Illustration for Hallel

Eitan Marcum (he/they). 2021. Praise Gd in the small moments. [photograph]

Artist Statement: It feels easy to praise Gd in the big things: the grand moments of sky-on-fire sunsets, rays of light filtering through the trees of a forest, the birth of a child, accomplishing something you’ve been working toward. But do you notice the smaller moments? The bees in the trees just doing what they do and making sure we have food to eat by doing it, the bright colors of a flower that are so pleasing to our eye, the rich smell of melting chocolate, the snails in the garden leaving shimmering trails of slime. Can you praise Gd for the hard moments when you’re late for work, when the printer jams, or the sink backs up? What a wonderful thing it is to be able to simultaneously praise Gd for our freedom and for the strength to work towards a better world and collective liberation.

Artist Bio: Eitan Marcum (he/they) has been pursuing photography as a hobby for over a decade and uses it as a way to slow down and pay attention to what’s physically near by. A graduate of Humboldt State University and alumnus of Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, Eitan is an enthusiastic Torah student and excited to start Hebrew College’s Rabbinical Program in the Fall.


haggadah Section: Hallel