A “Robe for Rachel” was created during the painful year that unfolded after October 7, 2023. In late summer 2023, I was given a grant by the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture based in the United States. The proposal was for a robe for the ultimate Eyshet Chayil, a woman of valor, and it was to be chainmail, a kind of armor, a protective garment composed of thousands of tiny metal discs, onto which would be projected a constant video stream of visual messages, iconic images and advertising: things women over the last few decades have been bombarded with- ridiculous standards of womanhood, motherhood and impossible to achieve standards of femininity. After October 7, this seemed increasingly irrelevant to me. I went back to the Memorial foundation and asked them if I could pivot the project. I wanted to use the posters of the hostages instead of projected images and I wanted to focus on the resilience and strength of Israeli women. The fund agreed.
As time went on, I realized that this piece was a tribute to our biblical Rachel who weeps for her children:
“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
This seemed appropriate for the wives, sisters, mothers and daughters and even grandmothers who had brothers, sons, husbands and fathers fighting in this war. And then Rachel Goldberg Polin became the dignified and articulate face of all mothers everywhere, campaigning tirelessly for her hostage son, Hersch. This new “Rachel” added to the meaning. And then, sadly, another Rachel, Rachel Goldberg, wife of the fallen Rabbi Avi Goldberg, who, in her mourning, yet insisted that members of the government who came for a shiva call, must come with members of the opposition. All these brave, incredible, thoughtful and articulate women.
A Robe for Rachel has become an homage and symbol of all these Rachels. A massive tribute to the women of this country, these warriors, fighting for peace, for our families and for a better future.
