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"Soulreflections" & "Coming Home"
Books that speak to your Soul
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"COMING HOME"
A Chronicle of Spiritual and Personal Growth and Development
Works from 2003 to 2007
"The Rebbe" by Ito Esther Perez
15x20 oil on canvas, 2001 (color)
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the Lubavitscher Rebbe, my beloved friends in Crown Heights who have become my family and to the Crown Heights/Lubavitsch community.
Here, at long last, I have found my personal peace, a special meaning in my life’s mission and the warmth of the Chassidic Jewish Life I so desperately searched for.
Many places have hosted me, but no-where could I put down my roots, feel the pavement beneath my feet as home-ground…Here I am not a stranger, here I am not an outsider, here I am not a guest…Here I am a ‘Daughter".
After living in so many different countries and places I know that this is where I belong! "Kan Ziva’ Hashem et Ha Bracha" - " Here" said the Lubavitscher Rebbe " is where G-d put the Blessing" and here my mind, my body and soul feel reassured and consoled.
I have been in pain here, I have been hurt, had illness and suffered desperate moments, cried tears…but all I choose to remember are the times of great joy spent with my friends and their families at Shabbos and festive tables, at their Simchas and in their homes. Here I experience life in a true Chassidic way, knowing that no matter what happens, I am within the confines of my community and all will be well…I will never be alone again – neither spiritually nor physically. This is where I want to be, this is ‘ COMING HOME ‘!
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My Father Jonas Jaskierowicz "ZL" will for always be my guiding light. His integrity and indomitable Jewish spirit motivated me in childhood and continues to inspire me throughout my life…I miss him so.
My beloved daughter Aviva Tikva "ZL"– no words can ever make known how much I miss her, how much I love her. Not a day passes when my thoughts do not travel behind the veil to connect with her….
You my darling, in the Garden, are Moshiach’s most precious Rose….
To my ancestors, the Six Million who perished, my people…
May our faith, hope and good deeds bring light to the world, and may we all greet Moshiach Tzidkeinu Bimhera Veyameinu…Speedily in our days!
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Black and White - The Colors of Teshuva
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"The Candle " Lloyd Bloom
5x7 watercolor (black and white) , 2005
Black and White – Light and Dark
Why this book is in black and white….
Teschuva - Return, has no middle ground…there are no shades of grey…there is ONLY the desire deep inside your soul to follow Hashem, to do His work – not some of it, not sometimes, but all of it, all the time.
Choosing Hashem beyond everything else takes a most fervent decision and absolute commitment on a soul level. In all things we are human, imperfect - Hashem made us that way. But to strive to attain, to reach higher and higher each day of our lives is what is needed from us. ’I will, I must, I have to achieve’ for Hashem’s sake, for the Rebbe’s sake, for the sake of my people, for the sake of Yiddishkeit - Ahavas Israel!
When you know that nothing else will do in your life, when you suffer if inadvertently you brake a Halacha - when your life revolves around Chesed, Torah and Mitzvot – when you run away from the mundane and seek the depth of spirituality - when the meaning of your life and your mission, is tied up with creating a dwelling place for Hashem in this world and inside of you… When you dedicate your life, your being, your work - When life force depends you’re your illuminations – When you nullify your own ego, when you accept the yoke of heaven with gladness and joy – when you understand that you know nothing, are nothing and that nothing belongs to you, but that your talents and accomplishments are only gifts you are given to use to their highest potential – When you love your neighbor as yourself, when your life revolves around bringing light into darkness and you consider your responsibility of being a lamplighter in this world – When you give up that which is obstructing the road, when you demand more of yourself – When you go beyond your own limitations for your highest good, then you can begin to think of yourself as a Baal Teschuva….
Teschuva – Return is black and white.
When the idea of this book was first conceived, I thought of it in color. In my own paintings, I have always worked with high colors or in black and white. I never chose the color mixes – I wanted basic, powerful, primary colors. Most of the paintings you will see throughout the book are in color (unless specified otherwise) in their original form. I changed their appearance to black and white – suddenly they became even more powerful, their true essence appeared, not sheltered by the garments of pigment, but totally revealed for their individual intricacies and unadulterated beauty.
This book is a revelation of my essence and when it comes to Yiddishkeit, for me, there are no shades of grey. Teschuva – Return is only black and white.
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