Valentino Dixon is an amazing artist. He paints with bright hues and bold colors, mostly scenic golf courses, but also regular folk thinking, breathing, living. The paintings are uplifting and optimistic, collected by famous people including former US president Barack Obama. What is amazing is that Dixon’s own story is far from hopeful. In 1991, he was incarcerated for a crime he did not commit and spent the next 27 years in jail. On the advice of his uncle, he made it through that time by working on his art.
Valentino Dixon is also the subject of a reflection on this week’s Torah portion, Emor, by Bat Mitzvah student Hannah Nisengard. Hannah inspected the section of the portion describing lex talionis, the ancient judicial code also called “an eye for an eye.” Hannah looked at Dixon’s story and noticed that justice and fairness are not always the same. In fact, justice gone wrong like in the case of Dixon is far from fair.
Elsewhere in the portion, the Torah commands Aaron the High Priest to stay away from anyone with a blemish, or mum. But, what human being is without blemish? From a young age, Hannah has already realized that we should be careful how we judge one another, some stories are far different than they appear at first glance. Valentino Dixon took what could have been a tragedy and turned it into an inspiration. Thank you Hannah for weaving his story into our own and Mazel Tov on your upcoming celebration this Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex