"Mimizrah, from the rising of the sun to its setting, the Lord's name is praised" (Psalms 113:3)
One of my first commissions when I started my business seven years ago was a painting entitled "City of Gold." It was a cutout of Jerusalem's skyline painted gold with silver accents with Psalms 122 written in the center. I made Jerusalem in a closed circle because of the third verse of that Psalm which states, "Jerusalem is built up like a city that is united together."
Over the years I recreated many versions of this piece with different texts written inside based on the customer's request. The design has framed several ketubot as well. Jerusalem was always painted in gold which is classy and lovely but secretly I kept hoping someone would order the piece and ask for Jerusalem to be painted in vibrant colors instead of the monochromatic gold. When I have an urge to paint something I cannot rest until it's done, so one afternoon last May I decided to create a multi-colored Jerusalem. I used gouache paint diluted with water so that the colors would run into one another and offer some nice shadings. Two days later the painting was finished. It was colorful and happy but the inside circle was blank and I wasn't sure what to write in that space. The answer came to me later that summer when I was in of all places Jerusalem! I decided the blank space would be filled with the word "Mizrah".
Mizrah, which is Hebrew for East, is a word often painted or carved out of wood or metal and hung in synagogues and homes on an eastern facing wall. The Talmud (Berachot 30a) teaches us that one who stands in prayer outside of Israel should direct his heart eastward, toward Israel. The first Biblical reference of facing eastward while praying is during the dedication ceremony of the newly built First Temple as King Solomon offers his heartfelt prayers to God (I Kings 8:22). Another Biblical reference is in the Book of Daniel where the verses describe Daniel as having "...windows open in his upper story, facing Jerusalem, and three times a day he fell to his knees and prayed and gave thanks before his God" (Daniel 6:11).
Many scholars believe that the idea of turning toward Jerusalem during prayer probably began during the Babylonian Exile following the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE. Jerusalem was east of Babylonia and as verbal prayer became a substitute for animal sacrifice and communal synagogues replaced the Temple, facing East became a significant reminder to the exiled Jews of where the focus of their hearts should be albeit their physical bodies stood elsewhere on foreign soil. Throughout the generations the most decorated wall of the synagogue has been the Eastern wall and until this day is the place where the Rabbi and prestigious members of the synagogue sit.
Our homes, meant to be mini sanctuaries and also places of worship, should have a wall decorated with the phrase Mizrah as a reminder of Jerusalem and where God once rested his Divine Presence among us.
This is the wall in my house where I pray, my personal reminder that in the comforts of my current home my real home lies elsewhere.
(Oh yeah, and that's my Jerusalem painting hanging next to it...it wasn't intentional but the colors go really well together. I call this my "Jerusalem Wall," and it is my favorite space in my home!)
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