Fish, Eyes Wide Open

About Fish, Eyes Wide Open

Fish are one of my favorite symbols often featured in Jewish folk art. Their eyes are compared to the eyes of G-d that never close, always protecting and witnessing with an unbroken gaze.  Fish also have the magical power to lay many eggs all at once, symbolizing abundance and fertility. In the Kabbalistic zodiac, the Pisces fish symbolizes the Hebrew month of Adar, the month of Purim, which is the happiest and luckiest month of the Hebrew calendar. In the Torah, it is written, “G-d created the great sea monster (…) which the waters brought forth in swarms (…) Be fertile and increase, fill the waters of the seas.” (Genesis 1:21-22). While some fish are explicitly depicted in the paintings of this gallery, they also surface in other paintings as well.  The bright orange koi fish featured in an Etz Chaim painting is the same carp used by generations of Jewish women used for making gefilte fish.

Glossary of Hebrew/Yiddish Terms