"I Gave Their Mother the Painting of the Murdered Twins, and We Both Cried Together"
The artist Hodaya Bouchari learned about the story of Rachel Vaknin, who lost her two sons at a party in Re'em, and decided to create an eternal memory for her. Here is the outcome.
Last Wednesday, a memorial was held for Asher and Michael Vaknin, may their memory be a blessing, identical twins murdered at a party in Re'em during the horrible Simchat Torah massacre. Among the attendees at the memorial was an unfamiliar woman holding a huge painting of the twins. She gifted the painting to the twins' mother, Rachel Vaknin, who burst into tears along with those around her. Tears also filled the eyes of the artist.
This is Hodaya Bouchari, a religious artist residing in Netivot, who notes that she became aware of Asher and Michael's story through an article on Hidabroot. "Rachel, the twins' mother, waited for many years to have the privilege of being a 'mom', and 35 years ago she gave birth to twins – Asher and Michael, may their memory be a blessing. In the article, she shared that they were her only children and always used to be together," Hodaya mentions, "Her words especially touched my heart: 'I prayed to Hashem to have children who would call me 'mom,' and now who will call me mom? My children are gone, no one will bring them back to me.'"
"The story touched my heart deeply," she states, "and I decided to illustrate, as a small gesture of comfort, her beloved twins... I painted the picture out of a sense of involvement and overwhelming sorrow. To think about the twins who were murdered simply for being Jewish in Israel, leaving their mother alone in the world, it's inconceivable."
Hodaya also shares the process of creating the painting: "I assembled it from several photos provided by the family. It took me some time to distinguish between the brothers until a relative helped me and pointed out Asher's scar on his mustache. Additionally, I chose to add tefillin on their heads, our symbol as Jews against those who rise to destroy us. Studio 'Reuta' volunteered to create the beautiful typography of the words 'Shema Yisrael,' and the violinist Shrolik Lepkovitz allowed me to use the soul-stirring violin tune he played for the video I prepared. I gave the painting to the mother with tears and a prayer 'May Hashem wipe away tears from all faces,' and for days of peace and comfort to arrive soon."
