11 × 14 Photographic Print — $29.99
The print is professionally produced on premium photographic paper, capturing the vibrant colors and intricate details of the original artwork. Shipping available within the United States only.
This striking Rosh HaShanah artwork brings together the powerful imagery of the shofar blower and a soaring white dove, creating a visual meditation on awakening, renewal, peace, and the sacred beginning of a new year.
At the heart of the composition, the shofar blower raises the curved ram’s horn to his lips. His deeply rendered face and hands convey concentration and reverence, emphasizing that the sound of the shofar is more than music. It is a spiritual summons, calling the soul to awaken, reflect, return, and begin again. The shofar is one of the defining symbols of Rosh HaShanah, reminding us of teshuvah, the turning of the heart toward God and toward a renewed way of living.
Soaring above him is a magnificent white dove, its wings fully extended in flight. The dove introduces a contrasting sense of lightness, hope, and peace. Its presence can evoke the biblical dove that returned to Noah with an olive leaf, announcing that the waters of destruction were receding and that a renewed world was emerging. In this Rosh HaShanah setting, the dove becomes a symbol of peace, reconciliation, hope, and the possibility of a new beginning.
The sweeping concentric bands surrounding the figures suggest the cycles of time, the turning of the year, and the movement from one spiritual season into another. Their circular motion draws the viewer inward, much like the sound of the shofar draws the listener inward toward reflection. The brilliant greens, blues, golds, and turquoise tones create a sense of vitality and renewal, while the black-and-white figures stand apart with dramatic clarity.
The Hebrew text repeated throughout the artwork lists the traditional sequence of sounds blown on the Shofar (ram’s horn) during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
The Hebrew Words & Meanings
The text weaves along the circular lines and borders. It continuously repeats the following specific Hebrew words:
- תְּקִיעָה (Tekiah): A long, straight, continuous blast.
- שְׁבָרִים (Shevarim): Three medium, sighing or broken sounds.
- תְּרוּעָה (Teruah): A rapid series of short, staccato, wavering blasts (usually 9 quick notes).
Together, they form the rhythmic ritual sequences heard during synagogue services, such as “Tekiah, Shevarim, Teruah, Tekiah” or “Tekiah, Shevarim, Tekiah”.
Artistic Style
From Awakening to Peacecombines a highly detailed black-and-white illustrative style with a richly textured abstract mixed-media background. The shofar blower and dove have the precision and dramatic linework of intaglio printmaking, with extensive cross-hatching and expressive contour lines defining the faces, hands, feathers, clothing, and shofar.
In contrast, the background is energetic and painterly, filled with layered textures, expressive marks, metallic-looking accents, and vivid bands of color. The combination of meticulous figurative drawing and exuberant abstract painting gives the piece a distinctive contemporary Jewish mixed media aesthetic.
The result is both dramatic and contemplative: the shofar calls us to awaken, the dove calls us toward peace, and the circular movement of the artwork reminds us that every Rosh Hashanah offers another opportunity to enter the year with greater wisdom, compassion, and hope.