THE ONE IS EQUAL IN ALL
THAT IS BEFORE ME

SHIVITI YAH L'NEGDI TAMID

T his unique, mosaic Shiviti adorns the wall of the Elat Chayyim Jewish Retreat Center where it was created as a meditation device and an inspirational means for raising funds. Over $30,000 was collected by selling the red wooden letters which comprise the Psalm 150 while at the same time a sacred space for prayer and meditation was created.

The traditional Shiviti is often placed with other prayer devices like a Mizrach, on the wall of a home or synagogue indicating the direction to the site of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, the location towards which Jews around the world orient themselves in prayer. The Shiviti is frequently decorated with passages from Jewish liturgy and other texts that "sing" praise to the One. By focusing on the four letters of God's name and repeating the passages over and over, one uses the Shiviti as a way of entering into a deep meditative state.

This mosaic and mixed media Shiviti collage stands 7 feet high and twelve feet wide. It was created with the vision of peace at its core. The chamsa, hand or five in Arabic, is an amulet found in Middle Eastern culture in both Jewish and Moslem homes. It is considered a symbol of protection for the home and body and is often placed on a door, a newborn's crib or even worn around the neck. The chamsa traditionally appears with five fingers as it is like a hand, however, I chose to create this one with six fingers. I imagine two hands - one resting atop another - two souls, two cultures, two people uniting in peace to sing the praises of the One. The "thumbs" on either side are doves holding in their bellies this meditation for peacemaking in the universe - "the One is equal in all that is before me." The cycles of the moon in the fingers, as well as being a central element in the Jewish marking of time, represent the constant cycle of release and return through which we all pass. The pomegranates are a symbol of fertility - their blood red juices and the hundreds of seeds nesting inside are like a nation, a person, a breath being born again and again.

Rav Zalman Schachter - Shalomi suggested the use of Psalm 150, the last in the book of Psalms and one of the most beloved in our liturgy in which David HaMelech excites us to praise the One in song and dance and instrument.

Kol HaNeshama T'Hallel Yah
Let every living soul praise the Breath of Life.