'Shabbat: A Taste of Heaven'

(JNS) - Mark Podwal's "Shabbat: A Taste of Heaven," an acrylic and colored pencil drawing on paper, was part of his 2003 exhibition "A Sweet Year" at the Israel Museum Ruth Youth Wing in Jerusalem. (His book "A Sweet Year: A Taste of the Jewish Holidays" came out the same year.)

"When the Jewish people were gathered at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, God told them that olam habah (the world to come) would be their reward for keeping the commandments," the New York artist tells JNS, quoting "Otiot D'Rabbi Akiva" (the Alphabet of Rabbi Akiva) from Otzar Midrashim (Anthology of Midrashim), penn...