This is a new medium for Muchnik. The lithograph has been hand embellished by the artist so that no two are exactly alike. The painting on it gives the artwork texture which adds to the beauty of the artwork and gives it the look of a painting.

DESCRIPTION: King Solomon in Shir Hashirim (Song of Songs) depicts the relationship between G-d and the Jewish people as that of a husband and wife. He compares the Jewish people to a rose among the thorns . Just as thorns surrounding a rose do not detract from its beauty, so too, the thorns of the world and the thorns of history do not mar the beauty of the Jewish people in the eyes of G-d or diminish their relationship.

Based on a 17th Century design, the Jerusalem Ring is symbolically surmounted with a scene of Jerusalem, featuring the Holy Temple, which will be rebuilt with the coming of Moshiach and will last forever. This image reminds us of the traditional blessing given to the bride and groom on their wedding day; May you build an everlasting edifice in Israel. The wedding ring and the rose are an allegory of the marriage, the eternal bond, between G-d and the Jewish people which will be consummated with the rebuilding of the third Beit Hamikdesh.

ARTIST INFORMATION: Today's renaissance of the traditional Jewish lifestyle has been accompanied by the blossoming of a multi-faceted Chasidic art movement. Michoel Muchnik, among the foremost Chassidic artists, has gained prominence with his joyfully imaginative renderings in acrylics, watercolors, and original lithographs. He frequently combines his delicate use of color and fine line work into a story book motif. Even at its most mystical, a Muchnik painting is inexplicably familiar.

Born in Philadelphia in 1952, Muchnik received his artistic training at Rhode Island School of Design. He later studied at the Rabbinical College of America, in Morristown, New Jersey.

Muchnik has staged exhibits of his original paintings, bas-relief mosaics and lithographs throughout the world. His originals have been displayed at the Brooklyn Museum, the Goldman Arts Gallery in Washington, D.C., Yeshiva University Museum in New York, Dansforth Museum in Massachusetts, the Sydney Jewish Museum and the Sharei Tzedek Collection in Israel.