Virtuartnet

Group one: In honour of the Air Force
The Biblical description of how Elijah "rose by a whirlwind into Heaven" is very exciting: Elijah and his pupil Elisha are walking together in the knowledge that Elijah will not return from that journey. The sombre silence is suddenly broken by a miraculous event: a chariot of fire and horses of fire appear and take Elijah off with them. Even in the Bible there are few scenes of such powerful ecstasy as the picture of Elisha crying:
"My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsement thereof!"
I have tried to convey the atmosphere of the dramatic event at its height, when everything is full of movement and suspense. For this purpose I have avoided ornament or other decorative elements. Elisha is holding Elijah's mantle and looks as if he wants to fly after him, but his body has already started falling to the ground, while Elijah's mantle creates a tornado-like motion, within which Elijah rises heavenward in a whirlwind. The mantle, as related, will soon be left in Elisha's hands. Elijah just has time to bless his pupil with his one hand, while the other hand makes a gesture of acceptance of this fate. In the sky appear flames, forming the shapes of horses of fire and horsemen, and moving towards the mysterious darkness of the heavens.
This event takes place near the river Jorda, which is seen at the bottom of the picture, and the desert region is characterized by thornbushes and arid hills. The houses of the town Jericho, where the prophet and his pupil passed on the way to the place of this happening, are vaguely suggested in the distance.
Shlomo Katz