Mother-Daughter Team Create ‘Art with Heart’ Program

In anticipation of Gimmel Tammuz, Mayanot’s Internship delegates learned about the Rebbe in a truly hands-on way. Each delegate painted their own Rebbe portrait on canvas, using Art with Heart’s unique paint-by-number Rebbe picture and specially pre-mixed paints.

Art with Heart is the brainchild of mother daughter team, Sara and Rivka Wineberg who are Shluchos in Cape Town, South Africa.

In the lead up to her sister’s wedding before Pesach, Rivka Wineberg, a senior at Cape Town Torah High, planned a gift for her sister, the bride. Using her passion for art, she sourced a picture of the Rebbe and then designed it into a paint-by-number. The budding artist then mixed her own paints, narrowing it down to just 9 colors.

At the wedding, a large canvas was displayed with squiggly lines and the guests were invited to paint it in. When it was completed, a magnificent portrait of the Rebbe emerged! Today the hand-painted picture of the Rebbe hangs proudly in the home of Yossi and Leah Bryski, a collaboration and reminder of all the guests at their wedding.

The picture was such a hit that Rivka’s mother, Rebbetzin Sara Wineberg, thought it would be a great way to bring the Rebbe to her community by doing an evening of art and inspiration. So she threw into the mix a Torah class (“Portrait of a Leader”) pre-recorded by her husband, Rabbi Dovid Wineberg, himself a popular inspirational speaker- and Art with Heart was born!

The event has been a huge hit and has already been hosted in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Jerusalem, Manhattan and Manchester, with many more orders coming in.

Director of Mayanot’s Summer Interns, Esther Shemtov, says the program was ideal. “It was the easiest event that I hosted- and the most successful.” She explains, “There was nothing to prepare. The program came with a flyer to promote it and all materials were provided. I played the shiur on a wireless speaker and many of the girls wanted the link to the audio class so they could listen again!”

Meanwhile, Shlucha Sara Wineberg is creating more Jewish-themed paintings to offer her community and beyond. Upcoming events will include: the letter Aleph; a Beis Hamikdosh; and kever Rochel. There’s also been a lot of demand for a Rebbeim series, which will surely give shluchim a unique way to reach their communities over the Chassidishe yomim tovim.