Rolling Light Away From Darkness

At our recent Artists' Lab we turned our attention to the prayer book, the Siddur, to explore the use of light as both metaphor and specific reference.  I am often drawn in by the poetry of the prayer book. I have been known to copy down passages struck by the sheer poetry.  This exploration again reminded me of that impulse.  To give you a flavor, here is the passage from the Sheharit-B'rakhot, Hakol yadukah.

All exalt You, Creator of all. God who daily opens the gates of the heavens, the casements of  the eastern sky- bringing forth the sun from its dwelling place, the moon from its abode, illumining the whole world and its inhabitants whom you created with mercy.  You illumine the earth and its creatures with mercy.

We were asked whether the passage speaks of light literally or metaphorically.  I loved the metaphor of illumining with mercy.  I pictured windows thrown open emitting a yellow-white blinding light.

Bless us our Creator, one and all, with Your light, for You have given us by that light the guide to a life filled with generosity and contentment, kindness and well-being, and peace.

Here we speak of light as offering precepts by which to live, perhaps harkening back to the burning bush and its light that accompanied the bestowing of the Ten Commandments,

And from the evening service we recite this prayer...Praised are you Adonai our God who rules the universe.  Your word bringing the evening dusk. You open with wisdom the gates of dawn, design the day with wondrous skill, set out the succession of seasons, and arrange the stars in the sky according to Your will.  You create day and night, rolling light away from darkness and darkness away from light. Praised are you Adonai, for each evening's dusk.

Here God is the Creator of light, but also darkness and we give thanks for each in their interdependence.  Judaism is a religion that is organized around light or its absence, expressed in both morning and evening prayers and the Havdallah ceremony that accompanies the end of Shabbat.  In fact, the Jewish day runs from sundown to sundown.

After this exploration we attempted a somewhat unsuccessful experiment with bouncing a light from mirror to mirror.  Failing in our attempt we shifted to a drawing exercise using charcoal and a variety of erasers, first creating darkness and then removing it, rolling darkness away from light to create emergent imagery. Faces and hands smudged with charcoal we concluded our evening and emerged into the darkness of our cold Minnesota night.

To view information on lab artists and lab discussion links and handouts, please go to theJewish Artists' Laboratory website.

*The Jewish Artists’ Laboratory is an arts initiative through the Sabes Jewish Community Center featuring 25 artists exploring the theme of Light through study and art making. The project is funded through The Covenant Foundation and similar projects are being done in both Milwaukee and Madison. Artists explore how the theme of Light is relevant to Jews and non-Jews, to religious and non-religious, to the community and to the individual, to the artist and the non-artist.