Image of the Week: The Parting of the Sea
© D. Yael Bernhard
Tonight marks the end of the week in the Jewish calendar in which the annual reading of B'shalach takes place – the story of the parting of the Red Sea. The legacy of this epic tale seems unsurpassed in human history, for a more powerful symbol of redemption has surely never reverberated down through the ages. The word b'shalach (בשלך) itself means "sending forth" or "letting go" – as Pharaoh did after the tenth plague took his firstborn son, and finally, he let the Hebrew slaves go. His heart quickly stiffened, however, and the brutal dictator sent his army in hot pursuit of the frightened Israelites to the edge of the sea. Then the angel of God instructed Moses to hold his alarm aloft over the water, "and the Eternal drove back the sea with a strong east wind all that night . . . and the waters were split." With staff in hand, Moses led his people across the sea on dry land to safety on the other side, where they burst out in jubilant song and dance, their faith elevated to pure rapture.
The rest is history – for though this story is fiction, its effect on history has been profound. This is why I chose it for the center of this illustration, as a picture within a picture. The figure who frames the image is not a depiction of God, but the prophet Isaiah, who recalls how the angel of God's presence delivered the people from tyranny. Jewish spiritual literature contains many allusions of one book to another, in this case the Book of Isaiah to the Book of Exodus. Isaiah casts his gaze both backward and forward in time, binding the origins of the Children of Israel to the acts that shape their future, both wise and wayward.
It was my choice as the illustrator to show this particular scene. My assignment was simply to illustrate verses 7-9 of Isaiah chapter 63: the prophet's recounting of the Eternal's most praiseworthy acts of divine redemption. I thought: what better choice than this most famous miracle? What better image of Isaiah's call that we remember, remember the transcendent power of good that rises up against evil?
Stories within stories have always intrigued me, and this opportunity to illustrate such a text was most welcome. I wanted the frame and the image within it to enhance each other. The passage also speaks to the bounty of the House of Israel, which I depicted here as the Seven Species of the Bible, forming a sort of arbor over Isaiah's head: (from right to left) barley, wheat, grapes, dates, pomegranates, olives, and figs. Such luscious abundance! These fruits and grains are a worthy subject on their own, and have emerged in my art before, such as the logo on the back of my Jewish Eye Calendar of Art (see below).
Once again I made use of two different scales, with the prophet's embrace more immense than the mighty waters of the sea, for his words remind us not only of the miracle itself but its everlasting takeaway. That is the true value of a story – not only its content but the context from which it arises and in which it is received. In this illustration, the content is literally placed within the context.
It took several dog walks for me to figure out how to translate this passage into a picture. Illustrating the Book of Isaiah is no easy task, but I cling to an abiding faith of my own: that there is no idea, no concept that cannot be expressed visually. And there is almost always more than one way to do it. Just type the words "the parting of . . ." into your search engine, and behold the plethora of paintings that comes up – a veritable sea of human expression.
Beyond the shores of this tale lies the harsh Sinai desert, where the newly-freed Israelite slaves must learn to find, and forge, their own path. It will take them forty years to do so – but that's another story for a future painting. The Torah is an endless source of artistic inspiration. I consider my opportunities to illustrate it a blessing.
As a reminder, The Jewish Eye 5783/2023 Calendar of Art is on sale for $9 in my webstore and on Amazon.
A good week to all!
D Yael Bernhard