Heartwarming Painting on Soot is Now a National Treasure

Amid the horrors of October 7th, Yechiel Offner, a Chassidic painter from Kfar Chabad, had just finished a hard day’s work of burying at Kibbutz Kisufim when he spontaneously etched a heartwarming picture in the soot. It has now become a national treasure.

Yechiel Offner, a resident of Kfar Chabad, is a 50-year-old artist-painter. For many years he has been painting the life of the Jewish town of old, and the life of the Chassidim today.  He also serves as a special education teacher and studies psychodrama therapy. For over twenty years, he has served in the IDF’s space detection unit in the south

Offner recounts: “In the midst of Simchas Torah, I was called to go to a military base in the south. I did not understand at all what traps were lurking on the roads at that hour. I did not imagine the magnitude of the event.  Thank G-d we were able to close circles for many families, and thanks to our efforts families were able to bring their loved ones to burial.

“After hard days of work at Kibbutz Kisufim, I entered the home of the Zeke family, to identify the remnants of the horror. In this home, parents and a child had been killed. Against the background of the smells and thoughts, I couldn’t hold myself back and suddenly started drawing on the sooty wall. The painting just came out of my heart: two soldiers protecting a child. Although this drawing did not materialize, and unfortunately the soldiers did not have time to save the victims, it was something that burst out of me in those moments. I didn’t even sign my name on the painting.”

When the ‘Yad Ben Zvi’ people responsible for preserving the history of the State of Israel saw the painting, they wanted to discover who the painter was and what was behind it. They managed to locate Offner and explained that they decided to preserve the painting and display it for future generations. Perhaps in a museum in memory of the 7th of October.

Offner continues: “I was very surprised. I never dreamed that a spontaneous painting on soot would become a work to preserve. The Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Waid Ben-Zvi consulted experts for advice on how to preserve the painting. And so, just before the demolition of the house, the wall was uprooted and transported with a crane to be preserved in the state treasure warehouses.”

In addition, the ArtShelterGallery, on behalf of the Jerusalem Municipality, has decided to hold an exhibition of Offner’s paintings, at a solo exhibition curated by Dr. Noa Lea Cohn. You can visit the gallery at 7 Yehuda Maccabi Street, Jerusalem.  Phone:  0585001019.