Amidst the screams of harrowing pain, amidst the sadistically dancing flames, the two cherubim yet face one another, the purity of their gaze in stark contrast to the mayhem of flames swirling in carnage and chaos, death and destruction.

They stare into one another’s eyes, oblivious to the devastation about them. Their gaze fixed, deep, and loving, their feelings palpable through the bedlam.

The world is collapsing around them, but they remain tranquil, safe in each other’s presence. It is that faith in one another that leaves them transcendent, worlds away from those drowning in despair. In their world the waters are calm, a peace that reigns autonomously. In their reality, they have only one another.

Here the fires blaze with a devilish grin. Fully in fury, crazed, and drunken, the flames’ sinister laughs echoing as they grow, their hunger insatiable.

One whispers, G‑d’s voice audible from within the cherub’s wings. His words silence the howl of the storm. I Am with you now more than ever before. You are my only; never shall we part. You may never understand my love, you may never understand the way I express my love, but my love is with you, and in that love, I Am with you. With you by the rivers of Babylon, with you at the auto de fe, with you in your suffering through the pogroms, the ghettoes, the camps, with you through disaster, and with you in your every tear.

Now they fall silent, lost for words, lost in each other’s eyes.

The tempest breaks loose.

Scorching winds whip at the cherubim, the flames licking ominously. Ravenous, reddened and ruthless, the fire burns, a wolfish glint glaring in its eyes.

Yet, the two cherubim stand, undaunted and unflinching, holding hands in the face of the storm. In silence, their eyes sing of love and faith. And in their song a dream is born; that they will one day reminisce of the night they last embraced.