Jewish morals in art: an example

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Art can have a role in conveying and inspiring Jewish morals. This role is exemplified in this article through the collaborative artworks of Jacob Pichhadze, my father, and I, Dr Amir Pichhadze.

During his studies at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts (Georgia), Jacob Pichhadze was gaining recognition for his artistic abilities and accomplishments. For example, his works were featured at the Georgia National Museum (1969). Driven by his ambitions and abilities, Jacob and his wife (my mother, Zinaida), sought to immigrate to the West, where opportunities for artists were more extensive than in his native Georgia. Yet, Jacob’s plans were derailed by the unfortunate occurrence of his father [Shalom Pichhadze] passing away due to a stroke. To support his mother, Hannah Pichhadze, who decided to immigrate to Israel in the early 1970s along with Jacob’s siblings, Jacob and Zina deferred their personal goals and followed their family to Israel (1972).

While the process of immigration was challenging, Jacob’s determination and skills enabled him to quickly find grounds for pursuing and realising his ambitions and potentials as a visual artist and art teacher. As was noted in the Israel Review (Aug 20, 1982), an internationally published magazine, Jacob was given his first opportunity to feature his artworks at the Beit Am Jewish Community Center (Jerusalem, 1973), with an opening reception that included the Minister of Justice, Jacob Shimshon Shapira, among others. This was followed by numerous other solo and group exhibitions at other museums and public centres in Israel. These exhibitions were typically supported and attended by large crowds and prominent public figures such as Presidents, Prime Ministers, Mayors, leading entrepreneurs and celebrities. Many of Jacob’s exhibitions were fundraisers for different public needs such as charities, hospitals, immigrants, social organisations such as B’nai B’rith, among others. Jacob’s accomplishments as a visual artist, as well as his contributions to his community, were widely noted in the Israeli media and recognised. For example, David Peled, the Director of Beit Nurit, a Charity which Jacob supported, commented that “Jacob Pichhadze, an artist and teacher, is a man of inspiration possessing powerful artistic expression. He is, as well, a public personality of the highest order among the Jewish immigrants from Russia and Soviet Georgia.” (1987)

As Jacob was gaining recognition, he was also receiving professional opportunities abroad. Yet, considering his mother’s need for support, he remained close by and committed to support her. His dedication was based not only on love but also on his sense of morality. He was particularly inspired by the lessons of morality drawn from the biblical story of Ruth and Naomi, which were instilled in him since childhood.

In this biblical story, following the passing of her husband, brother-in-law, and father-in-law, Ruth’s mother-in-law, Naomi, decided to leave Moab to return to her homeland Judah. Naomi encouraged her two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, to stay in their own homeland to start a new life. They were young enough to remarry, Naomi told them. Also, Naomi recognised the risk that they may not be welcomed in Bethlehem since they were Moabites. While Orpah welcomed Naomi’s suggestion and turned towards a new path, Ruth refused to leave Naomi unattended and instead insisted on following her in her journey back to Judah, notwithstanding the unforeseen challenges ahead. Ruth’s reply, which has been described as “the highest and noblest of all expressions of faithfulness,” was:

“Entreat me not to leave thee,
And to return home from following after thee;
For whither thou goest, I will go;
And where thou lodgest, I will lodge;
Thy people are my people, and thy G-d, my G-d.
Where thou diest, will I die, and there be buried;
May G-d do so to me, and more also,
If aught but death part thee and me.”

With little concern over the prospect of poverty and hunger, Ruth accompanied Naomi to the land of her late husband, putting her hope and faith in Gd that He would not forsake them in their need. In their journey, to support them, Ruth turned to the fields to harvest by picking up leftover grain. Boaz, the owner of the land, took notice of her efforts. He inquired about this young woman and saw her sacrifice on behalf of Naomi. He not only allowed her to continue harvesting behind his servants, he also offered her protection as she worked. At hearing of Boaz’s generosity, Ruth fell before him in gratitude. Boaz responded to her gesture, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” Boaz and Ruth were blessed with children, and Ruth lived long enough to see her great-grandson David become king of Israel.

It has been commented that whenever our sages want to point to a shining example of womanhood, of self-sacrificing devotion to the higher things in life, of loyalty and modesty and excellence of character, they speak of Ruth. This inspiring story and its lessons has influenced my father personally, as reflected by his own self-sacrifice and loyalty towards his mother. He also sought to convey the story and its messages through his art, through numerous compositions over time. An early version of this series was featured at the Beit Emanual Museum ((1982, Israel), in a solo exhibition that was attended by guest speaker Shimon Peres, former Israeli President and Prime Minister.

Hannah got to see her son Jacob feature his artworks in numerous other exhibitions in Israel, such as the exhibition at Yad Lebanim (1979), which was opened by guests of honour Shimon Peres, former Prime Minister and President of Israel, and Menachem Rothchild, Mayor of Bat-Yam.

Following his mother’s passing, Jacob and his family immigrated to Canada, where Jacob featured his artworks at Galerie Heritage in Toronto. There, as well, another version of Ruth and Naomi was displayed.

Growing up, I closely followed my father’s teaching of art and morality. As my knowledge and skills developed, we increasingly cooperated in creating art. Also, like my father, I pursued opportunities to use my art for philanthropic purposes. For example, while studying visual art at York University (1996-1999), I initiated and organised a fundraising art exhibition to benefit student scholarship. Deputy Mayor of Toronto, Case Ootes, one of the guest speakers at the opening reception, commented as follows: “Your donation of proceeds from the sale of your artworks to an annual student scholarship fund at York University is an admirable deed, and one that should be applauded by all those who benefit from your generosity.” (Exodus, June 1998) He went on to say, Amir “is helping to define the soul of the new city through culture … obviously from what I’ve seen, he’s got a promising future” (York University’s Excalibur, March 4, 1998).

When asked at the time about my future plans in an interview for the university’s Excalibur newspaper, I commented that law school was my next step; though perhaps foreshadowing, I added that “art, I believe, is something that is always going to stay with me.” Indeed, I ended up pursuing legal studies at the LSE (LLB & LLM-Taxation, 2003-2006), the University of Toronto (NCA, 2008-9), and the University of Michigan Law School (2012-2017), and also worked as a Judicial Clerk at the Tax Court of Canada (2009-2010). Following these studies, my interests branched further into teaching and lecturing at universities worldwide, along with extensive research and publications.

After three years of teaching law at Deakin Law School (Australia), I took time off to pursue an MSc at the University of Oxford, where I undertook research in legal pedagogy. Yet, halfway into my studies, my father unexpectedly suffered a stroke. In response, after completing my studies at Oxford, I decided to withdraw from my teaching in Australia, so that I could stay in Canada to support my parents in their time of need. Together, my father and I returned to our previous cooperation in creating art. Under the new conditions of my father’s stroke, my role was expectedly more engaged. I undertook the task of both finishing previously commenced works while we also engaging in cooperating to create new artworks together. Among these is our revisit of the theme of Ruth and Naomi.

In these new versions, unlike previous ones which focused on portraying the characters themselves, we attempted to place them in a context that is more suggestive of and related to their story.

The first of these (left) places them in an environment of a landscape with fields, suggestive of their journey.

The second artwork places them in a field of harvest (see featured image at top of article).

Finally, the third (see below) uses the transition of from Black & White to color in order to suggest their transition from hardship to reward.

My father’s experiences in dealing with my grandfather’s passing as well as the need and desire to support my grandmother, inspired him to convey those experiences and challenges through the portrayal of the story of Ruth and Naomi.

Hence, his art imitated the biblical story as well as, indirectly, his own life experiences and moral lessons derived from the story and from his life experiences.

As I was growing up, that art taught and inspired me, and perhaps also others. Now, having found myself in similar circumstances, I have drawn inspiration and guidance from that art. Hence, my life imitates and is inspired by art. Moreover, in this cycle of influences between art and life, we revisit and further develop our art, based on our new life experiences, insights, and emotions. Hence, the relationship between art and life can be cyclical, dynamic and evolving. This gives art an ongoing and valuable role in life. Our example, I would suggest, gives valuable and additional perspective on, and examples of, the concept addressed by Oscar Wilde and others on the relationship between art and life. Oscar Wilde famously commented that “‘life imitates art far more than art imitates life’.

In conclusion, our artworks, beyond their aesthetic value, have served other roles. They have made it possible to convey Jewish moral values that guide and inspire us. They have also provided an opportunity to revisit and (re)build our cooperation, which gave new life to our bond. In sharing our experiences, I hope to inspire others to also explore and experience the value of art well beyond its aesthetic value.