In Gad's panel, form clearly harmonizes with imagery. For Gad in his blessing is declared warlike. Under a central shield, the imagery clashes, the glass segments are jagged, the animals hostile or despairing. Yet one white ray shines on the dove of peace, along the edge. Olive-green suffuses a realm of birds and luxuriant plant life, and a menorah, symbol of both the State of Israel and the Temple, anchors the frame in the bottom center.
Sunlight pours down on golden grain fields.
Images of fruitfulness and a strong bow, mentioned in Jacob's blessing, are present, but images are sparse, and that orange-gold light dominates. Benjamin is more symmetrical, with a central mass of connected spheres, a sort of rosette of teeming planets, planted in a background of cobalt blue. The blue panels of Benjamin, Jacob's youngest son, meet at the corner with the blue of Reuben, the first son, suggesting a united cycle. AS I studied Chagall's work, men began to fill the synagogue for the afternoon service. When the prayers were completed someone blew a shofar, as is traditionally done in the month preceding Rosh Hashana.