Image of the Week: Eternal Light

© D. Yael Bernhard

Eternal Light is the image for August in my new calendar, The Jewish Eye 5782/2022 Calendar of Art.  It's an image of light within darkness.  When the outer light around us wanes, our inner light is thought to steadily increase.  Many spiritual traditions hold this inner light to be the most sacred – the source of life itself.  In Judaism this special light is the ner tamid (נר תמיד or "eternal light") that hangs in front of the ark in synagogues.  For centuries, these lights were oil lamps, wicked lanterns, or candles, tended by the synagogue custodian to keep it illuminated at all times.  It is interesting to ponder what is lost in the convenience of today's electric fixtures, which need no tending unless a bulb burns out.

These Eternal Lights exist in the most splendid variety, hammered and forged over the centuries according to the many cultures in which Jews have lived, from Morocco to Turkey, from Iraq to Greece, Spain to Holland, Argentina to Mexico, Russia to Lithuania, China to Australia – the list goes on.  Everywhere Jews have congregated, the arts of their surroundings have found expression in these ritual lights.

Shown here is the ner tamid that hangs over the ark in my synagogue in Woodstock, NY.  I’ve long admired it, with its coppery burnished bowl, and the light that shines through holes cut as Hebrew letters that read ׳ה׳ אור - y’hi ohr – Let there be light.

In designing my calendar, I carefully consider the placement of each image.  I decided to put this one in August, the month of the Jewish holiday Tisha B’Av, or Ninth of Av on next year's Hebrew calendar.  This year it falls in July, beginning just a few hours ago as I write this post, at sundown.  Tisha B'Av is a day of mourning for the darkest days of Jewish history, including the fall of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in August of the year 70CE, and the expulsion of over 350,000 Jews from Spain in August of 1492.  It is believed both these and other tragic events took place on the Ninth of Av.  Never is a strong inner light more needed than in times of persecution and loss.  This is what has sustained the Jewish people, and Judaism’s life-cherishing traditions, over time.  

In my painting, the light shines through an individual – a transparent human figure – and beyond.  The colors are crepuscular – that of sunrise and sunset, twilight and dusk – indicating change.  The Eternal Light, coming from within, shines steadily through times of change.  Mythical or not, there's something comforting about this concept – it lights up the imagination.  I could do countless versions of this concept (here is another example, posted on winter Solstice) – if only I had infinite time to paint!

The Jewish Eye 5782/2022 Calendar of Art is available in my webstore and on Amazon.  You can view the entire calendar here.  Buy two or more calendars from my webstore, and I'll send you a free Shana Tova (Happy New Year in Hebrew) card.  If you buy it on Amazon, please consider writing a review! 

 

Wishing you strong inner light.
 

D Yael Bernhard
http://dyaelbernhard.com
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