The Timeless Moon of Rest
Maya Levine & Hannah Shmerlis

Our sacred time project is based around the idea of the moon symbolizing how every holy aspect of nature has a certain time to renew itself. The text that inspired this project idea was from Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Maariv, Birkat HaLevana 13 and it writes, “Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the Universe who by His word created the heavens, and by His breath all their host. He set for them laws and times, so that they should not deviate from their appointed task. [...] To the moon He said that it should renew itself as a crown of beauty for those He carried from the womb [Israel], for they are destined to be renewed like it, and to praise their Creator for the sake of His glorious majesty. Blessed are You, Lord, who renews the months.” We created a moon from resin and added glitter to create its clear and shiny effect, like a real moon in the sky. The moon is set on a rotating piece that rotates it in a circle, just like how the moon rotates its position in the sky based on the time God sets it to. On top of the moon piece, we 3D printed a lounging human figure, spray painted in a silver to match the moon, which symbolizes how Shabbat is a holy day of rest. The person is holding a candle to further emphasize the theme of Shabbat. Our base piece is a mountain made of styrofoam with sand on the bottom to represent the rough start of the week, transitioning into a smooth clay material, which represents how the week becomes easier as Shabbat approaches. We lined the bottom of this hill of holiness with cotton balls, which look like a cloud, a symbol of purity and rest. The rest of the project was spray painted in silver as well to match this idea of tranquility and relaxation.