Local artist donates mural to Jewish congregation
Davide Bavati’s latest painting takes up a wall in the corner of the Chabad of Southern Delaware synagogue near Lewes.
What it lacks in size, it makes up for in meaning.
The hand-painted mural depicts Rachel’s Tomb, a holy site located between Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank.
Bavati unveiled the mural at a gathering Feb. 3.
Before the big reveal, a cloth handmade by Bavati’s grandmother 50 years ago protected the painting.
Bavati said the mural was decades in the making.
“I wanted to do something holy and important to Jewish people,” he said. “I was there at Rachel’s Tomb in 1971. It is stunning, beautiful, and I said, ‘Someday, I’m going to paint it.’ Better late than never.”
The mural shows the walled tomb in the background, with traditional Jewish candles and challah resting on a windowsill.
Bavati said the stone is representative of Jerusalem, where by law everything is made of stone.
He painted the mural in the trompe l’oeil style. Trompe l’oeil is a French term meaning deceiving to the eye. It gives the impression that elements are jumping out of the mural.
If that sounds familiar, it is the same format used by artist Michael Rosato on the timeline mural located outside the Lewes History Museum on Kings Highway.
Bavati was born in Israel and now lives in Lewes. He and his wife are members of the Chabad congregation.
Rachel is a biblical figure, one of four matriarchs in the Jewish religion.
Rabbi Shalom Vogel, from Chabad of Southern Delaware, said the mural sends a message for the Jewish people and the world at large.
“Rachel’s Tomb is a very holy place in our tradition,” Vogel said. “Rachel has been that prototypical mother, the one that gives of herself for her children. So it’s fitting that we have a depiction in a synagogue where we pray. It’s good to remind you of the great, righteous women in our tradition.”
The mural is located in a newly built, designated space for Chabad services and classes. The room hosts events that had previously been held inside Vogel’s house, which is connected to the new wing.
Bavati has painted dozens of murals in private homes and restaurants in Manhattan. His largest is on the ceiling of a private home.
When he is not painting murals, Bavati is designing wraps for commercial trucks, which are also done in the trompe l’oeil style.
Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Eagles, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.
