"May Day" Or Pray Day? By the Way...

My ultimate loyalty is to God and God alone. For what I care, Tr**p and others can try to pursue me with swords and other weapons, throw me into a harrowing darkness or fire, build gallows for me, or otherwise murder me. As I said before, all that I need to do is keeping speaking to God and speaking against Trump—after all:

1. How did Saul's end go, notwithstanding that David even mourned Saul (and like God, David did not delight in the death of the wicked)?
2. Daniel escaped the lions' den, and Daniel's friends escaped the furnace (As for Holocaust victims, by the way, I believe that God was with them in the gas chambers, the furnaces, the pits, etc., even though He chose to not deliver them out of the gas chambers, etc.. for whatever reason. There are those whom believe the contrary and know nothing about how "[Nebuchadnezzar] answered and said: 'Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.'" Whether you believe that the fourth man is an angel, even the angel of Yehovah, and/or even someone else is your call.) Darius later did teshuvah, and Nebuchadnezzar did overall teshuvah after the seven-year suspension on his rule.
3. Haman's own gallows were built for Mordechai by Haman, and Haman quickly learned the meaning of "Or so you thought!"
4. Elijah did not even have to be around when Jezebel met her brutal end.

There are other examples of those whom did not have to lift even a hand against specific enemies—for example, Moses never had to lay a hand on Pharaoh.

In conclusion, then, action without prayer means nothing—not even speaking up against an enemy means something without prayer, as Cyrus and others learned and relearned

"1 Thus saith Yehovah to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and to loose the loins of kings; to open the doors before him, and that the gates may not be shut: 2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the doors of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron; 3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I am Yehovah, who call thee by thy name, even the God of Israel. 4 For the sake of Jacob My servant, and Israel Mine elect, I have called thee by thy name, I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known Me. 5 I am Yehovah, and there is none else, beside Me there is no God; I have girded thee, though thou hast not known Me; 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside Me; I am Yehovah; and there is none else; 7 I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am Yehovah, that doeth all these things. {P}"

OSU's Hillel & Real LGBTQ Homophobia ("Homophobia" Being Actually Discriminating Against Someone Simply For Being LGBTQ)

Ohio State University's branch of Hillel engaged in discrimination against LGBTQ students and other LGBTQ people in Ohio. Nowhere in Tanakh (also know as "The Old Testament" or "The Hebrew Bible") does it read, "Thou shalt cut off from thyselves any woman whose heart desireth not a man, and any man whose heart desireth not a woman."

One can oppose the LGBTQ lifestyle (e.g., "Thou shalt not lie with a man as one lies with a woman...") without discriminating against LGBTQ people ("I desire mercy over sacrifice...").

Please remind OSU's branch of Hillel to love their neighbors, including LGBTQ neighbors, as themselves.

The Alt Right Is Trying To Destroy The Right

"'Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:11-12, NKJV)

"And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold." (Matthew 24:2)

"For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." (Matthew 24:24 and Mark 13:22)

How many times the Alt Right—the Classical Conservatives, the Modern Far Left, etc.—have tried to destroy me & others is too many count. Even this morning, I had to block and report multiple Trumpites—I even got, I'm pretty sure, a coded threat: "You are a ticky-ticky bomb-bomb."

Revisionists, as then and now, continue to classify the Nationalist Socialists—the Neo-Pagan Darwinist, often in-name-only Christians—as Far Right—and with people like RINO, "I'm not sure that I've ever asked for forgiveness", "I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created", and "Make America great again" Donald Trump, people somehow continue to wonder why I dread another Holocaust:

"You're not going to support me because I don't want your money" and an accusation against a group whom has long been libeled as a "global elite" also sounds familiar within the context of the quotes above:

"If only one country, for whatever reason, tolerates a Jewish family in it, that family will become the germ center for fresh sedition. If one little Jewish boy survives without any Jewish education, with no synagogue and no Hebrew school, it [Judaism] is in his soul. Even if there had never been a synagogue or a Jewish school or an Old Testament, the Jewish spirit would still exist and exert its influence. It has been there from the beginning and there is no Jew, not a single one, who does not personify it." [Emphasis mine]

"“Providence has ordained that I should be the greatest liberator of humanity.  I am freeing man from the restraints of an intelligence that has taken charge, from the dirty and degrading self-mortification of a false vision called conscience and morality, and from the demands of a freedom and independence which only a very few can bear.”" [Emphasis mine]

"The heaviest blow which ever struck humanity was Christianity; Bolshevism is Christianity’s illegitimate child.  Both are inventions of the Jew." [Emphasis mine]

"Do you now appreciate the depth of our National Socialist Movement?  Can there be anything greater and more all comprehending?  Those who see in National Socialism nothing more than a political movement know scarcely anything of it.  It is more even than religion; it is the will to create mankind anew." [Emphasis mine]

Never mind that, for example:

1. We made the best of when European governments consigned to banking and a violation of Torah known as usury against even fellow Jews. 
2. Without Judaism, including Jewish Christianity, the Christian Adam Smith would not have written "The Wealth of Nations" (Genesis 12:1-3, anyone?) and talked about an "invisible hand" ("Now יהוה said unto Abram: 'Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee. 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing. 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.'")
3. The often-derided Capitalism has benefited many people, and National Socialism wouldn't allow Jews to bless "all the families of the Earth." Even, for example, the Printing Press of Johann Gutenberg (whom had a Europeanized version of a Hebrew first name) would not be invented if Johann Gutenberg didn't want to print a Bible.

In short, the Far Left known as the Alt Right is trying to destroy the Philosemitic, Adam Smith-influenced, and otherwise Jewishly-blessed Right (Classical Left)—which, paradoxically, Reform Jews and other Haskalic-influenced Jews were on for years, and even centuries before then

Part Of What's Exacerbated My Depression Of Late, And A Prayer Request

A few months ago, a family friend to whom I had not talked in a while reached out to me. Once he began to talking to me again, and after four to five years had passed, I began viewing him as a father figure, a writing mentor, and a friend whom is more dear to me than he'll ever know—"There are friends that one hath to his own hurt; but there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."

Needlessly to say, he became "a friend that sticketh closer than a brother". Then one day, he suddenly stopped talking to me. The only explanation was this, and it came quite a bit of time later—and remember that he is, or at least was, a writing mentor: "Going through a difficult time. Keep writing."

After that, a major news story broke; and I asked him if one of the parties whom was involved in the news-making situation was associated with him—and I received no response to that inquiry. In the next day and the following days, I was left to guess whether the news story had to do with him in even any remote way (e.g., if one of his family or friends of friend was involved), other news stories involved him, or anything else had happened. After all, what did (and does) "a difficult time" mean?

This family friend, father figure, writing mentor, and closer-than-a-brother friend of my own had reached out to me in the first place, and he ditched me without explanation. Given, among other factors, my C.P. and mental illnesses, his ditching of me was absolutely the last thing that I needed—or at least wanted, since only God ultimately knows why I needed it. I've also needed other ditchings as well, by the way, and only God has also known why I needed those—and one more-recent one came from an in-law cousin, might I add.

"The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a broken spirit who can bear?" That kind of broken spirit is what I've endured once again in the past few months—and as if OCD/Anxiety. Depression, ADD, and IBS weren't enough in of themselves; and only God ultimately knows why He's exacerbated them.

"I am the LORD, and there is none else, beside Me there is no God; I have girded thee, though thou hast not known Me; That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside Me; I am the LORD; and there is none else; I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am the LORD, that doeth all these things.

"Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open, that they may bring forth salvation, and let her cause righteousness to spring up together; I the LORD have created it. Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker, as a potsherd with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him that fashioned it: 'What makest thou?' Or: 'Thy work, it hath no hands'? Woe unto him that saith unto his father: 'Wherefore begettest thou?' Or to a woman: 'Wherefore travailest thou?' Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Ask Me of the things that are to come; concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My hands, command ye Me. I, even I, have made the earth, and created man upon it; I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded."

I know, too, that God's ways are not our ways, as Isaiah also speaks by the Holy Spirit. So, for example and as bad as this sounds, I don't know whether God reminds me of my friend on a daily basis to remind me to pray for him or to allow HaSatan to make fun of me (as He allowed HaSatan to torment and persecute Job, whom was already suffering with the question of whether his children loved God: "'It may be that my sons have sinned, and blasphemed God in their hearts.'")

It could also be—and this is where the "as bad as this sounds" comes into play—that God's making fun of me or punishing me for some reason that only He ultimately knows: "Search me, O God, and know my heart, try me, and know my thoughts; And see if there be any way in me that is grievous, and lead me in the way everlasting." Having my guesses about hurtful situations, what I've done or not done, etc. hurts; and even if I know and the person whom I've wronged or whom's wronging me won't tell me, that really hurts.

Incidentally (as the year went from 2015 to 2016), I saw another reminder of him, since I discussed genealogy with him and wondered if a name in his own family wasn't an allusion to this verse: "The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is set up on high."

Please pray for me, pray for my friend, and pray for others whom need prayers on their behalf, meanwhile—may we all call on HaShem Yehovah, HaMigdal HaChazaq; and may Yehovah bring reconciliation or whatever is needed to be brought between me and my friend (אם ירצה, יהוה.), and may our friendship be almost as strong as Yehovah Himself.

What About "Falling Away", By the Way?

I was thinking again on the subject in Hebrews 6 and 10 today (and discussed it in light of a friend's status). Here's what I wrote later on the subject:

John 6:66, though, talks about disciples who no longer walked with Jesus. 1 Corinthians 3:15 also reads, "If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."Congregation Yeshuat Yisrael has a wonderful study on this, by the way (Seehttp://www.yeshuatyisrael.com/Power.../Hebrews%20Dilemma.pdf). 

This might shed light on the Parable of the Sower: 

" 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. "

"Honoring Our Fathers"

Conversely, the dads need to be responsible dads in the first place. Think about Stuart Dauermann's comment to Jews for Jesus' David Brickner regarding the exploitative "That Jew Died For You" video. In this case, we could take "That Jew Died For You" for especially fathers who abuse (e.g., commit violence against and/or neglect) to their children and/or their childrens' mothers in the name of God and "well-deserved backlash...and...comments that are piling up" for "a pop culture that constantly disrespects and mocks fathers."

"You will discover that your message is not getting across, but that people are repelled, disgusted, and enraged. Paul reminds us that it is no compliment when “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” [Romans 2:24]"

In the same way that Anti-Semitic gentiles and Anti-Messianic Jews eagerly use "That Jew Died For You" to turn Jews away from Jesus, so the world eagerly bashes the role of fatherhood because of especially so-called "Judeo-Christian", "red-blooded God-and-country" heads of households who are more than willing to (for example, and quite classically) twist verses such as Ephesians 5:22 and 6:1-3 (the latter of which got twisted on me constantly by my self-hating and abusive dad—who at least, by the way to his credit, would find "That Jew For You" highly unacceptable. After all, keep in mind that this the guy who deliberately drew a swastika just to throw it into his lit fireplace when I was having an OCD flareup one time.). 

Essay: Some People Just Don't Get How Life Works, Even For the Believer

I've had people in my life decry that I want to be famous and make an impact--and for what? All because they want differently for my life and frankly don't get how life works--even for believers and so-called believers like themselves. Firstly of all, they don't get that one has to be famous in order to make an impact. In fact, "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more." Therefore, much has to be given for much to be required. Even Kings David and Solomon, Mother Teresa, and scores of other influential people would not have had the impact that they had if they had not become famous--and sometimes even infamous before they became famous.

For example, who would've cared about a young, righteous shepherd in Bethlehem had he not become king? In fact, his own family derided him:

"Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “TheLord has not chosen these.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.”

"And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah."

They hid him and did not have him pass before Samuel because he was, in their mind, a non-descript shepherd boy. Even Samuel wasn't looking at, or even for, David at first. "So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!”

"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”"

Also, who cared about Moses before he became a man of prominence? In fact, they also derided him. "Then he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”" He wasn't loved for doing what was right until he was given a platform. Also, he even rejected having a platform at first because he knew how he was viewed:

"Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

"So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”

"But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”"

Who was going to give a darn about a righteous man who was "slow of speech and slow of tongue" unless the Lord gave him a platform? Would just another prince of Egypt, especially a differently-abled one, be able to make an impact? After all:

13 

"Better a poor and wise youth Than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more. For he comes out of prison to be king, Although he was born poor in his kingdom. I saw all the living who walk under the sun; They were with the second youth who stands in his place. There was no end of all the people over whom he was made king; Yet those who come afterward will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind."

What do we see here? We see ideals and paradox. Ideally, "those who come afterward will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and grasping for the wind." Yet, what happens? He is remembered. "There was no end of all the people over whom he was made king;" and people remember him--especially if he was actually a good king and actually made an impact. Even God remembers him. After all, what did he call David? "‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’"

We don't remember even most princes of Egypt because they were not given the fame--the platform--to make the impact that a king could make. So, we wouldn't have remembered Moses or had an impact made by him were he not given fame. Therefore and all the more, what kind of impact could a shepherd boy made were he not made a famous king? 

Again, "'For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.' Therefore, much has to be given for much to be required."

Secondly, there's a loved-famous-loved cycle. One does not become famous unless he or she is loved, and one has to be famous to be all the more loved--and thus make an impact. With Moses, he had to have the support of Aaron to be exalted and make an impact:

"So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.”"

As for David:

"So Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.”

"Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite,who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.”"

Again, "One does not become famous unless he or she is loved, and one has to be famous to be all the more loved--and thus make an impact." Besides, who speaks of most of the other 6,999 in the time of Elijah?

"Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”"

We talk about Elishah, Jehu, Obadiah, and 100 prophets among them, but not the others. Also, Obadiah is explicitly mentioned as having a platform. "And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house." So, Obadiah and a few others could make an impact because they had a platform--but most of the 7,000 couldn't because they had no platform, and no support to have one.

Another example is Daniel. He had to have the backing of Nebuchadnezzar to make an impact:

"Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles,  young men in whom there wasno blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the nameBelteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego."

The same Scripture states, "Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king." But two points come to mind:

1. Daniel and his friends would not have been picked were they not "no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans." Anyone else could have had all that, but Daniel and his friends had what they needed to build a platform.
2. Had the king not picked them, they would have been overlooked and obviously been unable to make an impact. 

As aforestated, "there's a loved-famous-loved cycle"--and one doesn't get loved, famous, and able to make an impact without having the advantages to get loved, famous, and able to make an impact. 

Thirdly, I can't change the reality that one needs to be advantaged, loved, and famous to make an impact. Talk about, "God, give me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change..."! I can't change that there's a loved-famous cycle and a advantaged-loved-famous-impacting hierarchy--actually, an advantaged-loved-famous-impacting cycle and hierarchy at the same time. Again, the famous of every generation would ideally not be remembered by successive generations, and the non-famous youth who is poor and wise could be the one to make the impact. But at least I live in the reality that the more exalted make more of an impact and that the influential are more exalted, even though the reality is a non-ideal and vicious cycle.

In conclusion:

1. One has to be famous in order to make an impact, as people such as Moses and David experienced, and sometimes infamy comes before the fame and the impact making.
2. One does not become famous unless he or she is somehow loved--or at least exalted-- by God and man, and one has to be famous to be all the more loved--and thus make an impact. Elijah, Elishah, Obadiah, and Daniel are among the examples of whom needed to be advantaged and exalted by God and man to make an impact.
3. As much as reality opposes the ideal and is harsh, especially one who professes Christianity--whether or not he or she is a Christian--has to accept the reality is that there's an advantaged-loved-famous-impacting cycle and hierarchy at the same time. After all, Moses knew that he wasn't going anywhere as a differently-abled man and just another prince of Egypt. David and others knew that a non-descript shepherd boy would have no influence. Most of the 7,000 people who worshipped Yehovah in Elijah's time made no impact because they had no advantage, love, or fame that affected and effected them to make an impact. 

Therefore, there should be no wonder that I want to be famous, since I want to make an impact--even though I have been derided and gained infamy along the way. 

So, My Blog Went Offline For A Day...

To make a long story short, a certain family member got pissed at me for confronting a certain group that blackmailed me and threatened my life....so much for confronting racist Anti Semitism--and can you imagine if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. hadn't stood up for Civil Rights, including against the KKK (who, by the way, is a "Christian" Identity--viz. Pseudo-Jewish, Anti-Semitic--group)? (And just because that other, Non-White Pseudo-Jewish group threatened me, I'm not allowed to talk about them--and this same family member allows that Dr. King, who plagiarized at least a paper, stood up against racism and Anti Semitism just because he had credentials and was [apparently] a trained and educated professional--what hypocrisy! I guarantee that he or she would have no problem with me confronting the KKK, even though he or she denies that--and his or her excuse is the same!).

So, I can no longer speak up against a certain kind of racist Anti Semitism (even though we have no national voice, excepting Mark Potok--although his voice is hardly there and, thus, hardly heard--on the issue) due to the fact that I'm merely a disabled college student and certainly no MLK or Jay Sekulow, or Mark Potok (who, as leftist as he is, is a politically-"incorrect" voice who speaks up against what I was--operative word, "was"--speaking up against). By the way, that--that is, speaking up against the racist Anti Semitism about which I used to speak--is part of why (G-d willing) I wish to get my Christmas gifts, get married to a rich and able guy who is able to pay for the rest of my college career (and who, if you will and for a lack of better wordage, would make a nice Christmas gift), and get out of where I am now.

Thank G-d that this family member wasn't a family member of Timothy or Jeremiah, by the way.

Are We Done Yet, Wikipedia?

Rafail Levitsky

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky
Portrait by Ilya Repin (1878) Finnish National Gallery, Ateneum Art Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
Born	1847 St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Died	1940 Leningrad, Soviet Union
Nationality	Russian Empire, Levite[1]
Field	painter, photographer
Training	Imperial Academy of Arts, Saint Petersburg
Movement	Peredvizhniki, Realism, Romantic, Genre, Impressionism
Patrons	Alexander II of Russia, Alexander III of Russia, Nicholas II of Russia,Napoleon III

Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky (or Rafael Sergeevich Levitsky, or Raphael Sergeevich Levitsky; Russian: Рафаи́л Сергее́вич Леви́цкий; 1847–1940) was a Russian genre, romantic, and impressionist artist who was an active participant in the Peredvizhniki (Itinerant) Movement.

His letters to his artist friend Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov 1844-1927 are a personal account of many of the key figures in Russian art who exhibited during their lifetime.

Rafail was born into a wealthy aristocratic family. He was married to Anna Vasilevna Olsufevsky. He was the second cousin of Aleksandr Ivanovich Herzen (1812–1870), the writer and outstanding public figure; and son to Count Sergei Lvovich Levitsky (1819–1898), one of the founders of photography in Russia and Europe's early photographic pioneers.

He was friend to author Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828–1910) who visited and stayed with him and his wife on several occasions.

Rafail Levitsky was also an art professor and an acclaimed photographer, most noted for his portraits of the ill fated family of Czar Nicholas II, the last emperor of Russia.

Contents   [hide]  1 Education 2 Teacher 3 The Association of Peredvizhniki Artists 4 Friendship with Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov (1844-1927) 5 Levitsky Polenov Correspondence 6 Friendship with Ilya Repin (1844-1930) 7 Friendship with author Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828-1910) 8 Photographer 8.1 Paris studio 8.2 St. Petersburg studio 8.3 Photography's first Artist 9 Legacy 10 References 11 Selected works 12 References

[edit]Education

Portrait of a Village Girl. by Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1877) Nekrasov Apartment Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

In 1866, Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky began his artistic studies at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg as a free-student.

While there, Rafail studied directly under the teaching of Pavel Petrovich Chistyakov (1832–1919) along with classmates that included V.D. Polenov, and I.E. Repin.

It is Chistyakov's teaching methods that combined the best traditions of the academic school and the experience of direct perception of nature that are widely recognized as having led to the development of realism in Russian art.

Rafail received medals in 1867 - 2 silver and in 1872 - a minor and two major honours.

In 1877 he received a rank of "class artist of third stage".

[edit]Teacher

Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky was a Professor of Drawing and Painting on Porcelain at the School of Imperial Society of Honouring Visual Arts from 1884 until the school was closed by the Soviets in 1918.

His career is documented in a report written by request of the Committee of Imperial Society of Honouring Visual Arts by Nickolay Makarenko, published inSaint Petersburg in 1914.

[edit]The Association of Peredvizhniki Artists

The Bridge in the Woods. by Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1885-1886) The Stavropol Regional Museum of Fine Arts, Stavropol, Russia

In 1880, Rafail Levitsky joined the free-thinking "Association of Peredvizhniki Artists" who sought to move away from the academic formalism of the official Academy.

Rafail Levitsky exhibited with the Peredvizhniki (Itinerant) Movement from 1880 to 1894.

His artistic career took him throughout Russia. After the opening in 1883 of the Rostov Museum of Church Antiquities his name appears twice in the Museum's Book of Visitors (started in 1886). Rafail visited this cultural centre of old Russian architecture, church and folk art in 1900 and 1904.

A painting of the Interior of the Redeemer Church "na-senyah" found in the Kremlin of Rostov was painted in 1904 by Rafail and is today at the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

In 1885, 1896, and 1907 he travelled to Italy where he painted genre and impressionistic scenes en plein air.

In November 1914, he documented a scene of Russian forces fighting in the Silesian Offensive in World War I.

Today, Rafail Levitsky is still rated among the Great Russian artists by the Art Union of Russia.

[edit]Friendship with Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov (1844-1927)

Throughout his life Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky was good friends with fellow Itinerant artist Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov. Polenov's freshness of color combined with artistic finish of composition greatly influenced Levitsky's own landscape painting style and treatment.

When Rafail was a bachelor, he lived and worked together with Polenov in "Devich'e Pole" (the name of the street "Maiden's Field"), in an attic of the Olsufevsky House. This house is illustrated by Polenov in his painting "Grandmother's garden" (1878).

While living there Levitsky would meet and marry Anna Vasilevna Olsufevsky. He would also meet Leo Tolstoy and become good friends with the world famous author discussing Tolstoy's theories on art and his personal connection to the art and artists of the day. Ultimately, Levitsky in 1896 would paint Tolstoy's portrait.

View of Mazzolada di Lison, Veneto, Italy. by Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1896) The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection, Toronto, Canada

[edit]Levitsky Polenov Correspondence

As Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky lived and worked in Saint Petersburg we are given insight into the art exhibitions he attended and wrote about in letters to Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov.

In a letter sent to Polenov in Moscow, Rafail writes about an academic exhibition which occurred on September, 18th, 1869 about the sculptor Opekushin Alexander Mikhailovich (1838–1923) who sculpted a bust of the artist Mikhail Osipovich Mikeshin (1835–1896). He writes:

"The exhibition has been open since yesterday, but there are not a lot of people attending, and those of the public who are attending do not seem to like the exhibition either. Did I tell you about a bust of Mikeshin made by some unknown sculptor named Opekushin. This sculpture is remarkable in its work and the likeness to the face and body of Mikeshin... would this be a painting, I would have gambled that it was done by Mikeshin himself. This same fellow Opekushin also showed a bust of Komisarov".

At a third Academic Exhibition in St. Petersburg where V.M.Vasnetsova (1848–1926) exhibited the picture "Tea drinking at a tavern" Levitsky who visited the exhibition, wrote on February, 8th, 1874 to Polenov, "Vasnetsova whom you, obviously, know, a miracle from miracles…"

Writing to Polenov about the artist Arkhip Ivanovich Kuinji's (1842–1910) work "View of the Isaakievsky cathedral" having visited the academic exhibition in 1869, Levitsky saw the beginnings of what would be Kuinji's use of special light effects to paint nature and achieved astonishing results. Levitsky writes: "A. Kuinji has painted a landscape of the Neva river with the view of the Isaakievsky cathedral which is perfectly realized …"

[edit]Friendship with Ilya Repin (1844-1930)

R.S. Levitsky (background) and E.L. Prahova (foreground)sketch by Ilya Repin (1879)

Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky was classmate and close friends with fellow Itinerant artist Ilya Repin. Repin sketched Rafail's image and painted his portrait in 1878 showing early Repin's ability to not just paint faces, but rather to paint people fully, revealing his models in their natural state and how they communicated.

When Repin settled in Moscow in 1876, he and Levitsky would travel to the Abramtsevo Colony, the country estate of Savva Mamontov located north of Moscow. Savva was one of the most famous Russian patrons of art of the late 19th century who founded an artist's union in Ambratsevo.

Repin's "On a Bridge in Abramtsevo" (1879) and Levitsky's "The Bridge in the Woods" (1885–1886) are remarkable achievements showing different approaches of these two great artists painting the same subject matter (a bridge) in the same location (Abramtsevo).

In 1920, Ilya Repin donated his portrait of Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky along with a collection of other works by him to the Finnish National Gallery.

Today, Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky's portrait by Ilya Repin is on permanent display at the Finnish National Gallery, Ateneum Art Gallery, Helsinki, Finland.

[edit]Friendship with author Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828-1910)

From February to March, 1896, and from February to March, 1897, Leo Tolstoy visited Rafail Levitsky and his wife Anna Vasilevna Olsufesky, at the Olsufevsky's estate, Nicholskoe, near Moscow. Once he spent two weeks with them and another time he stayed with them for an entire month.

On one such visit, Rafail welcomed Tolstoy hospitably into his workshop and discussed painting Tolstoy's portrait. The session took place, on the second floor of the Nicholskoe's house. It is told that Levitsky, while standing, drew on an easel and chose to make a sketch viewing Tolstoy's right profile. To facilitate the posing, someone read aloud from a Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846–1916) novel. The session lasted for one and a half hours. With the permission of Tolstoy, the final drawing was made into an engraving and sold in shops throughout Russia.

In the month of May 1898, Leo Tolstoy travelled to Grinevka to visit the estate of his son, Count I. L. Tolstoy. While living there, he once again visited his friend, the landlord, Rafail S. Levitsky, where he fell seriously ill with severe dysentery and remained there for ten days. In his Journal translated by Rose Strunsky in 1917 he writes of this time: "I went with Sonya (my daughter-in-law) to the Tsurikov's, Aphremov's, and the Levitsky's. I have a very pleasant impression and fell in love with many; but fell ill and did not do my work and made a lot of fuss both for Levitsky and the household."

[edit]Photographer

Rafail Levitsky's father was the famous Sergei Lvovich Levitsky (1819–1898, Moscow, Russian: Сергей Львович Львов-Левицкий), who is considered the patriarch of Russian photography and one of Europe's most important early photographic pioneers, inventors and innovators.

Czar Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, and daughter Olga. by Sergei Lvovich Levitsky.(1896) The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection, Toronto, Canada

With a career that began in the 1840s, working as a daguerreotypist in Germany and Italy; Levitsky's father knew Daguerre personally, and introduced the term ‘light painting’ to Russia. It was he who first proposed the idea to artificially light subjects in a studio setting using electric lighting along with daylight.

With a working life that spanned fifty years, Sergei Levitsky distinguished himself in the technical sphere of photographic development. It was he who designed a bellows camera which significantly improved the process of focusing, and it was he who introduced interchangeable decorative backgrounds, as well as the retouching of negatives to reduce or eliminate technical deficiencies.

Sergei is perhaps best known for a series of photographs of famous artists, writers and public figures (included among these notable figures were Nikolai Nekrasov,Ivan Turgenev, Ivan Goncharov, Vladimir Sollogub, Fedor Tyutchev, Peter Vyazemsky, Alexander Strugovshchikov, Vasily Botkin, Ivan Panaev, Pavel Annenkov,Dmitry Grigorovich, Alexander Herzen, Sergey Volkonsky, and Leo Tolstoy). It is perhaps this association that led Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov (1821–1878) to purchase a painting by Rafail Levitsky that hangs in the living room of the N.A. Nekrasov Apartment Museum to this day.

Sergei Levitsky was also one of the founders of Russian's first Photographic Societies, a writer of articles for the Russian magazine "Photograph" and was actively involved in organizing national and international photographic exhibitions throughout his lifetime. He wrote memoirs in two volumes entitled, Reminiscences of an Old Photographer (1892) and How I Became a Photographer (1896). He is buried in St. Petersburg's Smolenskoye Cemetery.

[edit]Paris studio

Between 1859 and 1864 Sergei Levitsky operated a photographic studio at 22, rue de Choiseul in Paris formerly the address for American daguerreotypist Warren Thompson [aka Warren-Thompson] and joined the Société Française de Photographie (SPF).

Levitsky and Warren-Thompson were associated 1847-49 both making large format daguerreotypes. Thompson opened a studio at 22 rue Choiseul in 1853.

In 1864 Levitsky in turn sold out to Augustin Aimé Joseph Le Jeune whose cards carried the Levitsky name and the information that he was the new owner/successor i.e. 'Lejeune succr' until at least 1867 and Lejeune reused negatives made by Levitsky as well as making his own images.

Lejeune also operated a studio at 106 Rue de Rivoli associated there with a relative Denis Victor Adolphe Le Jeune from 1867.

Confusion as to the operation of Levitsky's studio in Paris has arisen from the reference to 'Levitsky', 'M. Levitsky' and 'Maison Levitsky' on Lejeune's cartes de visites and cabinet cards with his ownership and authorship printed usually on the lower right hand side, as 'Le Jeune Succ^r'.

By 1872 Le Jeune was operating at 350 Rue St Honore and in turn after the Le Jeunes sold the Rue de Rivoli studio to Auguste La Planquais in 1873 and the following year the Rue St Honore studio to Léon Abraham Marius Joliot.

Le Jeune was listed as a member of the SPF until 1885 as was Levitsky but the latter is most likely a confusion with the exit date of Lejeune.

In 1864 Levitsky wrote about his Paris career in The Russian Magazine "Photograph" (1864, № 3-4) in which he described his great success and artistic triumph which "brought to his Paris studio daily orders of some 1500 requests; many of which could not be filled".

Showing in practice that the skillful combination of both natural and artificial light allowed one to create interesting effects, Levitsky's photographs became recognized throughout Europe for their mastery.

Following his father's lead, Rafail Levitsky worked along side his father in Paris placing his Russian monogram Russian: Р Л; on the carte de visite (CDV) photo cards when his hand was involved in the process of taking the photograph.

In 1864 when his father closed the Levitsky studio in Paris, Rafail returned to Russia with his father.

Czarina Alexandra with Olga and Maria. by Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky .(1899) The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection, Toronto, Canada

[edit]St. Petersburg studio

The Levitsky St. Petersburg studio of the 1890s was a father son enterprise. Photo cards of this time have the distinctive Levitsky name 'and Son' Russian:Левицкий и сын both written as a signature and printed on their backs.

Upon his father's death, Rafail continued the operation and tradition of the Levitsky portrait studio taking the now famous photos of Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra and their children Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia, Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia,Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, and Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia. So popular were the photos of the Romanovs that they were reproduced individually for public consumption in an 'Edition A Bon Marche' by Rafail.

While running the St. Petersburg studio Rafail began the tradition of taking photos of everyday Russian actors and everyday Russian people while continuing the Studio's resume of taking photos that included Russia's who's who including such luminaries as Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, Russian General Aleksei Nikolaievitch Kouropatkine and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Rafail took part in numerous international and Russian photographic exhibitions, sometimes serving on the jury. His works received multiple awards in international exhibitions.

The Levitsky Studio was located in Moika River Embankment, 30 (1860s), Nevsky Prospect, 28 (1890s), and Kazanskaya Street, 3 (1898, the house is not preserved).

The Levitsky St. Petersburg Studio remained in operation until it was closed by the Soviets in 1918.

[edit]Photography's first Artist

Russian Banknote 25 RUBLES showing engraving of Alexander III after portrait by Sergei Lvovich Levitsky and Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1909)

Rafail Levitsky is considered to be the first artist in history to be also a fine art photographer. During his lifetime many of the Levitsky famous photographic portraits became partial or complete replacements of the model by artists, lithographers, illustrators and even engravers as in the case of Levitsky's portrait of Alexander III which was used on the Russian ruble bank note.

Alexander III. by Sergei Lvovich Levitsky and Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1885) The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection, Toronto, Canada

However, the Levitsky Studio's lasting importance is found in their ability to understand and exploit the relationship between art and photography; understanding that it could be possible that a photographer using a mechanical device that creates the image, could impose their personal spirit into the finished photograph.

For the Studio believed that it was not simply a process of taking the most famous photographs of the who's who of European and North American society but an artistic endeavour and pursuit to capture the essence of the sitter and relay this through the photographic image captured.

Rafail's ability to understand, apply and build upon the scientific photographic advancements developed by his father would begin to establish Rafail's photography as a worthy form of artistic expression; no less effective than a painting or a sculpture.

His achievements preceded famous artists as photographers such as Edgar Degas who began taking photographs in 1895 and Man Ray who would not produce his first significant photographs until 1918.

Rafail's photos are the first to show images of sitters in naturalistic poses, soft lighting, within naturalistic backgrounds, and expressing real sentiments like joy and laughter or tenderness as in the photo of Czarina Alexandra with Olga and Maria (1899).

Compare similar photos of the day where sitters stood as straight as soldiers and looked out at the viewer like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car and one will instantly see why the Levitsky studio was miles ahead of its competitors and why being an artist was so important to the early development of photography.

[edit]Legacy

The magnitude of Rafail Levitsky's catalogue raisonné remains unknown. His influence on artists, his history, and his life's artistic achievements were erased during the Soviet era; an era where aristocratic origins and ties to the Romanov family were cause for violent repression. The State Russian Museum does not own pictures, drawings or archival documents in its collection of this once great Russian artist.

In the most complete collection ever produced reviewing the tradition of Russian and European painting entitled the Encyclopedia of World Art published by White City; the author Alexander Shestimirov includes Rafail Levitsky's artistic work in all three volumes – Russian Seascape Painting – p. 443; Russian Landscape Painting – p. 888; and Russian Portrait Painting – p. 1416.

Individual works are found hanging in the Nekrasov Apartment Museum, 36 Liteiny Avenue, St. Petersburg; The Stavropol Regional Museum of Fine Arts; The Chuvash State Art Museum and The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

Today, the largest collection of Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky works are found in The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection (DRWC), Toronto, Canada which is dedicated to preserving the memory, legacy and works of Rafail Sergeevitch Levitsky and Sergei Lvovich Levitsky.

Morning Impression along a Canal in Venice, Veneto, Italy. by Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1896) The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection, Toronto, Canada

[edit]References

1. Burova G. K, Gaponov O. I, Rumjantseva V. F. Association of Mobile Art Exhibitions: in 2 т. М, Art, 1952–1959

2. Tchernyshev E.A., V.D.Polenov's Memorial Estate. the Catalogue. Л, 1964

3. Mosenzov G. N., Catalogue: Painting. Sculpture. Drawing. – Omsk, 1941

4. Spiridonov A.N., Catalogue Omsk гос. Museum of Fine Arts: Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture. – Omsk, 1955

5. Omsk Region. Museum of Fine Arts: Рус. дорев. Art: Painting, Drawing, teatr.-dekorats. Art, a sculpture. Кат. – Л, 1986

6. Guidebook to Dashkovsky meeting of images of Russian figures. – m. 1882. (Mosk. публ. And Rumjantsev. Museums)

7. Makarenko Nickolay, Report written by request of the Committee of Imperial Society of Honouring Visual Arts, published Saint Petersburg, 1914.

8. Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich, Volume 84, Letters written to S.A. Tolstoy 1887-1910, complete works; letter written January 1895.

9. Kim E.V., I.A. Shljakov and an Art Life in Rostov (I. 1880-1890th) Books of Visitors of the Rostov Museum of Church Antiquities.

10. Strunsky Rose, translated Journal of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy translation -1917.

[edit]Selected works

• 

  Evening Impression in Rapallo, Genova, Liguria, Italy. by Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1885) The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection, Toronto, Canada
 
• 

  Grandfather Vlas. by Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky. (1895) The Chuvash State Art Museum, Chuvashia Republic
 
• 

  Villa and Gatehouse Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. by Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1907) The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection, Toronto, Canada
 
• 

  Gatehouse Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. by Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1907) The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection, Toronto, Canada
 
• 

  Afternoon Impression Along a Russian Stream. by Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1908) The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection, Toronto, Canada
 
• 

  Russian House Afternoon. by Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1908) The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection, Toronto, Canada
 
• 

  Hillside Walk Russia. by Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1908) The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection, Toronto, Canada
 
• 

  Russian Silesian Offensive. by Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1914) The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection, Toronto, Canada
 
• 

  Maria Feodorovna Princess Dagmar of Denmark. by Sergei Lvovich Levitsky and Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1881) The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection, Toronto, Canada
 
• 

  Nicholas II. by Sergei Lvovich Levitsky and Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky.(1894) The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection, Toronto, Canada
 
• 

  Czar Nicholas II and family by Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky. (August 16 1901, Peterhof ) The Di Rocco Wieler Private Collection, Toronto, Canada

[edit]References

1. ^ His name is a variant of "Levy". See JewFAQ.

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