The painter Baruch Nachshon, one of the most well-known Chabad followers due to his mystical paintings, passed away last night (Tuesday) at the age of 82. He is expected to be buried this morning in the Hebron cemetery.
Photo: Chabad updates
Nachshon was a well-known figure in the locality of Kiryat Arba, where he lived for the past decades.
After the Six Day War, he and his wife were among the first families to renovate the Jewish settlement in Hebron.
His toddler son Avraham Yedidya died a few months after his death in a crib, and his wife Sarah demanded that he be buried in the old cemetery in Hebron, which led to the return of the possibility of burial there, for the first time after the 1938 massacre.
Chabad says that he distributed his paintings with the encouragement of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. In 1979, an exhibition of his paintings was placed in the office of Rabbi Chaim Yehuda Krinski and the Rebbe watched it for a long time and finally said, "I ask you to distribute the paintings by all means around the world." From biblical stories and sages' midrashim, and made extensive use of Jewish images such as the Temple and the Cave of the Patriarchs.
Previously estimated to have painted more than 1,000 paintings.
He is survived by his wife Sarah and ten children.
His son-in-law, Rabbi Victor Atia, is a Chabad emissary in Kiryat Arba. In addition, his sons and sons-in-law serve as emissaries in many cities in Israel.
The head of the Kiryat Arba council, Eliyahu Libman, paid tribute to Nachshon: "Rabbi Baruch Nachshon was one of the founders of the city of the patriarchs along with his family. "Unfortunately, they experienced a tragedy because Avraham Yedidya died several months later. They buried him in the ancient cemetery in Hebron. Although the authorities objected, they actually resumed the burial in this cemetery after years of not having such a possibility."
"Rabbi Baruch founded the unique synagogue inside their house, all your people Israel felt at home there. He had a special charm that everyone loved, soul and spirit of an artist. We had a special and personal connection. I used to huddle under his prayer shawl when I prayed in his synagogue after my father passed away. He was a man of truth, great sadness and great mourning fell on the settlement, "said Liebman.
