Ruby’s art holds all the cards
The AJN’s annual Rosh Hashanah card competition saw hundreds of entries sent in from kids from across the country.
IN the age of social media and e-cards, giving and receiving printed greetings may seem old-fashioned, yet they arguably hold more meaning, and are items to keep, treasure, and even display in the family home.
The AJN‘s annual Rosh Hashanah card competition gives Jewish children the opportunity to get into the spirit of the chag by creating a new year card of their own design. The winning piece of art becomes the newspaper’s official Rosh Hashanah card, sent to VIPs throughout the community as well as political leaders such as the Prime Minister of Australia and the President of Israel.
This year’s competition saw hundreds of entries sent in from kids from across the country, with one submission coming from as far afield as Karmiel in northern Israel.
The winner, however, was Sydney’s Ruby Levitt, a year 3 student at Reddam House.
Her bright, beautiful and thoughtful card features everything to bring joy this Jewish New Year, from apples, honey and pomegranates to flowers, bees, a shofar and Stars of David.
Ruby said she brainstormed, and then went on the internet to search for, the most common foods people like to eat for Rosh Hashanah, and the favourite items and Judaica they like to use.
“I also used what I learnt in my Jewish Studies class at Reddam,” she said.
“What I really wanted to do is to make something that would help people to enjoy the feeling of the festival of Jewish New Year, so I chose the colours and the shapes that would work best together to do that.
Ruby, who will be celebrating this Rosh Hashanah with a family dinner at her cousin’s house, added, “I feel very excited to have been chosen as the winner.”
Her art teacher, Amanda William, said “Ruby’s card design was an excellent response to the brief for this year’s competition,” which was all the things that most represent Rosh Hashanah.
“She has done really well, particularly in terms of the composition, her colour choices and combinations, and her use of symbolism.”
Congratulating all the entrants on their designs, national editor of The AJN Zeddy Lawrence said, “We truly were impressed by the quality of each and every card we received, so choosing an overall winner could have been a real challenge. But Ruby’s entry was so detailed and so vibrant in the way it captured the spirit of the chag, that we felt it really stood out from the rest.”
You can see Ruby’s card and a selection of the judges’ favourite entries in this week’s AJN Rosh Hashanah magazine.
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