Nissim Levy of Moshav Tzafririm has traveled a long road from his birthplace, Urmia in Kurdistan, through the Har-Tuv transit camp, to opening a bridal salon with his wife, Tziona, in Beit Shemesh. Today he creates metal sculptures, an art he learned in his youth and returned to only after becoming a grandfather.
Written by Nurit Metzler
When Nissim Levy reached the age of 58, he decided to retire from his large businesses. He returned to his home in Moshav Tzafririm and began creating works of art from metal. It was in fact a return to a field he had studied in his youth—metalworking—from which he had parted many years earlier in order to enter, together with his wife Tziona, the business of hairdressing and styling for brides. Today his yard is filled with dozens, and perhaps even hundreds, of unusual and fascinating works.
Nissim Levy was born in Baghdad in 1941 and immigrated to Israel at the age of ten. His life story is, in fact, the story of immigrants who came to Israel in the early 1950s, and the impact of his absorption in Israel can be seen in his work. Nissim’s parents were born in Istanbul, Turkey, and from there moved to Urmia (Aram!) in Kurdistan. As a child he learned Aramaic, his mother’s language, and during the following years, when he moved to Baghdad and from there to the Har-Tuv transit camp near Beit Shemesh, he did not forget the language. Today he is among the few people in Israel who still speak this ancient language.
He remembers his childhood in Israel as a happy one. Although his generation “missed” the basic schooling of the elementary-school years, he says that “life in the transit camp was fun.” He spent his childhood climbing trees, attending a little school, and above all at the Beit Shemesh railway station, which served as a playground for him and his friends.
At the age of 13, Nissim began learning a trade at Miftan School. He worked during the day and studied metalworking in the evening. He never actually liked the trade itself, but enjoyed creating with metal. From that period he has kept only two works: a Hanukkiah and a Shavria.
At the age of 25 he married Tziona, a native of the nearby Moshav Zekharia, and together they chose to live in Moshav Tzafririm. After years of working in the bridal salon they opened in Beit Shemesh, Nissim eventually decided to return to agricultural work and to creating with metal.
Using the old tools preserved from his youth and still serving him in his modest workshop, he creates unique forms and enjoys the products of his own hands. Above all, he loves the rough cuts made with a torch and prefers to preserve the original form of the scrap while adapting it to the shape that emerges in his imagination. In fact, he sees the result already while collecting the metal. Thus, a discarded exhaust pipe becomes a trumpet, while other pieces of scrap become animals, a human body, and so forth. The sculptures he has created fill the house, the yard, and the various buildings around it; each sculpture has a name and each has its own story. As part of preserving the family heritage, Nissim recreated the city of Urmia. In the yard one can see the city under construction in miniature, while in a special room he documents the clothing of those days, the utensils, and the furniture as he remembers them from his parents’ stories. It is very important to him to pass these stories on to future generations.
When the place became a miniature museum, he often heard his grandchildren say that they were going to Grandpa’s Gallery. He liked the expression, and it became the official name of the place. Nissim and Tziona are happy to host visitors at “Grandpa’s Gallery.” In addition to the stories that flow from his lips, Kurdish food can be ordered there for groups wishing to see Nissim Levy’s sculptures—but only by prior arrangement.
Grandpa’s Gallery
Moshav Tzafririm 5
Elah Valley
For details: Tel. 02-9911212
Southern Region
Directions:
On Route 38 from the direction of Beit Shemesh
Those coming from the south, from the direction of Beit Guvrin
(I have not yet visited the gallery, Michael)
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