the OneNess

This is my wish and message for 2013! Have a joyous and peaceful year.

Leo

(Contains excerpts of the Dalai Lama’s speech in India)

Hanukkah – Festival of Lights

As a way to celebrate the upcoming festivals and holidays, I decided to construct a video about Hanukkah. The holiday is a celebration of  lights and the miracle of renewal. As such I chose to go backward and show candelabra (hanukkiah – hanukkiot pl.) dating all the way back to the 15th. century, working my way up to the modern era. Some of the oldest lamps can be found at the Museo Sefardi – Sephardi Museum in Toledo,  Spain dating to the era preceding the expulsion of the Jews from the Iberian peninsula by the Spanish Inquisition.  Many others come from humble beginnings in the 17th. and 18th. centuries from little villages of Eastern Europe and the Near East. The modern pieces are displayed at The Israel Museum together with many older from around the world.

Eventually, I had to forgo many beautiful examples due to the time constraints, so it’ll be for another time… Together with the imagery, I created an oil painting and used different digital compositions to enhance the feeling of light, miracle of fire and sequence of nights.

The intention was to combine the traditional with the modern and thereby reflect the many changes this holiday went through the centuries. The music was my remix using portions of a flute solo;  Desert Sunset by Saregama – Jamendo CC BY NC and a calabash drumming recording from Africa, (author unknown.)

Hope you enjoy the show and that the Holiday Season is a bright one for you and your family and friends,

Leo

~ ~ Special thanks to:
The Israel Museum – Jerusalem, Israel
Museo Sefardi – Toledo, Spain (also inside scenes)