The work by Alex Levin named “To the Light” is very unusual with it’s genre. It’s one of the most mysterious paintings of the talented Israeli artist – at least because the steep street in the Old City of Jerusalem reminds of the “Time Spiral”, the favorite child of Hollywood. In fact, in those movies the Time Spiral usually leads back to the past whereas in the painting “To the Light” it leads to the future. Light and Dark, Good vs Evil – they are the foundation of Judaic philosophy. Moving up to the light is always difficult and in the painting by Alex Levin one can see that this is not an easy path for his hero.
Jerusalem is a complicated town indeed, where it’s hard to stay true to oneself. Of course it’s way easier for those who lives in a religious community but nevertheless, a moral choice is always individual. This was described by a famous rabbi Joseph Solovejchik in his book “Lonely religious man”. Preserving one’s unique inner world while being a part of one’s people with their traditions and ways of life – this is what every Jew’s most important task is all about.
The game of light and shade on the Alex Levin’s canvas helps discover the character and life cravings of it’s hero – like the vines breaking through the rocks. This is why people say that green is the color of hope. The stones of Jerusalem never suppressed life, on the contrary, they always supported it. And the lamp above the head of a religious man reminds us the well known aphorism of Baal Shem-Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism: “Even the weak beam of light disperses dark in a long distance.”
Alexander Riman.
Researcher of the Jewish Heritage and Journalist, Israel
