Truth, Justice, Peace – Captain America and Rabbi Steve Sirbu

Truth, Justice, Peace
16" x 20"
Mixed media
2016

Truth, Justice, Peace is an original papercut that was commissioned as a gift for Rabbi Steven Sirbu by Temple Emeth of New Jersey on the occasion of their 2016 Spring Gala honoring him (this past weekend) on the occasion of his “bar mitzvah year” with that congregation. He's also a long-time friend.

The piece is inspired by Rabbi Sirbu’s work for the congregation and his dedication to truth, justice, and peace — with words from Pirkei Avot which tell us that the world is sustained by those three concepts. However, the middle concept in Pirkei Avot, in the original Hebrew, is דין (“deen”) which is usually translated as “judgment.” Artistic license transforms that word to צדק (“tzedek”). Supported by these words is the world itself, with New Jersey in central position.

The papercut is made of cut-up comic books featuring Captain America, symbol of truth, justice, and peace — a man who has dedicated his life to helping others and serving higher causes. Captain America’s real name, of course, is Steve Rogers — another connection to Rabbi Sirbu. Within the Hebrew we find words celebrating those qualities for which Captain America and Rabbi Sirbu fight, as well as references to the original words from Pirkei Avot and a reference to Temple Emeth.

This piece includes:

• Captain America #263 (Jan 1986), #322 (Oct 86), #333-338 (Oct 87 – Feb 88), #413 (Mar 1993), #600 (Aug 2009), #634 (Sep 2012), #636 (Nov 2012), #12 (Dec 2013)
• Captain America – Marvel Knights #14 (Aug 2003)
• Avengers #501 (Oct 2004)
• Ultimate New Ultimates #1 (May 2010)