In this wall hanging, Sukkoth has yet to arrive. The Sukkoth do not yet have greenery on them. There are two doves in the picture one of being white and the other transparent, signifying peace and smeicha and the potential (informed) smeicha with which we are imbued by the holiday. The blessing in the middle is the blessing said upon seeing a synagogue rebuilt to its previous splendor and is an homage the Hurva synagogue in Jerusalem, which we were joyfully surprised to find rebuilt upon our last visit to the Jewish Quarter. The blessing also hints at our continued desire to witness the rebuilding of our Beit HaMikdash in the days of the coming of the Messiah (may he come soon and in our time). The waning darkness implies MiKeitz Ge’ulateinu – The beginning of the end of our exile as a people and individually: May we each experience an end to personal exiles that take the form of an individuality that spurns self doubt, alienation, and loneliness – a disconnect from any sense of tradition or of belonging to anything on this earth other than the windmills of one’s own mind. While the city sits in darkness just before a sunrise, the Kotel in the foreground shines with a golden glow suggesting, “Or Chadash al Tzion ta’ir ve nizkeh chulanu meheirah le’oro!” “Cause a new light to illumine Zion, and may we all soon share a portion of its radiance!”
Enjoy and Chag Sameach!
Jonathan Lyon
“Sukkoth Preparation” is 3’x4′, hemmed and grommetted and ready for hanging in the sukkah. The banner material and inks are weather and sun proof to provide many years of enjoyment. $100
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The Gemara says that all of our constructs and paradigms exist as a result of suppressing information. From chaos, the sum potential of all that is possible - physicists call it white noise; statisticians call it raw data - we must push away that which is unwanted. We are left to work with our visions and patterns of reality. The big question is, how well do those visions match up to what reality actually is in all its inter-related complexity and detail.
On Yom Kippur, we come face to face with the reality that "The hidden things belong to HaShem our God, but the revealed things are for us and for our children forever, that we might fulfill all the words of this Torah." (Deuteronomy 29:28). God's ultimate and uncompromising reality must hold us accountable even for paradigms we are NOT aware of! Many refer to this as "The law of unintended consequences."
This is why what I hold dear is not answers, but an endless path of growing awareness that attempts to come closer and closer to reality as it really is - not the "reality" that is just a projection of some inner solipsistic construction within my brain. The questions- not the answers - lead me on that path. I have become deeply committed to a life long journey of learning, growth, change, love, discernment, service, play, commitment, questioning, and valuing disagreement. At my core is the notion that without self-doubt and without valuing difference and differing opinions, one cannot develop a fulfilling and meaningful life.
My art starts as a white sheet of whole paper, which represents chaos - all the possible pictures that one could create on it - onto which I impose order. Simultaneously destructive and defining, my paper-cutting adds meaning to the paper. Cutting pieces out is a creative process that graphically reveals before me my deeper paradigms so that I can scrutinize them - so that I can better understand the limits and characteristics of the space in which those paradigms work and gain insight as to where they are no longer valid. But it is not just a discovery of my internal landscapes. It is a process of becoming aware of myself within relationship and covenant. It is my simultaneous love and awe of and participation in the splendor of God's continued creation. It is my Avoda.
In this wall hanging, Sukkoth has yet to arrive. The Sukkoth do not yet have greenery on them. There are two doves in the picture one of being white and the other transparent, signifying peace and smeicha and the potential (informed) smeicha with which we are imbued by the holiday. The blessing in the middle is the blessing said upon seeing a synagogue rebuilt to its previous splendor and is an homage the Hurva synagogue in Jerusalem, which we were joyfully surprised to find rebuilt upon our last visit to the Jewish Quarter. The blessing also hints at our continued desire to witness the rebuilding of our Beit HaMikdash in the days of the coming of the Messiah (may he come soon and in our time). The waning darkness implies MiKeitz Ge’ulateinu – The beginning of the end of our exile as a people and individually: May we each experience an end to personal exiles that take the form of an individuality that spurns self doubt, alienation, and loneliness – a disconnect from any sense of tradition or of belonging to anything on this earth other than the windmills of one’s own mind. While the city sits in darkness just before a sunrise, the Kotel in the foreground shines with a golden glow suggesting, “Or Chadash al Tzion ta’ir ve nizkeh chulanu meheirah le’oro!” “Cause a new light to illumine Zion, and may we all soon share a portion of its radiance!”
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