Birth of a Prophet
Linda Nesvisky
About Linda Nesvisky
I am both a U.S. citizen, born in Pittsburgh, PA and made Aliyah along with my family, to live in Israel for 20 years. I lived first on a kibbutz exposed to farming and agricultural practices for two years and then in Jerusalem’s Old City. I lived among Jews, Arabs, Christians, and Armenians. I was a member of the Israeli Artists Association and was awarded a studio in the valley outside the Old City. My art was inspired by what I saw and exposure to artists and cultures. My work is abstract, and consists of mostly drawings and prints. I have exhibited greatly, and have won awards. My artwork is in the permanent collection of the Skirball Museum, HUC Cincinnati.
About Birth of a Prophet
The work consists of four small print panels: the overall title of the set is “Birth of a Prophet”. They are colored etchings, individually titled Birth of A prophet, Gravitational Pull, The Edge of the Field and Crop Rotation. The work is abstract and conceptual. Relevancy to Shmita:I am so proud of the concept of Shmita. It is covered in our Tanach in Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus. The idea of the Sabbath in the weekly cycle of our behavior, a seventh day of rest, a release from daily toil, and the yearly cycle of leaving a portion of the field for the poor, and the seventh yearly complete rest of the soil, and then the Jubilee Year of forgiveness of debts are sophisticated ideas other religions didn’t recognize in such early times. Other religions celebrate a weekly sabbath, but I have asked scholars if there was the concept of a rest from farming, based on soil conservation? I don’t believe so. The concept is prophetic, and this is what I choose to recognize, and tried to portray in this small body of work I am submitting entitled “Birth of a Prophet”.
