Family Tree with Jewish Roots

I’ve had a lot of clients over the years who were Jewish.  For some of them their Jewish faith and their heritage was very important. They wanted me to include symbols of their faith into the family tree paintings I was creating for them. While I knew that the Star of David represents Israel I’ve learned that there are other symbols representative of the Jewish people. Learning is my passion and I’m incredibly lucky that I’m constantly learning from my clients about all kinds of traditions.

Celebrating Jewish Heritage with a special gift

At one point I was working on a family tree painting for an Israeli couple from London. My client, (their daughter), asked me to include a Passover seder plate into the painting. I knew of Passover, but up to that point have never realized that there was a special plate used during the Passover dinner.  I was fascinated that it has little compartments for 6 different foods.  Each food symbolizing something special to the Jewish people. Furthermore, each item is talked about during the celebration.

For the painting I chose to paint a blue seder plate which I placed at the very top of the couple’s family tree.

Custom painted family tree commissioned as a gift with meaning for parents wedding anniversary

Subtle details to reference Jewish Heritage

Some of my clients prefer to have subtle references to their Jewish ancestry. One of the family trees I worked on didn’t contain any Jewish religious symbols, but rather portrayed some family members in traditional Orthodox outfits and others wearing kippahs.  I also used the colors of the Israeli flag for the banner with the family name.

Personalized family tree art as a spectacular 50th anniversary gift for parents

Star of David as a symbol of the couple’s Jewish Heritage

Not too long ago I worked on a birthday family tree gift for a man who also happens to be from the UK. To symbolize the couple’s Jewish roots his wife (my client) requested for me to incorporate into the painting a rug from their wedding that had the Star of David on it. The rug itself was simple white and blue (the colors of the Israeli flag).  I usually paint a banner with the couple’s names, but a rug works just as well!  Also, the colors looked really nice with the rest of the family tree painting.

Customized Family tree art created as a meaningful gift for a man’s 40th birthday.

Vulcan Salute is a Jewish Symbol?

I’m used to adding the Star of David to the paintings for my Jewish clients, but Vulcan Salute hands was a first for me. Of course, in reality this Jewish symbol has nothing to do with Vulcans. Apparently, two hands with the spread fingers are called Cohanim hands and are used by Jewish people with ancestors from the priestly clan.  Who knew?

I recently incorporated Cohanim hands along with the Star of David into a family tree painting I created for a Jewish couple.  My client (their son) didn’t want the symbols to be too obvious, so I painted them ‘carved’ on the tree trunk. Not easy to notice at first glance, but still there representing the family’s Jewish heritage.

Anniversary family tree gift for a couple with Jewish roots

Personalized Family Tree for a Jewish-American couple

In our day and age it’s commonplace to find married couples that come from different countries, but share the same heritage.  I had the pleasure of painting a family tree for such a couple. The wife was Jewish-American and the husband was from Israel. I felt that this fact was an important element in the couple’s family history. To honor both countries I’ve decided to add both American and Israeli flags to the painting. To do so I painted them at the ends of the banner with the couple’s names.

Personalized family tree illustration hand-painted for a couple’s anniversary.