Im Tirtzu Ring

January 2005
Sterling silver

The Hebrew phrase running the circumference of this ring is אם תרצו אין זו אגדה im tirtzu ein zo agadah, which means "if you will it, it is no dream." The phrase was Theodore Herzl's rallying cry for the Zionist movement prior to the establishment of the State of Israel, and resonates deeply in the Jewish heart.

As to why it found its way into a ring of my design, well, the reasons are threefold. First, even detached from the Zionist movement, it's a great sentiment—basically, you can do anything in life that you truly set your mind to. If my Dad hadn't told me that when I was fifteen, I probably wouldn't be making freakishly intricate work like this. So I thought it was a great way to remind myself of that on a daily basis, in a Jewish context. Second, since my star is usually tucked away underneath my shirt, this is great advertising for Edelstein Edelsteine: "hey, that's a neat ring, where'd you get it?" "Oh, I made it myself." Etcetera. Third, well--to be frank, I was reviewing the Judaica gallery on this site and I realized that every single piece in it was something that hangs--mostly pendants except for the hanukkia, and even that hangs! I figured that knocking out a ring would nicely break up that monotony.

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