Our matriarch Sarah's laughter, then and now

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And Sarah said: 'God hath made laughter for me; every one that heareth will laugh on account of me.'

 וַתֹּאמֶר שָׂרָה--צְחֹק, עָשָׂה לִי אֱלֹהִים:  כָּל-הַשֹּׁמֵעַ, יִצְחַק-לִי

-- Genesis 21:6 --

This was said after God had promised the barren Sarah that she and husband Abraham would bear a son in their advanced old age. 
I am thinking of this statue, called "Sarah," by Rita Paran, based on that Bible verse, because today our City Daily Photo bloggers group is sharing a Theme Day about LAUGHTER. 

Back in 2011 I was walking very early through the still-closed Mamilla Mall in Jerusalem. 
I was shocked to see the cleaning man throw a bucket of water on one of the Bible Stories statues! 
But our matriarch Sarah just laughed.
She seemed quite tickled when the cleaner scrubbed her with his broom. 
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(Linking to City Daily Photo,  Our World Tuesday, and Weekend Reflections.)
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W is for water wheel

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Near the pedestrian mall in Beer Sheva's Old City they have recently built this pretend-acqueduct.

 
One end is a pool of water.

The other end is here at the water wheel.

It clatters around and around,

moving a few drops of water.

It was, of course, to the Negev and to Beer Sheva that Abraham our father came thousands of years ago.
The story about his wells in Beer Sheva is worth reading -- in Genesis 21:22-34.

Or here is a summary from The Jewish Magazine: 

Abraham was allowed to settle on the lands of king Avimelek, who ruled the land of Gerar. But they entered a dispute about a well which Abraham used but which had been taken by Avimelek's servants. Abraham dug a new well at Be'er Sheva and gave Avimelek seven lambs to enforce the oath to be peaceful towards each other. The well was dubbed Be'er Sheva (be'er means 'well' and sheva can be interpreted as 'seven' or 'oath.').

(Linking to ABC Wednesday.)
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A patriarch, an emperor, and an alp

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For Robert Geiss'  weekly PsalmChallenge, here is Psalm 76.

1. For the leader; with instrumental music. A psalm. Of Asaph. A song.

2. Renowned in Judah is God; in Israel, His name is great;

3. His pavilion was in Shalem; His dwelling place in Zion. 

4. There He shattered the fiery arrows of the bow, the shield and the sword―the war.    Selah.

5. You are resplendent, more majestic than the mountains of prey.

6. The stouthearted were despoiled; they sank into their sleep; and none of the brave men could find their hands.

7. From Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both chariot and horse lay stunned.

8. You―You are awesome! Who can withstand You? Your rage is from antiquity.

9. From heaven You pronounced legal ruling; the earth was quieted with awe

10. at the rising of God to judgment, to save all the lowly of the earth.  Selah.

11. Indeed, human wrath shall acknowledge You, and the last remnants of wrath You shall gird about You.

12 Make and fulfill vows to the LORD your God; all those around Him shall bear tribute to the Awesome One.

13. He breaks the spirit of princes; He is awesome to the kings of the earth.

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Translation by Rabbi Benjamin Segal . He speaks of today's psalm as "Pax Jerusalem."
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Photos:
1. Abraham and the King of Jerusalem
stylized representation,  at the Tower of David
According to Biblical tradition, Abraham met with the king of Salem [in Hebrew: Shalem]: ". . . Melchizedek, king of Salem,  brought out bread and wine . . . and said, 'Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth' "
Genesis 14:18-19

2. A majestic  Swiss Alp

3. Statue of Hadrian, apparently used for the ritual worship of the emperor, was discovered in a camp of the Roman army.
One of the few extant bronze sculptures of an emperor from the Roman Period . . .
117-138 CE, bronze and lead
At the Israel Museum.
Discovered in the camp of the Sixth Roman Legion Ferrata, Tel Shalem, Beit Shean Valley.
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"Call me Ishmael"

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Half of our father Abraham is in the light, half is in shadow (for Shadow Shot Sunday).
But the names of both his sons are in bright sun: Isaac on his right hand and Ishmael on his left.
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The artist, Betty Moller, writes that her "Abraham" is based on Genesis 17:9 --

"Then God said to Abraham, 'As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.' "

Today many consider Ishmael to be the father of the Arab people.
I like to think that there is a parallel inside the building, behind the sculpture, of two young workers talking, one a Jew and one an Arab.
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The binding and unbinding of Isaac

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The frightful story of the binding of Isaac, in Genesis 22, is read in the synagogue every Rosh Hashana.

I talked about it and showed other artistic portrayals of the almost-deed here and here.
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But the photos in today's post are of Sam Philipe's sculpture "Akedat Yitshak" (the Binding of Isaac), on exhibit at Jerusalem's Mamilla mall.

We can be glad that the angel was sent just in time to stop Abraham's hand.

In the story's happy end, the angel quotes God as saying to Abraham
". . . in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast hearkened to My voice."
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By the way, Christians are celebrating today too. It is the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, also known as the Feast of the Archangels.
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More about Rosh Hashana in previous posts:

A stone sculpture of the Akeda

Fish heads

New calendar for a new year

Tashlich bread to the fish

Shofar, tashlich

The world's birthday

Pomegranate symbol
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Sarah gets a shower

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Early morning pre-opening Mamilla Mall life is reflected in the store window in this picture for Weekend Reflections.
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I was shocked to see the cleaning man throw a bucket of water on one of the Bible Stories statues.
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But our matriarch Sarah just laughed.
She seemed quite tickled when the cleaner scrubbed her with his broom.
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The statue is "Sarah" by Rita Paran, based on Genesis 21:6:

ו וַתֹּאמֶר שָׂרָה--צְחֹק, עָשָׂה לִי אֱלֹהִים: כָּל-הַשֹּׁמֵעַ, יִצְחַק-לִי. 6
And Sarah said: 'God hath made laughter for me; every one that heareth will laugh on account of me.'
[This was after God had promised the barren Sarah that she and Abraham would bear a son in their old age.]
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Imagining the binding of Isaac

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Today is the second day of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.
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The Torah portion that is read on this day is Genesis 22, God's testing of Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son on Mount Moriah.
In Hebrew we call it the Akedah, the binding of Isaac.
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Below is a wide variation of artistic portrayals of the story, on display at the Jewish museum in Jerusalem's Hechal Shlomo.
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"Abraham's sacrifice," designed by W. Breathe, England, 1870, porcelain, manufactured by Wedgewood.
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On the other extreme is this simple brass tub drilled with holes, made in Israel in the 20th century.

The inscription is "Lay not thy hand upon the lad," the welcome words of God's messenger-angel.

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This is an illustration on a 1743 map of Eretz-Israel, painted in France.

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A painting by Moshe Castel, 1925.

We can see the ram, tangled in the branches by its horns, which will be offered instead of Isaac.

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"The way to the mountain," wool thread on cushion cover, embroidered in Ethiopia in the 1980s.

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The servant boys stay behind with the donkey, Isaac carries the wood for the fire, Abraham carries the knife. Vultures circling above?

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You have to admit, religion has a lot of drama at its core.

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More about Rosh Hashana in previous posts:

A stone sculpture of the Akeda

Fish heads

New calendar for a new year

Tashlich bread to the fish

Shofar, tashlich

The world's birthday

Pomegranate symbol

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The akeda, the binding of Isaac

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The Days of Awe, the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, are upon us.
On the second day of Rosh Hashana the Torah portion read in the synagogue is from Genesis 22. The binding of Isaac!

The sculpture portrays Abraham's hand covering the mouth of Isaac while his other hand grips the knife with which he was commanded to slay his beloved son.

One face of the rock has the altar on which Isaac was bound. But mercifully, there also appears the ram with the curved horns, caught in the thicket, which God sent as a substitute sacrifice.

Engraved in Hebrew on the back is pahad Yitzhak, meaning Isaac's fear.

And above the words, a dove.

The rock stands in the Municipal Garden, between the Jerusalem City Hall and Jaffa Road.

The artist is the same man who did the giant mural in the Post Office.

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Like our patriarch whom God tested, the artist is also named Avraham. Avraham Ofek created this sculpture in 1987, after he had lost his own daughter, and just a few years before he died of a long and painful illness.

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