Brushstrokes of Hope and Tears

In Parashas Vayishlach, we read about the death and burial of Rochel Imeinu “on the way to Efrasa… And that is where Yaakov buried her and placed a headstone over the burial site” (Bereishis 35:19–20). Rashi there explains, “that is the headstone of Rochel’s burial site to this day,” as a marker for Jews going into exile and — may it happen speedily — “coming back to their borders.”

For artist Yossi Rosenstein, those words became a calling. His current traveling exhibit transforms all the emotions and yearning associated with Kever Rochel into a visual showcase.

Rosenstein was a promising young graduate of Ponevezh and Chevron yeshivahs when he considered entering what he thought would be the glitzy world of business — he had already been accepted as a member of the diamond bourse in London. But an inside voice told him that trajectory would kill the yearnings of his soul. Being honest, he realized he wanted to live a life of spirituality, not just to visit it once in a while. So he decided to abandon the promise of glitter and instead invest his energy into his G-d-given talent: creating a synthesis between what he calls the heichal haTorah and his special gift for art and creativity.

Jerusalem-born Rosenstein, 64, a ninth-generation Israeli descended from a prominent Slonimer chassidic family who today lives in Bnei Brak, taught himself to draw and paint when he was a bochur, and had his first exhibit when he was just 21 — in a Tel Aviv gallery whose proprietor was so captivated by his unusual style that he agreed to keep its doors closed on Shabbos.