Kickstarter Update #4: An Illumination Of Blessings: Sabbath

Dear Backers and Backers-To-Be:

Wow, with 64% funding and three days to go, I am really getting into the rhythm of An Illumination Of Blessings! Yesterday and today I’ve been working on this new illustration; the blessing recited when lighting the Sabbath candles. At this rate, I feel confident that the book will be done on schedule if not before!

Here you can see a woman (who could be any age) blessing the two candles she has lit to usher in the Sabbath, the twenty-four hour period of rest from sundown to sunset that is a central tenet of the Jewish faith for it mirrors the completion of Creation and defines a place in our lives in which we can cease our week’s efforts, open our senses to those things that we rush past during the week and achieve a sense of accomplishment for when we resume our activities afterwards.

On her lace tablecloth is a kiddush cup filled with wine and two challahs that have been baked fresh for the Sabbath. Blessings for these items appear in this book as well. The spirit figure in the background represents the Shekhinah, or the feminine aspect of our Creator whom we welcome into our homes for this brief time each week. I will be sharing additional thoughts on these images in the book’s commentary.

As always, your questions and comments are welcome!

To those of you that kindly and generously pledged your support to bring me to this point in my campaign, I thank you unreservedly. To those of you who are on the wire trying to decide if this is worth your investment, worry  no more. You’ve spent plenty of money on all kinds of stuff, but what can you count among your possessions to prove you’ve taken a journey through my imagination? I mean, how many artists devoted to high quality spiritual art can you call yourself a patron of? Here’s the link, hop to it!!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1330347473/an-illumination-of-blessings

Tags: blessing, candelabra, candlelighting, candles, challah, challah cover, kiddush cup, lace tablecloth, Sabbath, shabbos, shekhinah, three stars, wine