Cartoonist Avishai Chen: "When I Sent a Drawing to Rabbi Ovadia, He Sent Me a Surprising Letter in Return"

You've probably heard of Avishai Chen. His name appears alongside various cartoons in Mishpacha magazine and other outlets. Now, on the eve of Purim, we found it fitting to delve beyond the secrecy of this talented cartoonist.

How long have you been in this field, Avishai?

"By the grace of Hashem, I've been professionally involved in this field of drawing for close to a decade and a half. It started several decades ago, even before I realized that Hashem had planted within me a special artistic talent for illustration and drawing. I was a little kid then, and I noticed that during every craft hour in kindergarten, there was a crowd of kids around me, though the teacher didn't appreciate it. In my innocence, I didn't understand why they all gathered around my table to see what I was drawing, but later on, I started to realize that I had a talent that was a gift from the Creator."

Avishai notes that the talent likely passed down through his genes, as his mother is also very talented in the art of drawing. "As a child, I would stand by the window with my mother, and she taught me just to look and observe: 'Here is a cypress tree, it's shaded here, this is the roof from the upper angle.' We lived on the fourth floor, which was a great blessing, as we saw the view from very interesting angles. Later, I learned a lot from observing the works of professional artists, especially R' Yoni Gerstein, the first and veteran haredi cartoonist."

Reveal the secret to us – how do you manage to make the cartoon funny? What techniques do you use?

"You need a lot of humor," Avishai answers, bursting into laughter. "I often sit in front of my work and just roll with laughter. And that's good because it's obvious to me if the cartoon doesn’t make me laugh, it won't make others laugh either."

Regarding the question of how to convey that humor in practice, he answers: "There's no single way to make something funny. The idea is to take a distorted situation and 'exaggerate' it in an illustration. Present it in a parable or a humorous way that highlights the distortion."

"So, before drawing a cartoon, you first need to decide exactly and clearly what you want to draw. Not to start doodling on the page and then 'whatever comes out will come out.' Of course, there are always changes and improvements discovered during drawing, but the main idea should be clear. For every cartoon, weekly, I have a 'brainstorming' session, which is a conversation with Menachem, a good friend of mine. We discuss topics everyone is talking about in the news, decide on the message the cartoon should express, and only then talk about different ways to express the message until a successful idea emerges. It's a great feeling every week to imagine an idea and then suddenly see it become tangible on the page."

The Goal: To Convey a Message

Another tip in creating a cartoon, according to Avishai, is 'not to be too clever.' "The rule I've adopted for myself is this: if the idea is very clear to me, it will also be clear to those reviewing the cartoons."

However, he emphasizes that in reality, there will always be those who interpret something else. "But I'll reveal a small secret - there are cartoons where during the drawing itself, I decide to leave elements that can be understood in several ways. It can be fascinating that each person understands something different."

What is your flagship cartoon? The one that especially succeeded so far?

"Do you think there's such a cartoon?" he replies in amazement, "It's clear that every sketch, every illustration, every cartoon, is especially dear to me. But yes, there's one drawing that is particularly beloved to me. It's not a cartoon but an illustration I made in my youth. When I was a young man in yeshiva, I drew for myself, out of admiration, the portrait of Maran Rabbi Ovadia zt"l and, in my innocence, simply sent it to him as a gift. To my astonishment, from his exalted position, he sent me a letter with warm blessings and 'returned' a picture of himself with his signature on it as a gift. The feeling that Maran holds your illustration and sends you something of his own, encouraging and blessing, is tremendous."

Was there ever a cartoon you had to shelve?

"It almost never happens. From the start, I take all necessary precautions to avoid having to shelve a cartoon, and in addition, the spiritual committee of Mishpacha magazine, which includes rabbis, advises and supervises and sets many red lines, so a cartoon won't be published without their approval."

"I am very careful with the honor of rabbis and the treatment of values, but when it comes to the 'honor' of politicians who receive criticism, I don't care. Once, I met MK Gafni in the Knesset and talked to him about this. I asked him how he would react if he were the subject of a cartoon, and he actually encouraged me to draw him, saying that on the contrary, he supports criticism if it is true. The only cartoons I regret are those on which I sometimes wasted time in my youth, time I could have used to learn more Torah."

After some reflection, he adds: "There's one cartoon I might have softened a bit. It was published during a time when many children were forgotten in cars by their parents, and several funerals, heaven forbid, took place. I wanted to shock. I illustrated a sweet father leaving the car without looking back, and in the vehicle sat a child with a target scope on his face, and the father extended his hand backward with a remote that looked like a gun aimed at the child. It shocked too much..."

When the Head of Yeshiva Burst into Laughter

 Have you ever asked yourself how a cartoon can align with values? After all, it ostensibly makes one big joke...

Avishai has an answer prepared: "Our sages say that all mockery is forbidden, except for one type, which is mockery of idolatry. Making idolatry a joke is a mitzvah. Because sometimes, more than a thousand explanations against something warped against the Torah – one good illustration can achieve."

"By nature, a haredi cartoonist is very limited in the content and subjects he can deal with. From that aspect, it is indeed difficult. But on the other hand - for a cartoonist who observes the Torah and the commandments, it's the easiest in the world. We have a Torah that guides us in the best possible way, so it's very easy to see the distortion done against religion or logic, and highlighting it is what I do in my cartoons."

And towards Purim, Avishai cannot resist sharing the following story: "I once drew a cartoon that was posted around Jerusalem, discussing the need to give charity wholeheartedly, to open one's heart, to feel the needy, rather than for other mystical reasons such as 'so-and-so sleepy ones will pray for you from their sleep in the dust-filled grave,' and so forth. It was accompanied by many absurd and funny situations of 'charms', with the message being that the charm is simply to observe the law plainly."

"One day, when I was walking near the 'Mir' yeshiva, I saw the head of the yeshiva, the great Rabbi Raphael Shmuelevitz zt"l, approaching the bulletin board, which in itself was interesting. What intrigued the head of the yeshiva at the bulletin board near the yeshiva? I approached, and I saw him looking at the cartoon and just starting to laugh endlessly. One must understand, he was a gentle but also very serious person, and seeing him standing there laughing at the cartoon and enjoying it so much meant a lot to me. Later, students told me that on that same day, he opened his lesson with a humorous description of the cartoon, identifying with the message he often tried to instill in the students."

Finally – can you reveal something we don't know about you?

"I may be known in the field of cartoons, but it's just one style among many. Thank G-d I've been able to work on illustrating children's books and articles, charcoal drawings, pencil sketches, and more. For instance, I once illustrated on parchment of Esther Scrolls – it's an art of very delicate Judaica. These are very thin sketches done with special tools, requiring precision and meticulousness, every tiny line gets special attention, all exactly opposite to cartoon illustrations - both sacred and very, very delicate. Seeing such a perfect Esther Scroll is incredibly satisfying."

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