“Oleh Regel” is a painting about movement — the physical ascent toward Yerushalayim and the inner ascent every Jew makes in their avodas Hashem. I wanted to capture the feeling of traveling upward with purpose, with longing, and with the quiet joy of knowing you are going to a place where heaven and earth meet.

The scene is filled with soft blues, gentle purples, and glowing pastels that give the city an almost ethereal light — as though Yerushalayim itself is welcoming those who approach her. The streets below feel almost waterlike, reflecting the sky and symbolizing how spiritual growth isn’t always linear or solid; sometimes it feels fluid, shifting, and deeply personal.

Throughout the painting, staircases rise from different corners of the city. Each staircase represents a unique path in avodah — different journeys, different struggles, different strengths — all ultimately leading upward. No two people walk exactly the same way, yet every path leads toward the same source of holiness.

At the horizon, the Beis HaMikdash appears above the city, luminous and steady. I painted it small but unmistakably present, the way it lives in our collective memory — a vision we carry with us as we strive to grow, to elevate, to come closer.

The figures walking through the scene represent all of us: individuals at different stages of life, each on their own path, yet united by the same yearning. That is the essence of oleh regel — not only the physical journey upward, but the spiritual one that happens inside the heart.

This large 48x72 painting is meant to feel immersive, as if you could step into the scene and join the quiet procession — walking, rising, and returning with renewed closeness to Hashem.