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A Mysterious Sculptor

Av-Yotzer is a sculptor who has never known fame, being known only by his family and a few friends. A middle-aged man, he has appeared unchanged for as long as I have known him. Sometimes he seems to look right through you; at other times, he seems to gaze into the very depths of your soul, where no one else can penetrate. He lives at 3 Eden Street, in the heart of the city. His house has an architecture that calls to mind the Renaissance period. The lower part of the house is made of rough stone, but as it rises, the stone becomes increasingly fine and polished. The entrance doors are tall, preceded by a dome supported by two columns. The house is built around a square inner courtyard, far from the noise of the street, where Av-Yotzer has his creative studio.

I met him personally only recently when, while I was recovering from surgery, my husband asked him to sculpt an angel for my collection. He sculpted an angel kneeling with eyes closed and hands clasped as if in prayer. I placed it on the nightstand beside my bed, and whenever I look at it, I feel the pain caused by my illness decrease in intensity, and I, too, can join my hands in prayer.

The Mystery in the Creative Studio

A block of marble, nearly as tall as Av-Yotzer, stood in the middle of the inner courtyard. It had a rough shape, and I did not know his plans. He hadn’t told me what work he intended to carve from that stone. Next to the marble was a table with all kinds of tools a sculptor might need. He looked carefully at the table, chose a heavy, sharp chisel, and then began to analyze the stone from every angle. At one point, he stopped, fixed his gaze on a single spot on the stone, and slowly began to carve.

The first strike of the chisel made me freeze. It wasn’t so much the sound of the tool as it was a cry of pain heard from deep within the stone. Fear paralyzed me. I refused to believe the cry was coming from inside the marble and comforted myself with the idea that it came from somewhere else. But every blow Av-Yotzer struck against the stone triggered another cry of pain.

A strange mixture of curiosity and fear kept me glued to my chair, my eyes fixed on Av-Yotzer and the stone, losing all sense of time. The cries that followed every strike did not seem to disturb the artist, who continued his work with infinite patience. The dust, the noise, and the exhaustion from the effort did not seem to touch him as he precisely calculated his blows and carved the stone.

The Soul Within the Stone

His face bore an iron determination and a certainty that what he would bring out of that marble would be a masterpiece. Still, I wondered: perhaps Av-Yotzer knows what he is doing, but I do not understand where he wants to go, and above all, I do not understand where these cries are coming from. At one point, I gathered my courage and asked him:

• Av-Yotzer, where are these cries coming from?
• From the stone, he answered impassively.
• I don’t understand, Av-Yotzer, how can a stone cry out? It is against the laws of nature. Only humans have voices, I told him, intrigued.
• If you have patience, you will understand.
• Av-Yotzer, I have patience, but if there is a person inside crying out in pain, how can we be indifferent and not do something to help?
• We cannot help if we do not cast the stone aside, and for that, focus and patience are needed, because one wrong strike of the chisel could end their life.
• Fine, Av-Yotzer, but how did that person end up inside the stone?
• Through a long process. The stone gradually deposited itself upon their body.
• And how do they have air? I asked him.
• They anesthetized themselves, like the crucian goldfish that survives without oxygen under the frozen surface of the water.
• Strange, I replied.
• What caused the stone to deposit on their body?
• The first layer that formed on the body was caused by fear. The people who were supposed to care for them abused them. Then, pride followed. Living in isolation, he believed he was special, above everyone else. He began to believe that everything around him was his due, and he fell into licentiousness. Having a shred of conscience, he stopped, but soon fell into despair. That is the thickest layer. Being so closed off, he became envious of others’ achievements. Refusing the lifelines I reached out to save him, he slipped into sloth, and there he remained.
• It’s amazing, Av-Yotzer! I am very curious to see what that person will look like after you remove all the layers.

In the Mirror

Av-Yotzer sank back into silence, and as I watched the marble block closely, I noticed it beginning to take shape; the details of a human face were emerging in relief. It was a face that, strangely, seemed familiar. And then, at the end of the polishing process, my vague sense of familiarity turned into wonder, and wonder soon turned into shock. It was as if a mirror had been placed in front of me. The statue represented a woman dressed in a golden silk dress, seated in an armchair. Just like me! Then I looked at the facial features: large brown eyes, a rounded nose, well-defined lips. Wavy, chocolate-colored hair. I don’t know how long I remained frozen, but at one point I felt I could breathe again, and I asked Av-Yotzer:

• Av-Yotzer, how is it possible? The woman you brought out of the marble is me!
• I haven’t finished the polishing process yet, Av-Yotzer told me. There are still a few details that will make the difference, and my breath will give her life. Barely recovering from the shock, I asked him, bewildered:
• And what are these details?
• Well, he told me, I have transformed fear into courage, pride into humility, licentiousness into freedom, despair into hope, envy into compassion, and sloth into diligence.

Looking into his eyes, I realized that as he spoke, he was watching me with infinite tenderness. Then he said:

• This is how I created you from the very beginning, but I left you free to choose what you would do. After I finish the final touches, this woman will remain a statue that you can take home. I will leave you free again so that, following her model, you may remove the layers that keep you captive yourself. You have the breath of life from me, and that is enough for you.

“I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26)