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Rabbi Glickfeld asked me to tell you a few words about religious expressions in Art.  Such a subject covers a very wide area and I don't know if I will be able to make a very smooth and understandable speech about it in the short time given to me, [[strikethrough]] especially in my bad English. [[/strikethrough]]

I am not at all a lecturer or a scholar.  I have been now for 40 years a professional sculptor; I learned to move stones with great ease but not to handle words with the same ease.  So, please excuse me if something is not so clear in my talk and please, do not hesitate to ask for explanations.

All the essential matters which are companions of the human being are dominated by the holy presence of our Lord, all our activities are sanctioned by His holy spirit.

If we procreate or create, everything is done in his holy name and for the glory of the human being, his favorite beloved creation.

That's why from the early beginnings the creative spirit was one of our most sacred [[strikethrough]] occupations [[/strikethrough]], and artistic creation one of our most exaltating activities.

Artistic creations have always a meaning. Thei are witnessein the spirit of our aspirations.  The aspect of our creations always changes, the essence remains the same.  The aspect is changing because humanity is [[margin]] mooving [[/margin]] progressing.  It is like climbing a mountain -- at every step the aspect of the landscape changes.  But it is only the aspect; in reality the landscape doesn't change, it is we who change -- we are progressing.  That's why at every step everything looks to us so different.

But at the same time the aspect of what we see shows us at what level we are and pushes us to go higher and higher in order to progress further.