I decided (rather, Adonai prompted me) to make my own story without words using the photos taken by my wife of a caterpillar morphing into a monarch. Here are a few of the thumbnail panels.
Galleries
menorah and light
The menorah … “is to be made of sixty-six pounds of pure gold. See that you make them according to the design being shown you on the mountain.” Sh’mot (Exodus) 25:39-40.
On one level the construction of the menorah is exact, and drawing an image of it is relatively easier than drawing light — for light is not static, it is a phenomena, its ethereal; it has an effect on what it shines on. Hence when we realize that the Shekinah of G-d — represented as the menorah’s light — is present, we cannot avoid it having a profound effect on us.
These two paintings were done in May-July 2015.
G-d’s lamp
Since the time I took up the pen and brush again I have been drawn to the menorah as a subject, and studied the Torah for its description — mainly in Exodus 25, and Exodus 37. Here is a concise entry of the menorah by Tracey R. Rich at Judaism 101.
I found it intriguing that the almond blossom is used to describe the bulbs and branches. The almond staff of Aaron that budded a branch has great significance. While there is no longer a temple in Jerusalem for the menorah to rest, one enduring purpose is to give light to humankind of the presence of Hashem throughout the world.