Manual papercut.
About the artwork "Kneeling/Ripping" from the Birkhon "Al HaAretz HaTovah" for Independence Day:
On the occasion of the miracle of the establishment of the state, we were asked to reflect on the meaning of the miracle. The first thing that came to mind was “for Your miracles that are with us every day” (from the Amidah prayer)—gratitude for simple miracles. When asked to think of a metaphor, birth came to me. Because every birth story is a miraculous story. From pain, something sublime awakens. New life breathes for the first time. A soul descends to the world, wrapped in the light of grace and blessing.
The people of Israel were born from the womb of slavery, passing through the parted sea, and on the other side, they breathed freedom for the first time. Under skies of tears and blood, the path opens, and the pain of exile transforms into the moment of redemption. A promise of life.
The parting of the Red Sea. The kneeling of birth.
A baby breaks through the boundaries of the womb. The people of Israel break through the boundaries of enslavement. And in our generation, in a wondrous birth,
the people rose to revival in the land of their ancestors. Like a baby crying its first cry, the people raise their voice for freedom.
This creation carries an ancient secret of life. Faith. Miracle. The meeting of body and soul.
"This day you became a nation" (Deuteronomy 27/9)
Growing again – Beneath scorched earth, they will try to bury us. In a frozen forest or a dark tunnel. But among the clumps of dirt, the force of life is stronger than all.
Alive. Alive. Alive. Yes, I am still alive.
Our victory as a people is to see the next generation of survivors. Our hope now is for the return of the hostages.
Hear me, my brothers, I am still alive!
The piece was created for Holocaust Remembrance Day, while our hostages are still in Hamas tunnels.
Bat-Chen Norani Eshbal – Paper-cut artist, member of the Israeli Paper Cutters Organization. Mother of five. Social activist. Trying to add goodness.
