know from where we came to shape where we’re headed

Pirkei Avot 3.1 דע מאין

In this New Year,

may we use the knowl­edge of

from where we came”,

and the tools we have to shape

where we are headed”…

to build a world of inclu­sion & peace for all.

The peo­ple who fash­ioned the James Webb Space Tele­scope have enabled us to peer into the deep­est past of the cos­mos, pre­sent­ing a rich­er under­stand­ing of our ori­gins. Mean­while, Michal Shomer, in Israel, has fash­ioned a font that enables us to read Hebrew in a mul­ti-gen­dered man­ner offer­ing us a chance to shape a rich­er, more inclu­sive future.

The image on this year’s card is an attempt to cap­ture some of the glo­ry of an ear­ly pho­to­graph from the tele­scope depict­ing a group of five galax­ies, two of which are in the process of merg­ing. It also uses the Mul­ti-Gen­der Hebrew font laid out on a möbius strip with the first phrase דַּע מֵאַיִן בָּאתָ dis­played as a mir­ror image so that the entire phrase reads con­tin­u­ous­ly for­ward and back:

I imag­ine our task as con­stant­ly look­ing back­ward and for­ward as each phrase leads into the other.

I printed many inked variants of the background image:

I first photographed the text on the möbius strip:

I flattened the image:

Drew it onto the linoleum (acually a rubbing, so the image would appear reversed):

Cut the block:

Ran a test print:

Printed on the background (with varying success):

And finally added the spot color of silver, as seen at the top.

Linoleum cut pro­duced by Mark, Sum­mer 2022
©Mark Hurvitz 2022

list of cards

last year’s card

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weight the scale to the positive

Rosh haShannah card 5782
Pirkei Avot 1:6 כף זכה

In this New Year especially,

may we judge everyone

with the scale weighted

to the positive.

On this linoleum block print, the old-fash­ioned bal­ance scale the word כף forms its shape. The pans of the scale hold pos­i­tive and neg­a­tive rep­re­sen­ta­tions of the root of the word for inno­cence: זכה.

The con­stel­la­tion asso­ci­at­ed with the month of Tishrei (which begins on Rosh haShan­nah) is מאזנים, the bal­ance scale. We are gen­er­al­ly encour­aged to achieve bal­ance in our lives as the year begins.

It also sug­gests as R. Joshua ben Per­ahia said (Pirkei Avot 1:6): “Judge every­one with the scale weight­ed in their favor” (והוי דן את כל האדם לכף זכות). And, R. Abra­ham Joshua Hes­chel taught “When I was young I admired clever peo­ple. Now that I am old* I admire kind people.”

popular culture channels Jewish culture

In August of 2010, I learned that Ira Gersh­win chan­neled Isa­iah 54:10. As I thought more about the idea behind this year’s card I real­ized that Harold Arlen and John­ny Mer­cer seem to have chan­neled anoth­er aspect of Jew­ish cul­ture in their song “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Pos­i­tive”, in this case, Pirkei Avot 1:6.

*“Old”? Hes­chel died at the age of 65!

Linoleum cut pro­duced by Mark, Sum­mer 2021
©Mark Hurvitz 2021

list of cards

last year’s card

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