"When the Holy One, blessed be He, came to reveal the Torah on Sinai, the mountains ran about and contended with each other, each claiming, 'The Torah shall be revealed on me.'“(Midrash Rabba Genesis 99:1)
"Dialogue of the Mountains" presents a window into the strife among the mountains as they vie amongst themselves from one canvas to another. In this triptych the mountain ranges come forward and recede into the distance, in the throes of a primal experience. The colors, hot and passionate, flow and intermingle, while the air seems to crackle with anticipation. A group of people, contemplating the unfolding drama, create a sense of proportion to the looming mountains. Man 's smallness before the forces of nature is a theme portrayed extensively in Chinese and Japanese art, however the Midrash takes the lesson a step further. Not a mountain of might, but a humble mount (free of idol worship) was chosen—a symbol not only of man's smallness but also how nature itself is subservient to G‑d.