68 The Builders of the Boat in Kfar Uriah

Avraham Ofek's mural surrounded me suddenly on three sides. I reached the old People's House of Kfar Uriah by chance, as a result of an orientation game played with riddles, and I had no idea that this modest place hides a delightful treasure. I felt as if I had come upon an Italian church and suddenly saw there works of art peering down at me from the walls – paintings that until now were known to me only from reproductions and books.

It was my good fortune that the writers of the riddle knew well the painting in the People's House. And thus their riddle led me by means of portions of the Book of Samuel and the Story of Uriah the Hittite to Kfar Uriah and there I discovered the wonderful sight of Ofek's painting. He worked eight months on this monumental mural which covers three complete walls. The painting, which dates from 1970, consists of picture after picture telling the story of a creative life as well as a journey that resembles the path of immigrants to the Land of Israel. The painting portrays moments in the lives of the builders of the new country, including a wedding, city houses and people around a table.

There isn't much happiness in this mural. It is serious and stark. The people in it are taking part in a great cause, but they have no identity as individuals and there is no joy in their expressions and actions. It seems that their lives as individuals are by no means the main concern of the artist here. They participate, like industrious ants, in a great historic moment that was not of their conception, and perhaps that is the reason for their lack of enthusiasm and joy.

The deed is greater than the individual who did it (and here, than the individuals) – is the feeling created strongly by Avraham Ofek's mural in Kfar Uriah. Twenty two years after the establishment of the State of Israel this ethos was still dominant in the country's society and this mural expresses this well.