is an important part of Judaism.
Benjamin Coveler Seventh Grade The Emery Weiner School 2nd Place
L’Dor Vador – Let Us Hope Prints/Printmaking This print is inspired by images and symbols of peace and love. Around the border is a handwritten section of the V’Ahavta Torah text. This passage is a commandment to love Gd, and to earnestly follow His commandments. However, the name of this piece is inspired by the interlinking threads in each section of the print. This symbolizes the hope that love and peace will be passed down from generation to generation – L’Dor Vador. Prints start as one thing – a drawing on paper. Once the drawing is finalized, the image is carved onto a large section of foam. However, everything has to be carved on backwards, or letters will be reversed when printed. Then, the artist chooses a color, the color for “L’Dor Vador” custom mixed, and rolls the paint onto the foam. Finally, the painted foam is pressed onto paper to make a print.
Talia Byrnes Seventh Grade Sinai Akiba Academy 3rd Place
Women of Valor I created this artwork based on the Women of Valor Love ()אשת חיל. I was inspired by the special and unique women in my family who all share an important characteristic; they are guided by a love for our family that is paramount in all of their activities. It is expressed through the Jewish traditions, values and rituals which are the center of my family’s life. Celebrating Shabbat is a weekly event we hold dear; having Friday night dinners where we recite the ritual prayers, enjoy our family gathering and bond with each other is at the center of our family life. I picked the theme of Eshet Chayil since it is a tradition among Sephadic Jews and orthodox Jews to recite Eshet Chayil duringFriday Night Kiddush. My mother, my grandmothers and great great-grandmother teach me to continue our tradition "... "ודור לדורthrough our rituals and love that bring our family together. In my home our tradition is that my father recites Eshet Chayil Mizmor that offers a praise of appreciation & Love to my mom using these words from the book of Proverbs משלי ל״ג Shabbat dinner is an event filled with the love and warmth of my mother’s exquisite cooking and personality, which she inherited from her mother and grandmother. It fills our house with love and joy. It keeps our family close. We are together, eating, sharing and laughing, and it's my mother’s love that glues us together. My mother learned this from her own mother and grandmother, which is why I decided to make this project revolve around the family tree of the impactful women in my life. This is just one example, but all the Jewish holidays revolve around the love and affection that we receive from the women in our lives. Our women of valor influence my brothers and me, and strengthen our connection with our roots and the beauty of our religion.
High School Gabi Rosengarten Twelfth Grade King David High School 1st Place
Is This Parve? Although this jar of Cool Whip may not seem directly related to ‘ahava’, it reminds me of my mother’s Shabbat table. Many of my most fond memories involve food of any kind. I chose to make a cool whip jar because many desserts cannot use dairy after a meal with meat. Cool whip is a staple, whether it be in pavlova, mousse or ice cream, and my family table wouldn’t be complete without it.
Brooke Simtob Eleventh Grade Frankel Jewish Academy 2nd Place
Music My piece is of two hands reaching towards a fire. Fire can represent love and passion, but it can also represent hatred and anger. In this, the hands are reaching towards each other and reaching towards love. However, the fire and anger of the love can burn them and prevent them from reaching each other. The fire has a C Major chord and an E Minor chord on it. These show the good and bad in love, as major chords are more of a happy sound, and minor chords are more saddening. This relationship with love is shown in the story of Joseph and his brothers. The brothers hated Joseph because their father favored him over the rest, so they sell him off as a slave. They later see the problem with what they have done and try to reconcile. As Rashi says about this, "And Joseph's brothers went down... It is not written as "the sons of Jacob," in order to teach us that they were contrite about their having sold him, and they undertook to conduct themselves towards him as brothers..." This is showing that Joseph's brothers still did have love for Joseph, but their hatred had caused a wedge to be driven between them. They realized here in the story their mistake, and want to reconcile with him. Relationships, like the story of Joseph and his brothers, can have love and hatred within them. My relationship with music shows this also. My canvas is a piano because I have both love and hate for it. I love playing music and it brings me joy. However, at times, it can be frustrating and cause me to be driven away from it for a while. We learn from the Bible that even if there is hatred, love will always prevail. The brothers do end up reconciling with their brother, Joseph, and their love covers up the hatred. This is showing that even when there is hatred and frustration, you need to keep trying because eventually love will prevail. I feel this every time I accomplish learning a new song and playing it beautifully. The hands are being held back by anger, but eventually they will come together just like Joseph's brothers, and when I reach success in my music.
Meir Lazar Tenth Grade Weinbaum Yeshiva High School 3rd Place
Love Between Friends For my piece I used pen ink with very little marker, to make the two people really stand out. I filled the bodies with the word “love” in every language because between friends, love is an extremely powerful force and I felt that would be the only way to really express that. It is said that “no distance is far enough to separate the hearts of true friends” and in my life especially, I believe this is very true. I took a picture of me and my good friend and made this piece from the picture. When I moved to Florida, she was one of the only people to really accept me, even when she barely knew me. That is true friendship, and I think that the love between real, true friends really does last forever.