Art by Chana Rivka Hawkins

Artist’s rendition of the custom of Lekach, which the Lubavitcher Rebbe used to distribute during the High Holidays. Read more about the custom here.

Now it all begins...a year of infinite possibilities!

This picture is inspired by Tashlich. People come with families to the pond to read the 13 attributes of mercy on Rosh Hashanah afternoon. The picture is a pastoral interpretation of Jewish life. Through the details I share my impressionist view of Jewish life, full of mystery and alive even in our modern times. People search at the waters for the fish to carry away past faults. It is like a healing alignment. Fish never close their eyes, hinting of the power of He Whose eyes are never closed and Who cares for our year to unfold. I designed the picture to look like an eye of the fish, where we can search, inside and out, with hope for the new year.

Honeycomb, apples and blossoms: a picture for Rosh Hashanah.

Pomegranates are eaten on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which celebrates the Creation, the birth of the world. A wedding at the time of Creation, symbolising the eternal and spiritual bond of the Jewish bride and Groom. The couple are lifted up above the wedding guests who are joyfully singing and dancing inside the pomegranates, which are a symbol of fertility.