Days of Awe

Hanging Scroll - "Sangre de Cristo: Entering Rosh Hashanah Morning", Sumi Ink and Acrylic Ink on Rice Paper, Tamrisk Sticks

We’re entering into the Yamin Noraim or Days of Awe – that time from the start of Rosh Chodesh Elul which includes Rosh Hashanah and the Ten Days of Repentance, ending with Yom Kippur. Traditionally the period from Rosh Hodesh Elul to Yom Kippur is understood to represent the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai before coming down with the Tablets of Law.

The above painting refers to this moment of the year, when the majority of Jews return to worship. The row of green bushes indicates the worshipping Jews during Rosh Hashanah. The two blue bushes in their midst are my wife and I, the three green sprouting pods from under the row of bushes (at varying lengths down the scroll) are my children in various stages of understanding. – DN