The Posner Menorah Painting: A Chanukah Story

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Yoel Judowitz is an artist specializing in illustration.

As Chanukah neared, he was inspired to paint a picture based on the famous photograph of Rachel Posner’s menorah, taken in Germany, 1931.

Mrs. Posner was the wife of Rabbi Dr. Akiva Posner.

She took a photo of the family Chanukah menorah from the window ledge of the family home looking out on to a building draped with Nazi flags.

She wrote on the back of the photo (in German):
“Death to Judah” So the flag says
“Judah will live forever” So the light answers.”

Mrs. Posner’s photo shows the menorah unlit.
Yoel imagined what the scene would have looked like that night with the brilliant light of the candles contrasting with the darkness and evil behind it.

He published the painting in his “Artist’s View” column in the Yated Ne’eman, and then posted it on his LinkedIn page.
The post quickly went viral.

People from all over the world reached out to express how touched they were by the dramatic scene. The Posner family contacted Yoel and sent him pictures showing how three generations of Rochel Posner’s children (all living in Israel) still light the menorah today.
Yoel explained what moved him to create the painting:

“Mrs. Posner’s photo is astonishing. The contrast takes your breath away. But I needed more. I needed to see what it looked like that fateful night, after it was lit.
I needed to witness that first moment in time, when Hashem disrupted darkness with two simple words that summarize the point of creation: “Be light.”
I needed to see the power of that light against ultimate darkness.
Baruch Hashem, the message of the painting has resonated with thousands of yidden of all levels of observance. The pintele yid is waiting to be reignited on Chanukah, you just need to add a little spark.”

High quality, affordable  prints of this beautiful, inspirational painting can be purchased at:

https://society6.com/product/menorah-in-the-darkness_framed-print?sku=s6-8401417p21a12v52a13v54
LinkedIn Post here: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6348068647197560832

 


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