Ezekiel's Vision
Ezekiel’s Vision – oil on canvas © 2024 D. Yael Bernhard
The prophet Ezekiel lived as an exile in Babylon in the 6th century BCE. Far from home and with their beloved temple destroyed, the Jewish people naturally began to integrate into the local culture, inculcating their beliefs and gradually losing their connection to Jerusalem. Several visionaries strove to keep this connection alive, including Ezra the Scribe and Ezekiel the Prophet. They understood the importance of a belief system based not on idol worship and hierarchical power, but on the essential concept that there is only one source of life that is invisible, omnipresent, and eternal. They wanted to preserve the teachings of the Torah, and to strive for a society based on justice, mercy, and a moral code of conduct. This meant returning to Jerusalem and rebuilding the holy city, the beating heart at the center of Judaism in ancient times and to a large degree, still to this day.
Ezekiel had a vision of a “New Jerusalem,” a heavenly place with rivers of clear water flowing through it, and the Garden of Eden with the Tree of Life at its center. The rebuilt temple is also a core part of the prophet’s vision, including detailed measurements and instructions for rebuilding the altar, the surrounding walls, and various gates, hallways, and chambers. Not surprisingly, the temple is often featured in artistic renderings of Ezekiel’s prophecy.
My painting should really be titled “Part of Ezekiel’s Vision,” because it was the natural elements that captured my imagination. Instead of the temple, I made the Edenic garden and streams the focus of the painting, surrounded by the city. I have not even depicted the temple, which no longer stands. Judaism was destined to become decentralized when the Second Temple fell some 600 years after Ezekiel lived, which led to the abandonment of ritual offerings and animal sacrifice, and gave birth to an era of study and prayer in buildings throughout the land called synagogues. Temple priests were replaced by community teachers known as rabbis. Despite the terrible loss of the Second Temple that is still mourned today (see last week’s post, “She Survived,” for more on this subject), I feel this branching out was also a positive trend that connected Judaism to the land in new ways, and enabled the development of community-based traditions. My painting reflects this interpretive bias, and is therefore not dominated by a mighty temple, but by a magnificent tree surrounded by a flowering hillside city.
The name Ezekiel comes from the Hebrew root chazak, meaning “may God strengthen.” What kind of strength? There is strength of vision, strength of endurance, strength of influence, strength of conviction, strength of character . . . it seems the prophet, and his legacy, have been graced with all these strengths. I decided to include a fictitious portrait of the prophet himself in the painting, turned inward as he concentrates on his inner vision. To concentrate is to remove dilution, isolating the essence of something and making it central. This Ezekiel did in his prophecy, which legend holds he received on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and fasting. To me this makes his vision all the more compelling.
I had a vision of my own of this painting, which I knew right away would be square, with a textured yellow background. The river flows upward toward heaven, branching out to form another tree-like structure that harkens to the concept of the Torah as a Tree of Life. The idea here is that the Torah itself grows like a tree from Ezekiel’s mind, seeking to strengthen and restore the Jewish people. While my version departs from the usual depictions of Ezekiel’s vision, it is faithful to the image that came to me, and expresses my own love of the beautiful land of Israel, with its picturesque hills, fruitful bounty, and incredibly rich history. That’s what I thought about while I worked on this painting.
May Ezekiel’s prophecy be realized anew someday, and usher in a peaceful era for Jerusalem, a city of great diversity, complexity, creativity, and strife. The ancient origin of the Hebrew word Yerushalayim means a “place of abiding peace,” coming from the roots yireh (to dwell in awe) and shalem (peace or wholeness). Wouldn’t that truly be awesome!
Ezekiel’s Vision is the image for November 2024 in The Jewish Eye 5785/2025 Calendar of Art, available in my webstore, on Amazon, or if you’re local, directly from me. All the images may be viewed in my webstore.
A good week to all!
D. Yael Bernhard
https://dyaelbernhard.com
Have you seen my other Substack, The Art of Health? In addition to being a visual artist, I’m also a certified integrative health & nutrition coach with a lifelong passion for natural food cooking and herbal medicine. Now in its second year, this illustrated newsletter explores cutting-edge concepts of nutrition. I strive to make relevant information clear and accessible, and to anchor essential health concepts in unique images. Check it out, and if you like it, please subscribe and help spread the word. Your support keeps my work going!