Hayei-Sarah 23:1
“Now Sarah’s life was one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of Sarah’s life.” (Fox)
The division of Sarah’s years is unusual: 100, 20, and 7. By reversing the ages as we would normally encounter them (7, 20, 100), we are alerted to non-ordinary wisdom – wisdom in the mystical realm.
Dreams often give us numbers: as years, as money, as time. In each of these incarnations, we are asked to deconstruct the “ordinary” meaning to seek out the hidden. What we find is usually surprising and instructive.
In this painting, we encounter the cosmic totality of Sarah’s legacy. Division gives way to birth of a new reality.
Etja Ruth is an artist whose work bridges art and healing, exploring the places where image, movement, and voice reveal the unseen. Learn more about her Bereshit/Genesis paintings here.
