Text: Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20



11″ x 14″



Original is available. Email to inquire.

 

Parashat (Torah Portion) Nitzavim is the fourth-to-last portion in the Torah. In it, God (through Moses) lays before the People of Israel a choice: life or death, blessing or curse. Love God and follow God’s commandments and you fill have blessing and life; despise God, worship other gods, stray from the path and only curse and death will follow. Therefore, Moses enjoins the people, choose life.



In this piece, the People of Israel stand behind Moses, who is presenting the two paths open to them: to the left, the path toward darkness, evil, worship of false gods (represented by the Pagan temple in the background, with smoke from idolatrous sacrifices rising ominously toward the thundercloud above), of curse and death. To the right, the path toward light, good, blessing (represented by the rays of light warming the path below) and life. Moses presents the rightward path with the Cohanite hand of blessing (think Spock’s Live Long and Prosper hand signal — it’s actually from the Jewish priests, the Cohanim, who made their hands into the shape of a Shin for Shaddai, one of God’s names, particularly one that indicates God’s protective and nurturing aspects). Moses presents the leftward path with an open hand, indicating that the path is genuinely open for us to choose, although it is devoid of blessing.



This piece can be personalized with an inscription of the name and date of a Bar or Bat Mitzvah! Be sure to include the spelling of the Hebrew name if possible (to type in Hebrew: http://www.branah.com/hebrew ).