Inspired by the illuminated medieval haggadot, these 8 paintings are a pictorial preface to the text of the Passover Haggadah. Each episode concerns God’s connection with his creation in which He directly acts in the world.
1 Noah
2002 20" x 20"
Genesis 7:1. 1. And the Lord said to Noah, Come you and all your house into the ark; for you have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
Used with permission of the Davka Corporation.
2 Between the Parts
2002 20" x 20"
Covenant Between the Parts. Genesis 15:5-21.
5. And he brought him outside, and said, Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if you are able to count them; and he said to him, So shall your seed be. 6. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 7. And he said to him, I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it. 8. And he said, Lord God, how shall I know that I shall inherit it? 9. And he said to him, Bring me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. 10. And he took to him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half against the other; but the birds divided he not. 11. And when the eagle came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a fear of great darkness fell upon him. 13. And he said to Abram, Know for a certainty that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14. And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great wealth. 15. And you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16. But in the fourth generation they shall come here again; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. 17. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18. In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, To your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates; 19. The Kenites, and the Kenazites, and the Kadmonites, 20. And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaim, 21. And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
Used with permission of the Davka Corporation.
3 Akeida
2002 20" x 20" Freudenheim Collection
Genesis 22:10-12. 10. And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11. And the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham; and he said, Here am I. 12. And he said, Lay not your hand upon the lad, nor do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing that you did not withheld your son, your only son from me.
Used with permission of the Davka Corporation. 4 The Ladder
2002 20" x 20"
Jacob’s Ladder. Genesis 28:12-15. 12. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed; 14. And your seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in you and in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15. And, behold, I am with you, and will keep you in all places where you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you, until I have done that about which I have spoken to you.
Used with permission of the Davka Corporation.
5 The Bush
2002 20" x 20" Private Collection
The Burning Bush. Exodus 3:1-8. 1. And Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock far away into the desert, and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. 2. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5. And he said, Do not come any closer; take off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. 6. And he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. 7. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 8. And I have come down to save them from the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Used with permission of the Davka Corporation.
6 First Born
2002 20" x 20"
Death of the First Born. Exodus 11:1-10. 1. And the Lord said to Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go from here; when he shall let you go, he shall certainly thrust you out from here altogether. 2. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow from his neighbor, and every woman from her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. 3. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people. 4. And Moses said, Thus said the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt; 5. And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the maidservant who is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. 6. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. 7. But against any of the people of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast; that you may know that the Lord does put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. 8. And all these your servants shall come down to me, and bow down themselves to me, saying, Get out, and all the people who follow you; and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in great anger. 9. And the Lord said to Moses, Pharaoh shall not listen to you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. 10. And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the people of Israel go out of his land.
Used with permission of the Davka Corporation.
7 The Sea
2002 20" x 20"
The Reed Sea. Exodus 15:19.
19. For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the people of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
Used with permission of the Davka Corporation.
8 The Law
2002 20" x 20"
Giving the Law. Exodus 19:16-20.
16. And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the sound of a shofar exceedingly loud; so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the lower part of the mount. 18. And Mount Sinai was altogether in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount trembled greatly. 19. And when the voice of the shofar sounded long, and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice. 20. And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mount; and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
Used with permission of the Davka Corporation.