On November 25, 2016, the arson terror hit Beit Meir, near Shoresh, in the Judean Hills outside of Jerusalem. Families were evacuated, while 25 fire crews fought to save homes and property. The home and family of contemporary artist Yoram Raanan were saved, but the studio containing his life's work of magnificent abstract masterpieces went up in flames.

At this point, I should disclose that almost five years ago, I instantly became a Raanan fan when I saw his "Dance of Life," inspired by Roee Rosen's writing in memory of his mother Eliyah Rosen z"l in Tel Aviv at a OneFamily event.

When Raanan held a solo exhibition at Heichal Shlomo in Jerusalem, in March of 2014, I made it a point to attend the opening and see his work on display. My only regret is that I did not take more and better photos of all his pieces.

However, less than 15 months after his art studio and about 2,000 of his pieces were destroyed by fire, Raanan has published an impressive volume entitled "Art of Revelation: A Visual Encounter with the Jewish Bible

," in which he brings the annual cycle of weekly Torah portions to life, through paintings, emerging from the artist’s personal story of redemption and uncompromising faith.

The book is the result of his strikingly optimistic attitude, which Raanan calls “the actualization of my desire to share this collection with the world.” This sharing would not have been possible without the foresight to have scanned digital copies of all of his pieces on the Torah portions before the fire.

Raanan had been commissioned to provide, over a three-year span, a new painting on each parshah for publication.

“My first words to my wife and a few others still trapped inside the village were, 'well, there goes the studio,” the artist recalls. “As we were able to evacuate and drive through the still spreading fire in the smoky night air, I realized that this was surely the work of God, and that only good would come from this—even though included in this disaster were all the 160 parshah paintings of the previous three years.”

Raanan’s masterpiece volume showcases those 160 exquisite original paintings. Each piece is accompanied by a carefully crafted explanation written by his wife Meira Raanan, helping readers to see and understand layers in the art which may not initially meet the eye.  

In "Golden Menorah" for Beha'alotekha, for instance, we are told that Raanan began his work by freely spilling and splashing paint onto a canvas on the ground. For the same parshah, the blue, gold and orange colors of "Menorah Shin" reminded me of the silk Torah Ark cover displayed at the Heichal Shlomo exhibition.(see photo below)

As Dr. Michael Chighel wrote in the Afterword, Raanan has not attempted to "illustrate" the Bible. "Raanan has developed a requisite technique, a uniquely Jewish technique of painting. For lack of a better term, it may be called Incandescence... Raanan's art is a kind of abstract expressionism. His paintings do not really represent anything, and this already places them at a safe distance from the idolatrous circumstances..."

After explaining the technique used in "Kedoshim" of splashing colorful paint, turning the canvas sideways and painting over some areas with white, the text states: "According to Tomer Devorah, 'All Jews are family; and one should therefore desire the best for his fellow, view his neighbor's good fortune, benevolently, and cherish his friend's honor as his own - for they are one and the same.'" 

We mourned the loss of Raanan's studio and life's work, we now celebrate his newest creation. With his fingers, brushes, tissues, and talent, Raanan has put together a volume where his bold and colorful works can be seen and widely shared.

Title: Art of Revelation: A Visual Encounter with the Jewish Bible.

Author: Yoram Raanan and Meira Raanan ISBN: 978-965-572-500-1

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 237

Price: $ 120

The photos following are not in the book, but are from Raanan's solo exhibition at Heichal Shlomo in March 2014. The images include a few of the painted, discarded holy book covers which were obtained from book binders, and all of those works were destroyed in the fire.