An Artistic View of Anti-Semitism

Abstract

Speaking as a Jew who came of age in mid-twentieth-century America, I offer this chapter as a personal account of my evolving Jewish identity and the forces of anti-Semitism encountered during my life.

It is also a story about the healing power of art and creativity, in my own life and in my experience as a mental health professional treating children and adults. This work has direct implications when considering treatment interventions for individuals impacted by anti-Semitism. I offer my story in words and images in conversation with each other. Their interaction represents the intersection of art and anti-Semitism.

An Artistic View of Anti-Semitism

The Sparks of Co-creation – a digital collage by Barry Marcus (2019) Automata – hand-wound animated sculpture by Carlos Zapata

Man reaches up to the heavens in the joyous spirit of love and connection to God. He kneels in respect and reverence for this earth, accepting the sustenance provided through his humble stewardship. Each gesture is a reflection of the co-creative relationship between mankind and God. All in counterbalance to the separation and destructive impact of ignorance, hate, and violence. Anti-Semitism that exploded with the early Christian accusations of Jewish guilt in the murder of Christ. A stain of indictment that was to be inflicted upon the generations of Jews to come. I offer this vision as a mindful context in which to consider anti-Semitism and its impact.

Preface

Taken as a whole, I view this chapter to be an artistic endeavor. In the process of telling my story, I considered the text as both to be read silently and spoken aloud. Thus, I placed an emphasis on the sound of words and phrases as well as on their meaning. As a result, I have taken some liberty with grammatical orthodoxy, at times employing fragmented and partial sentences to serve the rhythm and cadence. When I speak of God in this narrative, I use a masculine pronoun with no presumption that God is a “Him.” In doing so, I reflect the language of the Old Testament as well as the father figure presented to me since I was a child. The mystery of being, of course, allows for an infinite range of possibilities. No pronoun would seem to suffice.

As a colorist by nature, my images reflect a love for vivid expression. The focal point of these photographic compositions represents my perspective on anti-Semitism and its antidotes: respect and love. I have provided a brief description under each image to offer an initial framework in which to view the work, illuminating its connection to anti-Semitism and to my story. In doing so, it is not my intention to limit or constrain the possibilities for individual response and interpretation nor to stifle the unbounded powers of imagination.

It is said in the Kabbalah, the ancient mystical Jewish practice, that when God created our world, He left some things undone. In doing so, He gave humans the freedom and responsibility to be a part of the ongoing process of completion. Our job is to transcend the vestiges of ego and come together as one in the service of unification with the higher force that is good and just.

Art and its process of creation is a part of our transcendency. In the spirit of the Jewish vision of “hiddur mitzvah,” art is a way of elevating good deeds to a form of beauty. A form of loving willingness to fulfill God’s command.

When artists speak of inspiration and the creative process, they often refer to a source unknown, guiding and directing them in ways that transcend intention or ego. So who in fact does the painting? Who writes the song? The painter might reply: “I didn’t make the painting, the painting made me.” And the songwriter answers: “I didn’t write the song, the song wrote me.” In that spirit, I too maintain: “I didn’t create this chapter, this chapter created me.”