Time of erotic union

Sheer coincidence (?) fated that when visiting Tel Aviv last winter, I stayed not far from the “galleries zone” (Ben Jehuda and Gordon Streets). It was already night and the galleries were closed. I walked by Tova Osman Art Gallery and a fleeting glance at the wheels and Hebrew letters painted on the rough jute sufficed. I stopped and glued myself to the gallery window in an attempt to gain a clearer view. The blue letters of the phrase "Matching Hour" (Kabbalah for "time of erotic union") radiated despite the dim light. Those were Kabbalistic symbols. Over the next few days I kept on returning to the gallery, which for some reason remained closed, and then to my dismay the paintings disappeared.
It was only on my last Friday in Israel that I found the gallery owner, who told me that the exhibit, “Following Sabtai Zvi,” was made by Nadav Bloch and Nechama Levendel, two Israeli artists and partners in life and work. Nadav Bloch, however, had just passed away. The gallery owner offered to connect me to Nechama Levendel. And so two days before my flight back to Toronto, I drove to Ein Hod, the artist village at the foot of Carmel Mountains, to meet with Nechama.
Nechama opened the door and for a few long minutes I couldn’t stop gazing at her hypnotizing black eyes. We stepped into the serene, monastic space of the stone house and studio, which was devoid of most of the standard commodities typical to a living space. The gallery, right at the entrance, presented the works of both artists. Kabbalistic wheels, words and letters in different languages (Hebrew, Arab, Aramaic, Latin), filled the house with timeless presence.
We sat at the long wooden table next to the austere kitchen equipped with a mysterious little coffee machine that produced a most aromatic espresso.
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