Our Story on the Wall
When you think of Israel's parliament, you may think of particular members or of the central plenum hall where voting happens. You probably don't think of some of the most beautiful and interesting art in the State of Israel.
Towards the entrance of the Knesset is the Chagall hall, where many of the official ceremonies of the Knesset take place. In the photo above, I'm speaking to a tour group in the Knesset (where I was previously a tour guide). The highlight of the room is behind me, the Chagall tapestries.
Marc Chagall is perhaps the most important Jewish artist of the 20th century. The Speaker of the Knesset in 1960, Kadish Luz, asked him to donate artwork to the new Knesset building. Chagall spent 8 years weaving these beautiful and rich tapestries. The three tapestries together represent the past, present and future of the Jewish people.
There is so much symbolism within the tapestries. It's especially beautiful to me that the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, plays a central part in each one.
On the tapestry of the past, the Exodus is portrayed, along with Moses and King David.
On the tapestry of the present, King David appears once again, celebrating the return to Israel and Jerusalem.
The tapestry of the future represents Isaiah's vision of the end of days: "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard lie down with the kid." (Isaiah 11:6)
Chagall depicted the hope for eternal peace using the Tanakh as his primary source when imagining the future of the Jewish people in Israel.
The other side of the wall of the Chagall tapestries is the plenary, the central room within which members of Knesset legislate and can change and transform the reality of Israel. I have always found it beautiful that Chagall's artwork reminds us (and them) to never forget our origin story, our leaders, the core of who we are, the Tanakh and all that it represents for our people.
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