i find religious traditions to be rich, diverse and vibrant. in my home, i have a small number of religious artifacts: a framed piece with verses from the quran painted on cloth (a gift from mamoona aunty), a painting of jesus that i bought in puerto rico, hand-painted icons with images of christian saints, a buddha’s head i bought from the asia society in new york, etc. all of these pieces mean something special to me. i wanted a jewish artifact in my home and i had an idea. i asked my friend hershel weiss, an artist who works with wood and has produced beautiful pieces rooted in his sephardic ancestry, to create something which i would place next to the framed ayatul kursi. hershel carved a simple yet gorgeous piece with the hebrew word echad, meaning one. it’s the last word in the shema, the central prayer in judaism. the darker wood is jarrah from australia and the lighter wood is swiss pear. it’s the first thing i see every morning as i get out of my bedroom. and it looks perfect with the ayatul kursi.
