Blima Nechama Spetner
These two art pieces are built on the powers of a bunch of real women who shared things they are doing to change to bring Guela. In the picture you can see that I have first written on the base of the painting every heartfelt prayer that women submitted on the spreadsheet.
It is written with chalk on the paper until you can not even make out the individual prayers and they merge as one. This became the foundation for the art. So when it is finished you won’t see the words at all. You won’t see the pain. You will know that your prayers are supporting the entire painting. Your Tefllos made up the Guela.
The first painting is the individual who searches out the corners of her life, heart, mind, and soul. Searching for ways to come close to Hashem. Journeying through the labyrinths of her own essence to ask what can I give to make a difference?
The second painting is when the "I" becomes one. The joining of the collective souls to bring Nachas to Hashem through open Tefilla, Charity, Avodah, and deeds.
The second painting is the one that covers all the tefilos you have offered to H-shem The “I” becomes the WE. We see we are all connected through one consciousness. Our hurts are the nation's pains. And we are joined together in love, prayers, joy, compassion, gratitude, support and understanding.
This piece is like a dream. The melding of the past, the present, the future into a circle dance of Holiness. No one is above the other. We could not make the Geula come without each individual. But each individual, while so unique and needed, flows and blends into the next soul so that we are not pieces but one whole. I tried to make each woman look like where one starts the other continues.
No defining lines. It is one blurring of a dream.
A PRAYER:
Please Hashem,
Please take our offerings and let it be as it says "Open for me an opening the size of the eye of a needle, and I will open for you an opening the size of a hall " These women have opened up their hearts, minds, and actions to change. Take us the rest of the way. Bring us there through love and mercy and not pain and fear... Let us be worthy of full complete Geula.
Ahuvah Hackner
Brooklyn, NY
Ahuvah lives in CH with her husband and children. Ahuvah's husband runs an AV company and is often working late into the night. She and her children have begun to spin work opportunities into positive thinking. Together they imagine their father being called on to showcase the final redemption to the world.
B"H
Loneliness Turned Holiness
A clink and a clang as the pots hit the floor
A knock and a bang on the front door
A ding and a ling as his phone starts again
Another job, another event. On which night? When?
Speakers to blare
His arrival is here!
Lights and screens and LED wall
Coming through, answering the call.
Work ethic, goal driven, knowldege, all rare
An event in New York to Israel he shares
In days long ago tech wasn’t needed
In HaShem’s garden, prosperity was seeded
In our Home the Yidden will stand
And he’ll make it so that it’s seen across the lands
The nights now so lonely so quiet so bleak
The grandeur of stillness I soon will not seek
I believe in my heart that his work is pure
I believe in my heart that his work is sure
To bring holiness to yidden oceans in between
I envision this. And on the vision do lean
Geula at our fingertips
HaShem’s praise on our lips
The Shofar we'll hear
Nigunim on our ears
The eagle we'll see
Spreading its wings
The once lonely nights
Lit up with screens and lights
Showcasing the flight
Goldie Michal Weltscher
Manchester UK
The world will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem
When I visualize Geula, I see the whole world filled with the consciousness of Hashem. radiant women dancing in joy, everyone feeling and seeing the light of Hashem and holy letters shining everywhere!
Matel Schwartz
Beitar Illit, Israel
Watercolor, tempra, oil pastels. Approx 23” x 29
Watercolor, tempra, oil pastels. Approx 23” x 29
Raizel Serebryanski
age 20
Kingston PA
B"H
I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock playing its default soundtrack. A typical story starter. It is the story of my life. Another day, just another chapter to the endless cycle of those preceding it. I say modeh ani and wash negel vasser just like the day before and every day before that. I take the same route to school, and greet the students that have occupied my classroom since elul. I won't bore you with the details of my typical life.
For the sake of this story, let's skip to the day that everything changed. A day that began like any other with no warnings of what was to come. I stand by the doorway and greet my students like I do everyday. She skips into my classroom, pigtails bouncing, and waves a magnifying glass in front of my face- typical five-year-old behavior; ” Look Morah”, she tells me “I colored it pink so that everything I look at will be pretty. There's an alef for my name- Aidel ''. I compliment the creativity, and tell her to put it away - a typical Morah response.
As I go through the motions of another day, I can't stop thinking of that pink magnifying glass. Why can I not internalize something that is so obvious to a five year old? Her words echo in my mind like a broken record: everything I see…pretty…alef… pretty…everything… and then it hits me. Maybe that's all I'm missing, a change of perspective, the powerful alef that transforms golah into Geulah. I look around my classroom with fresh eyes. That kid playing with dolls, the one helping her friend… These are Geulah kinder with the neshamos of the children that left mitzrayim. The rest of the day passes in a blur as my mind grapples with this new-old idea. I wish I could say that from that day on the sunshine was brighter, the flowers smelled sweeter, the breeze felt softer.
I could say that, but I would be lying. It was a difficult journey through rocky mountains and steep valleys, one step forward two steps back, but nowadays my life feels different. I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock set to a brand new Geulah medley. I say modeh ani, thanking the eibershter with my whole heart: for my precious neshama, refreshed and alive, for the opportunity to connect with these simple words. While washing negel vasser I cleanse myself of the final vestiges of golus in my heart. As my students walk through the door on this Geula'dik day I realize that these are the children who will point and say ‘ זה א-לי ואנוהו- this is our Eibershter’. For the first time, the knowledge I've had all my life has penetrated to the depths of my existence.
Moshiach is coming, I see the Geulah in front of my eyes. The world is ready, and at last, so am I.
Miriam Perkel
Johannesburg, SA
Healing through art counseling
'My offering, The First Fruits'
Chana Tevel
Chana - 11 years old.
Brooklyn, NY
Galus-Geula Figures
Galus-Geula Figures;
Melting into Geula
Galus Emotions:
"Miryam touched my paper and my pieces fell off!
Now I have to figure out where they all go and I don't remember!
She's so annoying!
Always touching my things without permission!
How many times do I have to tell her not to touch my things!"
Once the younger kids were asleep Mommy sat with Chana.
"It was so frustrating that Miryam touched your paper and your pieces fell off.
You REALLY don't like it when Miryam touches your things.."
"Can you control Miryam?
Is screaming at her helping?"
pause ..
"Let's look at your Geula figure ...
Glad
Happy
Relaxed
Confident
Appreciated
Thankful
Open Minded
Excited
Loved
Worthy
Motivated
Joyful
Lovable
Light
Calm
Grateful
Serene
Good..."
Chana already felt more relaxed.
"From this Geula space how can you imagine responding?"
Some Thought..
- Just a Deep Breath. -
And a beautiful relaxed smile.
A real Geula Space.
Shaina Sarah Schapiro
Brooklyn, NY
Description: This poem is a mashal for imagining the Moshiach reality. The window and outdoors represents Moshiach, and the room represents galus. It can feel scary to try imagining a reality that is unknown, even if that reality is better, because unfortunately we’re used to it. But when we “look outside the window” and imagine the Moshiach reality, it becomes true.
B"H
The Window
It was a plain glass square
Stuck inside the wall
And would’ve illuminated the room
Had it not been covered
By a curtain
But she didn’t want to see
The outside beyond the window
The mysterious unknown
That uprooted her reality
So the curtain stayed in place
And the room stayed in darkness
Safe, secure
For years on end
Until one day she decided
To look outside
The window
Drawing back the dusty, old curtain
Light rushed in
Illuminating the room
Wrapping it
In its warm embrace
She looked outside
The window
In astonishment
What she thought would never come true
Was now reality
And it was so much sweeter
Than any reality
She had ever know
Before
With sudden joyful laughter
She realized
That all she had to do
To fulfill her dream
Was to look outside
The window
Mushky Perl
Kingston, Pa
In the Merit of Righteous Women, Connecting the Past and the Present
Explanation (Partial!)
The woman in the center is holding a heart-shaped Tambourine of Hope, mirroring the belief in her heart. Her eyes are closed. She envisions the Exodus and Geula, as depicted around her - the shofar, the BHMK.
The woman is a representation of Miriam, holding the baby. When Moshe was thrown into the water she still had the belief. The women's joy was greater because they suffered more when the babies were thrown into the Nile. She has a tear on her cheek. It's the last tear. She won't cry again. A smile is coming onto her face.
Her crown alludes to her future stature as the crown of her husband. Alef-beis-gimmel - In merit of her Emunah-bitachon-Geula. See the ches, beis and daled for Chabad with a larger beis for her Bina Yeseira.
See the dancing women... some with old-fashioned head covering, some with sheitels -- the women in our generation are the same women that left Mitzraim. (Notice also Miriam has both coverings)
See the flowers on clothing: Forget me not flowers. Daisies represent spring, and Nissan month of Redemption. Baby breath - we're celebrating for our children. The roses on the skirt are 13 Attributes of Mercy. Her pearls represent Chassidus (as per 19 Kislev sicha)
Bottom:
Krias yam suf. In reverse it is an allusion to birth, many generations are emerging from the women.
The ancient and modern cities... Two hands breaking free of chains and reaching towards the tambourine of hope. The black woman - holding tambourines even in the darkness.
Sun rising, no matter how dark, we saw a world where everything will be good.
Tamar Hecht
Postville, Iowa
Age: 16
Dedicated with love to my hero, Agam bat Meirav (Berger).
They can never stop your music!
Come home now, with all the other hostages, safe and sound.
I’m waiting for you!
B"H
A World Alight
The sun is bright. I squint as I watch the children play, allowing the warmth of it to envelop me.
The children run and tumble on the lush grass, and as I watch, a little girl in pigtails makes a tumblesauce and then sits down hard, laughing until tears of mirth stream down her face to the ground.
I think of this ground then, of other tears it had absorbed, of blood and ashes and gunpowder it swallowed in silence. But this ground has seen its last of pain, grief and sorrow. From now on it will only know of tears like those of the girl in the pigtails, and burials will only be of seeds and plants that will grow and flourish.
As I am lost in my thoughts, a child brushes past me. A child with red hair that glows brightly in the sun. He looks up at me, and as he does he smiles that adorable smile I’ve seen in numerous posters, the smile that melted my heart and shattered it at the same time.
I gasp, and he catches my eye and waves as he runs off.
I look after him, tears of gratitude in my eyes, and whisper psalm 100.
I say it again on my way home, as a pass a family sitting in a park, father, mother, and twin daughters, again as the music of a violin wafts out of a garden, sweet and joyful, once more, as I pass by a bright eyed mother and her son, his arms whole and smile wide.
As I turn up the path, my neighbor rushes out to embrace me, and we chat amiably for a minute. I cannot help but think, how just a few days ago we would not exchange a civil word, and argued bitterly about ceasefires and hostage deals and drafts. Trivial things like right and left were gone now, like dust in the wind. There was only one nation, whole and united.
After supper is made, served and cleared, and the kids bathed and asleep, I near the open window. The violin sounds again, strong and triumphant, despite it all.
I close my eyes, allowing the warm twilight breeze to stroke my cheeks.
One day, I will tell my grandchildren of this time, when there was darkness, there was pain, there was hate. Of this time, when the only things that kept us going were small glimmers of hope and a strong, invincible faith. The belief that one day, there will be no more wars. Pain will disappear. Love will wash away any trace of hate, and the entire world will fill with light.
The knowledge, that one day, the world will be as beautiful, as perfect, as this.
Miriam Simmonds
Chashmonaim, Israel
The Tisha B'av of my dreams transformed into geulah, from dark to light. It's written from the point of view of a bird flying above Yerushalayim)
B"H
Tisha B'av
I bat my wings lazily, circling the mountains, watching, waiting, searching down below. I pass tree by tree, hill by hill, alight in brilliant sunshine. Golden. But this time I do not hesitate. I do not linger at the mesmirising beauty below which usually envelopes me. Instead,l fly on. I'm soaring past hills of gold and trees of life, higher and higher, flying towards the centre of the world, the holiest city. Soon, the mountains morph into roads of old, fields into buildings of history. At last I see it, the white stone of Jerusalem!
There is beauty that engulfs me, an ancient spirit which consumes me, a light of
overwhelming force. True grace, true light. But as building by building sweeps by below me, my eyes have not forgotten. These streets were once filled with our blood; our tears once formed rivers down these paths. I look down and I see Crusaders crashing through, spilling our blood, Roman's marching through our streets terrorising us, Assyrians, Babylonians, Ottomans... our list of persecution is endless.
Galut. Even in our own land we have become strangers, slaves to greater nations. Galut. But here we are, the small trickle that doesnt stop, the slightest hum, the faint, constant melody woven throughout history. Ongoing. Never ending. Alive. So instead, I look up ahead. I see souls. I see our people creeping out of our humble homes, facing upwards to the sunlight which shines so brightly on our eternal city. I hear singing. Our melody has burst into full tune, like a river meeting the sea, we arent just scattered, lost souls; we are high, we are mighty, we are supreme.
The streets of ancient Jerusalem is filled with dancing, with songs of old. Ahavat chinam no longer just a concept I yearn for, it is standard practice. The birds join the melody, and far away in the forest where I come from, lions walk alongside deer, wolves alongside sheep finally, as equals. This is the anniversary of our spiritual decline, but today our love erupts in forces unknown to man, our connection is more powerful than lightning bolts ripping through stormy waters, our fierce determination to shed our skin, our lows, and come together, is far stronger, far greater than any force our nation has faced. One beating heart, one soul, one dream.
I look upwards and as the sun hits my faces, I am changed. Soon, the songs below become a chant, and one by one we turn upwards to face our Father. United in pain, united in strength. I tune my ears and I listen to the voices below: We are ready. We are ready. We are ready. We will not wait another day.
We are ready.
Tzivi Stolik
Palm Beach Fla, age 16
Tzippy Piekarski
Yerushalayim, teaches chassidus at Mayanot
Chaya Cohen
Crown Heights
Author’s Note:
Moshiach is an era where every Jew will tangibly witness Hashem’s complete revelation 1 . Where we will be able to see clearly, the complete G-dly unity animating existence. The
Rebbe encouraged us to “open up [our] eyes” 2 , to see Hashem in our reality, because it is “already revealed in actuality” 3 .
This is a personal recount of a mental health struggle I faced. In the midst of it, I felt and saw Hashem literally beside me, accessing a level of Hashem’s revelation that we will have constantly in Geula times. I write this piece to encourage readers to go beyond imagining Moshiach’s times, but to tap into Hashem’s revelation in their current reality, wherever that may be, in the hardest moments. I bless us all that the time will come immediately, when we all see Hashem’s love and unity openly surrounding us constantly.
Dedicated to the safe return of all the hostages and soldiers, and every single Jew, to our true home.
1 Yeshayahu 40:5
2 Shabbos Vayeitzei, 5752, ch. 18
3 Dvar Malchus - Parshas Vayishlach
Here. With you.
Cornered in a hollow cage
Glass shards tile the walls
Jagged edges glare.
Glinting.
accusingly.
Piece by piece
they tumble
Hail down as glass blisters skin
blood leaks
flows down exhausted cheeks
as a dam is let loose
The cage fills
Slowly
As sneers and hisses whispered by jagged edges seep in
Hands swim through swirls of sins and scars seeking solace.
Clammy palms squeeze through iron bars with superhuman strength
Fingers search for shelter on a cellular screen of smooth glass.
Thumbs scramble through swelling digits scouting for the soothing sound of a familiar voice
ring ring ring
Please pick up
ring ring ring
Please
Beeep.
.
.
.
“G-d?”
“G-d I need You”.
B”H
“Please Gd,
Please”
I’m here.
blinded eyes open,
distrusting,
searching for a voice amongst glass fragments scattered across stone ground.
I’m here.
something within had spoken
from somewhere unaffected by the storm
something that was somehow still...
Whole.
“G-d are you here?"
I’m with you.
“I’m scared.”
My eyes follow Him as He pulls up a chair and fixes it next to my bed.
Remnants of glass shards dissolve at His approach.
I’m here with you.
I was with you then, and I’m with you now.
“G-d, will You stay with me?”
I’m here with you. Always.
Pupils transfixed I watch Him seat Himself beside me,
as He rests His hand on my back
A translucent relief flows over me.
Shielded with reassurance
My eyelids grow heavy,
and the weight of my shoulders succumb to tear-soaked sheets.