Women, water and Kabbalah converge in Jerusalem's Sea of Wisdom exhibition

The “Sea of Wisdom: Woman and Water” exhibition, curated by Rachel Verliebter at Jerusalem's Schocken Library, explored the phenomenology of water in Jewish mysticism and Kabbalistic thought. Verliebter, whose doctoral research focuses on this topic, aimed to visually represent the myths and spiritual significance of water. Artist Altea Steinherz showcased her watercolor, The Limits of Your Longing, which incorporates YInMn blue, a newly discovered pigment. Steinherz explained that the color represents "new heavens" (shamayim hadashim) in Kabbalistic thought, symbolizing the continuous renewal of reality and the forgetting of suffering. The exhibition also featured works like Giordana Musani's Sacred Flow and Iris Ahuva Pykovski's A Fiery Stream, delving into the primordial nature of water in Genesis and the Kabbalistic concept of longing born from the separation of waters during Creation, described as "the upper and lower waters separate with weeping." Daniel Baharier's bronze statuette, After the Flood, further explored themes of destruction and creation.