Image of the Week: Kaddish
© D. Yael Bernhard
Tonight is the beginning of the saddest holiday of the Jewish year: Tish'a B'Av, or the Ninth of Av. The month of Av is the second to last on the Jewish calendar – a lunar calendar that shifts each year in relation to the Gregorian calendar. This year, the Ninth of Av falls during August. Next year it will be in July, and this is the painting that will illustrate that month in The Jewish Eye 5783/2023 Calendar of Art.
Kaddish is the name of the mourner's prayer. Whole books have been written about its meaning. It is written in Aramaic, the lingua franca of the Jewish people at the time of its origin, about 2000 years ago. The custom of reciting the prayer dates back about 1100 years. It is recited in honor of a deceased family member for specific intervals of time. Curiously, the Kaddish prayer does not once mention death, but instead glorifies all of Creation and blesses its Creator, reminding us of our place in the web of existence. It is also recited as a segue between different parts of a synagogue service. Kaddish is a central part of Jewish liturgy, yet a minyan of ten Jews is required in order to recite it – perhaps so the mourner will not be alone.
Since the time of the Crusades, the Kaddish prayer has also become a means of collectively mourning Jewish communities that were attacked and desecrated. Tens of thousands were murdered in those terrible times, and many more since. By reciting the Kaddish, we declare that although we have suffered a deep loss, we still praise Creation. In this way, both the individual and the community are strengthened in the continuity of life.
Tish'a B'Av commemorates several tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, and several that have struck humanity as a whole. These historical black spots include the fall of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem under Babylonian rule in 586 BCE, and of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE – both on the Ninth of Av. The destruction of the Temple is formally lamented on this day with fasting, prayer, and scriptural readings. The expulsion of the Jews of England took place on Tish'a B'Av in 1290; and of approximately 350,000 Jews from Spain in 1492– the very week Columbus set sail for America. There is evidence that both Columbus and his crew were Sephardic Jews.
For me this is a sad month also for personal reasons. My father's yahrzeit (anniversary of death) takes place on the 18th of Av this year. His father died in August, too. Admittedly, I finished this painting in December – but the original idea was sketched out on the day I lit the candle, as I wove the entire prayer into an illustration. The concept is simple: the Hebrew words spiral out with focused kavanah (intention) from the reciter's mind, winding through her awareness and extending beyond herself to curl around the memory of the departed soul. The act of painting the words became a ritual that gave form to this intention. It took time and patience to space out the words and articulate each letter with a brush. The prayer begins in pink above the woman's eye, and ends with amen (אמן) at the man's fingertips.
Both art and music are created by movement – whether of a brush on paper or a finger on a string or key. Through movement and ritual, we bring our human experience into tangible form that seeks to transcend itself. How else can we come to terms with the loss of a parent, a spouse, a sibling or a child? A piece of our soul departs with our loved ones, leaving the rest behind to meander on a long journey of mourning and grief. The woman shown here is at peace, but her way here has been circuitous, full of sharp turns, looping back on itself, carving its path through her – and changing her forever.
The mourner's Kaddish re-emerged in Christianity as the Lord's Prayer, or Pater Noster, with added emphasis on human behavior.
Tish'a B'av is followed by another lesser-known Jewish holiday – Tu B'Av, the fifteenth of Av, the holiday of love. The placement of this joyful occasion, when many weddings and celebrations take place, is no coincidence – for love follows sorrow as surely as day follows night, and life itself is beloved.
Amen.
You can find The Jewish Eye 5783/2023 Calendar of Art in my webstore or on Amazon. If you're local, you can find it at The Tender Land gift shop in Phoenicia, NY.
A good week to all –
D Yael Bernhard
http://dyaelbernhard.com
children's books • fine art • illustration
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