Moses Shek sees the strata of Jewish history through the prism of the present. Once upon a time, everyone here were Jews. His connection to the Judean Lowlands is strong and deep. Shek, a veteran sculptor and man of substance and spirit, seeks and finds universal cultural connections and roots in the many tunnels and caves in the area.
Shek was among the founders of the kibbutz, and only ten years later his statues were already seen on the kibbutz. New cultural signals that he hurriedly placed on the ground. His impressive statues, a kind of totem, have always accompanied the kibbutz members. During his hikes in the area he reveals and discovers, learns and internalizes forms and aesthetics of earlier cultures that lived here in the area.
“In ancient times everyone here was Jewish. For example, the mosaic in Beit Alpha belonged to the synagogue, and there you’ll find the exact same style as the mosaic in a church, both served as a floor for a public place of worship. The peoples of the region lived in greater cultural proximity than one can imagine. In the village of Yatta, south of Mount Hebron, they lit Chanukah candles many years before the Israelis arrived during the Six-Day War. The residents were afraid that they would be suspected of collaboration and consequently they discontinued the ancient custom.
The collective memory of most Israeli residents today begins with the Bible. While completely ignoring the even more distant past. We need to convey the awareness that indicates an early-Bible connection and that Judaism emerged against the background of other ancient cultures. Culture is the only thing that really links the people to the place. And this is so for all places from the Mayan in South American, to prehistoric man in France and the tillers of the soil in ancient Israel. The Babylonian Assyrian Sumerian and Akkadian civilizations evolved in Mesopotamia between the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers and their influence is very evident here too, between the Jordan River and the sea.
The local civilization knew how to act submissively and minimally laud the idols as they were forced to do by the new rulers who arrived to the area. So they did something small, until the storm passed, something with humor, with a wink, hiding their intent. That’s what I do – idols, but with a “wink”. This is the wisdom of diminution of stature. Israel was a transit country, different cultures came [here] and ruled. Those who were here absorbed the influences from all the unique new cultures.
Why was the Bible written specifically in Israel? Here remained the essence, thanks to which a unique, amazing and rich character is created. The cultures shaped in the area are cultures of continuity, of connection and of bonds. The locality of the area, signifies the synthesis of cultures. The different cultures that met at the crossroads have created something new. This is where the phonetic alphabet was created, here is where the Bible was written, this is where Judaism, Christianity and Islam originated. My totems are secular and humanistic because I believe in the constant human need to elucidate and to seek. The source of authority lies within the person, and the person is responsible for [finding] meaning, for interpreting and for querying. Longing is man’s true homeland. I believe that it is possible to repair [the world], and that art plays a part in this remedy”.