Courage & Memory
A series inspired by Jewish resistance during the Holocaust.
This collection honors the courage, resilience, and humanity of Jewish people and allies who resisted hatred and dehumanization during the Holocaust. Some works are complete, others remain part of an ongoing journey of remembrance.
The Shofar in the Forest
Jews held to identity and faith even in hiding.
In partisan unit, they took to the forest and blew the shofar.
May we remember this resilient spirit every year when we gather to hear the blowing of the shofar.
The Last Dance Before the Revolt
Many women fighters spoke about dancing or singing together the night before an operation.
Woman Smuggling Light Out of the Ghetto
Inspired by the couriers who transported weapons between ghettos.
Sonderkommando Women of the Revolt (Auschwitz)
Rosa Robota, Ala Gertner, Ester Wajcblum, & Regina Safirsztain smuggled gunpowder from the munitions factory to the fighters who blew up Crematorium IV.
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/timeline-event/holocaust/1942-1945/auschwitz-revolt
Ghetto Girls Carrying Fire
A tribute to the women fighters in Vilna, Krakow, Bialystok & Warsaw
Vitka Kempner Blowing Up the Train
Vitka Kempner led the first partisan attack by a Jewish woman and destroyed a German train in 1942.
Dr. Janusz Korczak
Dr. Korczak refused to abandon the orphans in his care and walked with them to Treblinka so they would not die alone.
https://www.accidentaltalmudist.org/heroes/2019/01/02/janusz-korczak/
Psalm 137
This painting is inspired by my friend Sylvia Reubens Hollister who composed a beautiful musical piece to honor the 6 million lost souls and reflect upon Psalm 137.
https://hebrewcollege.edu/resource/psalm-137-the-waters-of-babylon/
Woman of Shards
Silhouette of resistance fighters ~ Woman & men rising up in smoke, life, then and now.
The Eternal Promise
Across continents, centuries, and every attempt to erase us, the Jewish people remain ~ many faces, one people, joined by courage, memory, and faith.
What greater witness could there be to Hashem’s eternal promise?