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Chanukiah installation Köpenick,  Velvet / wood/ plaster, 2m x 3m x 0,5m, 2021

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I consider ways to reflect Jewish lifestyle and practices. One of my most impassioned intentions in my artistic career is to combat prejudice through visibility and education. In 2020 and 2021 I was fortunate to be asked by TKVA Berlin to build Chanukiah installations for Chanukah on behalf of the Jewish community. The above image is the 2021 installation, as this was of personal importance to me. It was placed between the citizen's office where I received my German citizenship, and the former local synagogue stood (demolished 1938). This was a particularly difficult commission as the district is known for right-wing tendencies. In the same year, several Channukiahs in neighbouring districts were vandalised. In the design of the work, I combine two Mitzvot (Jewish commandments): the beautification of ritual objects, and that the candelabrum must be lit publicly. Anticipating that the piece might be subject to vandalism, I engineered the installation so that it could be easily repaired.

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Themes of Hannukah

Multiple lessons and meanings can be observed during Hannukah:

• liberation in the face of oppression

• importance of being allowed to practice religion and identity

• how to maintain Jewish identity within a larger non-Jewish culture 

• Never be afraid to stand up for what’s right

• Always increase in matters of goodness and Torah-observance

• As the candles are lit at dusk, they transform darkness into light

• Unique to Hannukah is the public observation, it teaches us to be visibly Jewish to our neighbours

 

Souces

Myjewishlearning.com

Sefaria.org

Introductions to the Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat, Summary of Perek II 2 by Jonah Rothstein

Mishneh Torah, Scroll of Esther and Hanukkah 4:5

Mishneh Torah, Scroll of Esther and Hanukkah 4:12

Chabad.org