Shema Yisrael

Story Behind the Art

The Shema is one of the best-known prayers in Judaism. Recited daily, it begins with the words

Shema Yisrael — "Hear, O Israel" — affirming the connection between the Jewish people, faith and tradition across generations.

The painting is inspired by the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem, one of the holiest sites in Judaism and a place where Jews have gathered to pray, mourn, celebrate and connect for centuries. The familiar stones of the Wall are reimagined through an abstract grid of colour, texture and gold leaf.

The word Shema ("hear") emerges clearly from the composition, while Yisrael remains hidden amongst the layers beneath. Jewish identity is often layered and personal, shaped by faith, family, history, homeland and lived experience. Sometimes these connections are immediately visible; at other times they are discovered gradually.

The enduring power of the Shema is reflected in the well-known story of the Ponovezher Rav, Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, who searched for Jewish children hidden in Christian orphanages after the Holocaust. Unable to identify them, he began singing the Shema prayer. Hearing the familiar words their parents had once sung to them, the children instinctively responded, revealing identities that had remained hidden. Like the hidden Yisrael within this painting, the prayer speaks to a connection that can never be entirely erased.

The Prayer for the State of Israel is woven into the painting, alongside fragments of Hebrew text and colour that overlap and collide. Bright blues, pinks, greens and golds reflect the diversity of Jewish life and the many different ways people connect to Judaism, Israel and community.

At the heart of the piece stand soldiers praying at the Wall. It is a scene that has become deeply familiar in modern Jewish life: those serving in defence of the Jewish state pausing to pray. Their words are unknown to us, yet the act itself is instantly recognisable.

Like the hidden Yisrael and the unfinished prayer woven through the painting, the soldiers' prayer remains incomplete. So too remains the hope contained within the Prayer for the State of Israel itself - a prayer for peace, security and redemption that feels as relevant today as ever.

The viewer is invited to look closer, fill in what is missing, and consider not only what the soldiers might be praying for, but who they hope is listening.