Berit Engen WEFT and D'RASH – A Thousand Jewish Tapestries


ISAIAH IN MANHATTAN
– “And You Shall Be a Light Unto the Nations”


A few years ago, in Madison Square Park in NYC, I spotted the unusual bright, green top of a lamppost. At noon, on a bright, sunny day, one does not expect an electric lightbulb to illuminate its surroundings but the light, shining onto and bouncing off the millions of small bright, green leaves was so remarkable. I knew I had found the starting point for my series based on Isaiah 49:6, challenging the Jews to become “or la-goyim” – a light unto the nations. 

Then I noticed an astonishing contemporary sculpture: a large, dark, and naked tree-like creation, its few branches carrying huge and heavy-looking rocks. The dead-looking tree seemed to drain everything and give nothing. Light and dark were in my face, a few yards apart, as if they insisted on reminding me of two sides of the human story: Striving to live an exemplary, ethical life are either embraced or dismissed.

 
- (3/3 tapestries, series complete)
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Isaiah in Manhattan
 Isaiah in Manhattan  Isaiah in Manhattan
 Isaiah in Manhattan
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