A Birchat Habayit like you’ve never seen!
Devorie Zutler, photographer, owner and educator at Photography Workshops by Devorie Zutler, recently came out with a birchat habayit called The Doors of Israel: A Gateway to Blessing, featuring doors from the Old City of Jerusalem and Tzfat.
This birchat habayit is available as a limited edition and comes with a coffee table book that describes the location, history and stories about each door.
Devorie shared the story behind how this unique birchat habayit came about: “One of my favorite things to do when visiting Israel is to wander around the old city of Jerusalem and the old city of Tzfat with my camera, looking for photo opportunities. The beautiful doors of these historic cities have always managed to get my attention. Their colors, vibrancy and uniqueness are unparalleled. My camera was often photographing these gems, and every time I went to Israel, I added more photos of these beautiful doors to my ‘collection.’ To me, these doors tell the tale of the rich history of Jerusalem and Tzfat.
“In the back of my mind, I thought about doing something with all these photos.” she continued. “How could I combine all these doors to make something special? But somehow it was a project that I never got around to, and it remained on the back burner for years.
“This past February I traveled to Israel, and of course found myself searching once again for more beautiful doors. Unlike my other trips to Israel though, this time a fire was lit in my mind, and I was determined to finally do something with the photos when I got back home.
“I didn’t just want to make a door collage,” she said, “simply lining up the doors one after the other. I wanted to make it meaningful, so I decided to look for an inspirational passuk in the Torah about ‘doors’ or ‘entrance ways.’ I found one, but it just didn’t feel perfect to me. One day while thinking about what to do, I had a sudden inspiration. It was as if a lightbulb went off in my mind. Why not incorporate all these beautiful doors to make an elegant birchat habayit, asking Hashem to open the doors of my home to bracha, hatzlacha, shalom, etc.”
Devorie continued, “I loved the idea immediately! Finally, this thought that was in the back of my mind for so many years felt like it was becoming a reality.
“When I first had the idea to create this project, my initial thought was just to make it for myself; and hang it in my own home. As I got more involved, and deeper into creating this masterpiece, I happened to mention it to a few people, who all loved the idea and expressed interest in owning something like this as well. I continued to get such positive feedback from so many different people, which ultimately led me to the decision to make this available to the public.
“So here it is! I truly hope you enjoy your birchat habayit as much as I do, and that it is the means to bringing you much bracha and hatzlacha into your home!”
“May it be your will, Hashem,
to open the doors of this house
to blessing and success,
to peace and happiness,
to respect and love.”
For more details on this new birchat habayit, or any of her photography workshops, please email Devorie Zutler at [email protected], or visit her website at www.devoriezutler.com
