This project represents an attempt to better understand Neve Sha'anan, the most ambiguous and complex district in Tel Aviv. It is a neighborhood where life thrives, and diverse cultures blend together, forming a unique mosaic of social issues.
The title of this series is prayer. It is a plea for the manifestation of God's strength capable of sweeping away dust and dirt, providing the vigor and energy necessary for growth, essential for all living beings. This is a spiritual request, not a physical one.
We have become accustomed to labeling and relying on imposed templates. It makes things easier, but this path will never lead us to a true understanding of reality. People, who facing challenges in adaptation and seeking ways to sustain themselves are confronted with the temptation to escape reality and their problems through drugs. Complex social conditions and economic disparities push them towards this bleak path.
As a result of dependency, many resort to seeking quick and easy money, leading mens towards crimes and women towards prostitution. Assistance from the government and organizations may sound promising in theory, but does not always work in practice. An impression is created that this aid targets the symptoms of the problem rather than its root. In any case, each person should contemplate how and why drugs emerge in our country.
Living in this environment, it is very easy to descend into such a lifestyle. Only a strong moral and ethical foundation can help a person avoid this. In my observations, for many residents of this district, their faith and religion serve as this pillar of support. The title of this series is prayer. It is a plea for the manifestation of God's strength capable of sweeping away dust and dirt, providing the vigor and energy necessary for growth, essential for all living beings. This is a spiritual request, not a physical one.
"It is raining all around me
I can feel it, it is the latter rain
Dear Lord Jesus, give us more rain,
Until we are filled and we are soaked in
the latter rain"
✡Deuteronomy 32:2
Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.
✝Matthew 5:45
That you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
☪Surah Qaf 9-11
And We send down from the sky blessed water, whereby We give growth unto gardens and the grain of crops, and palm-trees, like sheathed clusters, and gardens of diverse growth. (It is) as a provision for (Allah's) slaves. And We give life therewith to a dead land. Thus will be the resurrection.”
