In December 2022, I picked up my paintbrush and began a journey that felt so natural, like the idea had been waiting for its moment. Balancing full-time work with this passion project, I spent my spare moments painting and capturing my progress through photos.
The day before Yom HaShoah, something special happened. I posted an invite on my Facebook group, calling on people to join me in painting. On that meaningful day, five of us gathered around my dining room table, brushes in hand, while we listened to a recording of the testimony of Avraham, my father-in-law, who was in Auschwitz. It was moving; it meant something to each of us.
One woman felt so compelled to be part of this that she drove all the way from the north to join our little group. Two sisters in their early twenties, eager and enthusiastic, showed up. My friend, Tal, lent her brush to the cause, too. It was a quiet yet bonding experience, painting together while sharing those moments of reflection.
I posted about this beautiful experience the following day on Facebook. Unexpectedly, a school friend from Cape Town saw it and asked if she could share it with the local Jewish paper. Suddenly, my project was in the Cape Jewish Chronicle and the South African Jewish Report. That made me believe that this project wasn't just my crazy idea; others might be interested too.
Throughout 2023, I kept painting, usually on weekends and evenings. People, different every time, joined in for a couple of hours here and there. Sometimes friends, sometimes my daughters’ pals. I wrote about it on a local Facebook group, and two wonderful women responded. Since then, they've been regulars, enjoying the calming atmosphere amidst the chaos of sirens during these troubling times of conflict in Israel.
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