David & Isaiah

While visiting Isreal in 2005, I was amazed at how much the Jews who reside there pray. Of course, they prayed at the wall. But they prayed at every wall, even in the airports. They prayed every second they were not doing something else. And I have thought a lot about that ever since.



Tonight, on the eve of the election, all one can do is pray. Pray for God's will to be done. I received an excellent email on that subject today and thought it worth sharing parts of it here - it was a prayer asking for forgiveness for the things we have done as a country:

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

I can think of a hundred other sins this nation has committed. But I fear beyond reason that our next President will commit the greatest sin of all - helping this nation turn it's back on Israel.

King David said, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee."

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and Isaiah wrote: woe to those who call evil good and good evil.

We need to pray for Israel and if we want to prosper as a nation, we need to love Israel.

We need to understand the difference between good and evil.

Art from my heart

I wanted to share a new English TV show from Jerusalem that you can watch from the internet. Tuesday Night Live in Jerusalem The first show was on 1/3/08 and you can see a different perspective on what's going on. Ari & Jeremy. I liked their humor...2 Jews, 3 opinions. A bit of humor, history, and current events. The video may seem a little long, but truly insightful. Give it a few minutes to load when you click on the link. I can't wait for Tuesdays now, just to see where they go with this.

I am not Jewish. But I truly believe that the Jews are the chosen people, that the Bible was written by Jews, about Jews, for Jews, that 100% of the Bible's authors were Jews. The Old Testamen was written in Hebrew and I do not for one second believe that any of us can fully understand what the writers were saying unless we understand that language, know history, and study endlessly. The same applies to Greek. What we read are over 52 different translations that are interspersed with the English writer's interpretation of that language. For instance, King James would behead his scribes if he didn't like what they wrote. How long do you think it took the remaining scribes to learn how to write what the King wanted, rather than what the scriptures said? LOL!

Ever since I visited Israel a little over 2 years ago, I have longed to move there. I do know that one of my ancestral lines has been traced back to Judah who descends from Isaac, Jacob and Abraham. And the land of Israel was promised to Abraham's descendants. I have to wonder if that is where this intense longing comes from? When I walked along the Sea of Galilee, my heart leapt as I recalled the words from a childhood song, "I walked Today Where Jesus Walked, and felt His presence..." My experiences in Israel were life altering and most of the things I have designed since then include a Star of David, often hidden, somewhere in the design.

My art comes from my heart. And my heart belongs to Hashem. I don't expect many of you to share my beliefs or even want to try to understand them. But to know my art is to know me.

My prayer is that Ari & Jeremy will set Israel on fire for Hashem. My religious beliefs are a huge part of my ability to design art. So from time to time, I feel a very strong need to write about that as well.

Where does your art come from? What sets your spirit on fire? How passionate are you about what you believe?



The shofar blows 100 notes
to make us think today
about the things of our past year
and send our sins away.

The shofar blows a note of hope
our year will start anew
An apple dipped in honey means
a sweet New Year for you.

The shofar blows 100 notes
his eyes are closed to pray
That life will be a sweet, sweet song
Each and every day.

The shofar blows this Holy Day
bringing Shava Tova once more
Remembering these traditions
as others did before.

My mom painted the picture, I wrote the poem. Papers are by Shalom Scrapper.



Know my art....know my heart.

Syncretism

My sister-in-law called me today. My niece and nephew are in school. They are studying family history and had questions for me. And that made me wonder what those who do not celebrate Christmas do today. And then I decided that because the kids are in school, it's a good day to learn a new word!

Syncretism: mixing together different elements. Also: mixing together beliefs or conflicting principles.

Good in art. Bad in life.

As I walk through Walmart, Sears, Target and all the other stores, I am inundated with holiday music, flashing lights, animated figures and just a whole lot of “stuff” and I wonder how many people really know where holidays originate from? And do they even care what they are celebrating? Is it just a party time? A way to celebrate? An event with no meaning?

Anyone can do the research online and figure out that most holidays originate from pagan religions. I have such a deep belief in Jehovah that I just don’t want to be a participant in pagan rituals! I doubt that most of us knowingly want to do that. But unknowingly, most of us are. Is it time to “get smart”?

December 25 was the end of a week long ancient Roman festival known as Saturnalia which marked the winter solstice, the return of the sun, and honored Saturn, the god of sowing. It was a time of merrymaking and exchanging of gifts. It was the birthdate of the Iranian mystery god Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness.

Christ was most likely born in the fall of the year, before winter set in around Jerusalem. Not on December 25th! I doubt there would be flocks in the fields on December 25th in Israel.

Each of the traditions of Christmas can be traced back to a pagan ritual. Trees, lights, presents, mistletoe, etc. And although we may not believe we are honoring these pagan rituals, we are doing just that. It is worshiping a true God mixed with false pagan customs. It’s called syncretism.

As I study and learn more, I have given up many of my childhood holiday customs. I no longer celebrate these events. Yet I am married to a man who's family celebrates this day as the biggest event of the year. So I am working to merge what I believe with how he wants to honor his family traditions. It has been interesting to say the least.

And it has opened my eyes to a whole world out there who, for whatever reason, do not celebrate traditional US holidays. We close our stores, restaurants, movie theaters on this day and believe that everyone celebrates a traditional Christian holiday. Yet there are millions who do not put up a tree, light a candle, bake a turkey or open gifts on this day. Why do we insist on pushing our values on others? When will we even start to acknowledge those who do not have today as a holiday in their lives?

Ever stop to think about the evolution of holidays in the US alone? Ask your parents how they celebrated them. Ask your grandparents. Commercialism has truly taken over in just the last 40 – 50 years. It didn’t used to be like this at all. And I have to wonder where it’s headed.

Regardless of “what” we believe, do we know why we believe it? And more importantly, do we understand what it represents? Do we think the Messiah would be happy knowing that we are celebrating His birth by syncretizing it with pagan rituals? On a pagan date? Good questions to ponder on a quiet snowy night.

Now, syncretizing in art is another thing. That can be where the true celebration begins…by bringing together conflicting principles, mixing together different elements and designing new ways to play.

A new word today. Syncretism. I plan to use it more in my life as an artist.