Saturday, March 19, 2011

Strange venue for a Jewish shadow

.
Mamilla Mall is having a wonderful free outdoor sculpture exhibit on the theme Bible Stories that will go until October.
There must be over a hundred works by 45 Israeli and international artists.
.
It gives me a good opportunity to collect shadows for Shadow Shot Sunday.
.
Helene Jacubowitz titled her work "Mah tovu."
.
These Hebrew words are the opening of a prayer we sing in the synagogue, translated here:

How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!
And I, with Your great loving-kindness, shall enter Your House; I shall prostrate myself toward Your Holy Temple in the fear of You.
O Lord, I love the dwelling of Your house and the place of the residence of Your glory.
Come, let us prostrate ourselves and bow; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.
But, as for me, may my prayer to You, O Lord, be in an acceptable time.
O God, with Your abundant kindness, answer me with the truth of Your salvation.
.

.
Wikipedia explains
"Ma Tovu ... is a prayer in Judaism, expressing reverence and awe for synagogues and other places of worship. The prayer begins with Numbers 24:5, where Balaam, sent to curse the Israelites, is instead overcome with awe at God and the Israelites' houses of worship. Its first line of praise is a quote of Balaam's blessing and is thus the only prayer commonly used in Jewish services that was written by a non-Jew."
.
I wonder if just by coincidence this Mah tovu sculpture was placed at the foot of a Catholic church . . . .
.
The huge l'Hospice Francais St. Vincent de Paul was there first, like a century before Mamilla ever dreamed of becoming a fancy mall; so the mall was built to accommodate the hospice and its church.
That's how things are done in Jerusalem.
.
(See also Art at the Mall and Mamilla Mall by night. )
.

27 comments:

  1. I had to look a long time at the Star. At first, I thought part of the coating of the star came off. then I looked at the shadow, looked like 2 men.

    Which is which?

    ReplyDelete
  2. A nicely star shaped pose, it seems that the sculptures blend perfectly with the preexisting church.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a wonderful message, dear Dinah! May the shadows of all religions become one in praise of God.
    Hm - what I want to say is that ... religion should unite people and make them feel as children of a loving God.
    Have a nice weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The shadow should be considered a part of the sculpture.

    Lucy

    ReplyDelete
  5. P.S. Sorry, as I pressed the button to post the comment, I realised how silly it was. I had only looked at the figures and hadn't looked at the star. The shadow IS part of the sculpture - and cleverly placed to make it so too.

    Lucy

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cool sculpture, and it casts a great shadow.

    ReplyDelete
  7. beautiful shadows Dina. my daughter's parasha for her Bat Mitzvah last spring was Balaak.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful pictures. And you are a good story teller.

    ReplyDelete
  9. How beautiful the piece of art and the way you capted its shades... Extraordinary!!!! Well done!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Such an interesting use of the shapes, including the figures as part of the star.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Purim Shalom & Warm Aloha to you
    from Honolulu!


    Comfort Spiral

    ><}}(°>


    ><}}(°>

    ReplyDelete
  12. The star does seem to encompass two men. Love the shadow it's thrown.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow! That is a beautiful sculpture. It's such a thought provoking piece.

    ReplyDelete
  14. these shadows are delicate and oh so lovely. that second photo is beautifully composed too. very nice. happy SSS Dina.

    ReplyDelete
  15. What a joy it must be to spend time walking through these pieces of art.

    An impressive work indeed. Great pictures ! Please have a good Sunday.

    daily athens

    ReplyDelete
  16. Beautiful shots Dina!

    My Shadow Shot, have a lovely weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Gorgeous shadow shot, and love the history that goes with it. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a great post. I love the pictures and the shadows. Thanks for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. The nocturnal view of the church is so beautiful!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. It's a beautiful sculpture, Dina. I wish one day i get to walk the places where Jesus walked thousands of years ago.

    Wishing you a peaceful and nice weekend!

    Arlene
    http://sunshineleneforlife.com/2011/03/20/shadow-shot-10/

    ReplyDelete
  21. I doubt the placement of the sculpture was coincidental at all. I believe in divine providence!


    SHADOW SINGER

    Of shadows an old man did sing;
    He chanted in Guelph and Beijing;
    The shade was his friend,
    He loved it no end—
    It made him feel rich as a king!


    © 2011 by Magical Mystical Teacher

    Some Shady Mangos

    ReplyDelete
  22. Congratulations to the artist, it's a very clever work.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Fabulous shadow shot! My Favorite of the day!

    Rainey

    http://theprojecttable.blogspot.com/2011/03/once-tree-shadow.html

    ReplyDelete


Thanks for your comment!
Comment moderation is on so I will see any new comments even on older posts!