Video Installation screen 4: Daniel Harel

Text Panel

Hi, I’m Daniel Harel, I live in Mitzpe Ramon with my partner Sofi, who’s originally from Germany, and with our son Noah.
Most of my life I’ve disdained religion in general and Judaism in particular. The entire notion sounded stupid and outmoded, but in recent years, through writing in hebrew, of all things, I began to realize that I act and think in a larger context, that my words have a long and complex history, even a volatile one, and so I should try to delve deeper into them.
Now I’m interested in the Jewish frame of mind, and I still don’t believe Judaism has a specific truth or originality to it, I was simply born in a specific place, with a specific culture and language, and since hebrew has served so long in attempts to speak to God, I think this carried over to my personality, the attempt to know the divine, to know the reality beyond the word.
In this context, we’ve decided not to circumcise our son. Because Judaism is the traditional framework through which hebrew speakers encounter reality. And since we encounter reality through our words, the willingness to be accurate and to cultivate our language is our true covenant.