I never painted a swastika in my life.
But I needed to paint this picture.
Many of you may have already seen the original photograph this painting is based on.
It was taken in Germany, 1932. Rachel Posner snapped a photograph of her family’s menorah set up on a windowsill. In the background, directly opposite the menorah, is a building draped with Nazi flags.
The photo is astonishing. The contrast takes your breath away.
But I needed more.
I needed to see what it looked like that fateful night, after it was lit.
I needed to see the light.
I needed to witness that first moment in time, when God disrupts darkness with two simple words that summarize the point of creation: "Be light."
I need to see the power of that light against ultimate darkness.
To see it so that I can know it. So my children can know it.
To know that no matter the darkness that surrounds us,
We will be light.
We will be love.
We will be life.
We will carry that flame.
Today, tomorrow, and the day after that.
Until the entire universe shines with a light that will never fade.
Happy Chanukah to all.
