In the visionary art of Sarah Fox-Ashrei, a picture is more than something pretty to look at— it’s an avodah
S
itting in the apartment of Sarah Fox-Ashrei, where the walls are filled with colorful paintings incorporating the alef-beis and other Jewish motifs, it’s hard to believe she was ever an all-too-typical American girl who knew almost nothing about Torah and mitzvos.
Yet as she speaks about her life’s journey, which has taken her from California to the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem’s Old City, it’s clear Sarah has always had a spiritual pipeline that not only nourished her searching soul when she was young, but continues to inspire her today.
“My story begins, I’d say, when I was five years old,” says Sarah. “My grandfather gave me a birthday present — a little Hebrew siddur with a cover made from olive wood that had a picture of the Kotel on it. My grandfather’s father had made a trip to Jerusalem around 1900, and he had bought this little siddur. And because I was small, my grandfather decided to give it to me.”
Many years have passed since then. Today Sarah is a grandmother. But when she tells the story of that long-ago birthday when she was a little girl living in Upland, California, there’s a light in Sarah’s eyes, an excitement in her voice, that makes time fade away.
Create a free account to keep reading.
