A Message from Beth Am Israel about the impact of the portraits

What follows is what the clergy at Beth Am Israel posted to their community the morning, after celebrating the first Shabbat with the Souls Shot exhibition in their sacred space. 

Their members have been so impacted by this important exhibition.

What does it mean to pray with the souls of those who are no longer with us, souls we might not even know personally?How can we raise up our own prayer and connect with the impossible reality of living with the senseless murder of a loved one?I am not even sure I would have known to ask these questions a week ago, let alone begin to find their answers had it not been for the art exhibit currently on display in our lobby, and more importantly, on our inner Sanctuary walls. Several weeks ago, we were approached with the idea of hosting the traveling art exhibit, "Souls Shots: Portraits of Victims of Gun Violence". The project pairs local artists with families who have lost someone to gun violence. The artists work with the bereaved family to create a portrait of their loved one. Beth Am Israel's own Elisa Abeloff is one of those artists, and her work is on display among the many powerful, deeply personal and beautiful portraits. I will admit that when the idea of hanging these portraits in the Sanctuary was first raised I was hesitant, even reluctant to consider this. Over my thirteen years at Beth Am, we have on rare occasions hung posters created by students and even then on a limited basis. By and large, the walls remain blank- for aesthetic and practical reasons - and I have tended to reject ideas to put stuff upon them. I shared my concerns with Elisa and Lori, our executive director. Once I learned about the true nature of the project (I initially imagined graphic, even violent images- the actual paintings are anything but.) and listening to Elisa and Lori's reasons why these paintings belonged there (and in our upstairs lobby) I understood that this was the right thing to do.I was completely unprepared for what happened next:  On Thursday, the paintings were hung up around the Sanctuary and lobby. I wandered up to check them out as Elisa and her husband George were hanging the final paintings and I was completely overwhelmed and overtaken with emotion.The paintings are heartbreakingly beautiful. They are so intimate, so full of life and love, it is easy to forget that they are paintings 'In Memorium',  of lives taken. I was immediately grateful that they were there and that we would be with these paintings for several weeks. Friday night, Rabbi David and I wondered how we could address their presence and include them somehow in Kabbalat Shabbat. As people wandered in, some began to drift over to the paintings but most went to their seats and the service began. As we always do, just before the end of Lecha Dodi, the congregation stands and faces the back of the Sanctuary. This gesture is meant to echo the Kabalists of Safed who invented the Kabalat Shabbat service in the 1500's.  Normally, we follow this prayer with a few moments of greeting one another in the Sanctuary, wishing one another 'Shabbat Shalom.' And so just before we sang this final verse which talks about going in peace to greet the Shabbat bride with joy and gladness, Rabbi David invited everyone to pause and rather than greet one another as is our custom, to go and greet one of the paintings, paintings of men, women, and children. And so as we continued the tefilah, people walked over to the paintings, many still singing, many just moving quietly through the impromptu gallery. It was an astonishing and deeply felt moment for me personally and I suspect many in the Sanctuary. We were praying together with the people whose images were on our walls.  We were connecting beyond space and time. I am aware of and understand that some feel that these paintings - any paintings- do not belong in the Sanctuary space. Initially, I was one of them. But after this Shabbat, I am firm of the belief that the "Souls Shot" not only belongs in our Sanctuary but adds incredible depth and meaning to my own prayers and potentially those of our community. I am particularly grateful to Elisa and to Lori, our Executive Director for seeing the potential of this work and for insisting that these belong in our most sacred space. I hope you take an opportunity over these next few weeks to see these works for yourself. Finally, come to the opening of the exhibit this Thursday night at 7pm to hear about the origins of the project and learn more about the impact it is having and can continue to have in our community. L'Shalom,Hazzan Harold