בס”ד
By Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
During the three weeks, we are now in, we mourn the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash. This painting exhibits elements of mourning and exile along with significant symbols of hope towards redemption, in the context of the Kotel, remnant of the Temple. The black waters seem to symbolize the evil powers of the enemies of Israel throughout exile, as the verse says “the evil waters.” )Tehilim 124, 5) This is compounded with the waters looking rather blackish, a color that is sometimes associated with evil and darkness. There is a ship that seems to be coming from these waters to the Kotel, symbolizing the salvation of Israel from the tribulations of exile through the return to Zion-Jerusalem. The contrasts of white and black, symbolizing light and darkness, in this painting seem to be quite significant. We see the black shofar blown by a white dove, and in turn a white dove make her nest in a black “bush” in the midst of the white wall of the Kotel. We see a man with a white talis and black stripes praying with black tefilin. These matters may hint to an idea that, although black may entail darkness/exile, nevertheless there is a special message of redemption embedded in the troubles of “darkness.” It is through these troubles that we feel obligated to repent, and the shofar is a symbol of this repentance. It is through this darkness that we feel we must find “nesting”, i.e settling, in our Holy Land and Home, and not be satisfied with “roaming” in various places in the Diaspora, even if they “housed” our People for a thousand years, as was in pre-Holocaust Europe. Also, darkness can represent a lack of knowledge, where faith is needed, as hinted to in the verse “to say Your kindness in the morning, and Your faith in the nights.” This may give us meaning into the black tefilin, by which we remember Hashem’s redeemed us out of Egypt, and thereby strengthen our faith in all matters we do not know how Hashem governs them – that indeed Hashem is taking us through a process to redeem us.
In gold along with blue we see the altar of incense in an azure sky setting, and the Menora next to a man dressed in blue. The altar and the Menora represent the connection to the Temple and the redemption, even at times of exile, since we say the passage of incense in our prayers and light candles corresponding to the Menora during Hanuka. Also, there is a custom to say the passage of the Menora when saying a longer “incense passage for plagues/dangers” instituted by the Arizal. According to the Arizal the color blue, used in the techelet of tzitzit, also represents connection to the Temple.
Hebron’s later in a change of order can spell Hurban – destruction. This matter may hint that the through the connection to our Holy Land inherent in Hebron – meaning connection “hibur” – we rectify the Hurban, paving the way towards the rebuilding of our Holy Temple with the merit of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs of Hebron.