06/10/2026
On the eve of October 7, I, like so many others, feel a weight on my chest that makes it hard to breathe.
It began with unimaginable cruelty inflicted on innocent Israelis and residents of Israel, and has since been followed by a worldwide and increasingly shameless wave of antisemitism.
Everyone finds their own way to cope. For one of my clients, part of that response was to begin lighting a Ner Neshama every Friday evening alongside her Shabbat candles: two for herself and three more for her children.
She already had a beautiful candelabrum that she had been using for more than 30 years, but it was important to her that the Ner Neshama become part of the ensemble, rather than something separate from it.
I was deeply honored that she chose me to design and make this very personal set for her.
After a few sketches and suggestions, we agreed on a design that would give the remembrance candle its own place while also allowing her to change the arrangement as she wished. The pieces are not fixed together, so they can be moved and arranged differently from one Erev Shabbat to another.
This also meant that the decoration had to work from different sides, so that the wood mosaics and other details would remain visible however she chose to arrange the pieces.
Objects are often much more than simply functional. They carry memory and meaning. Sometimes, making them feels like being entrusted with a small part of someone else's story.
