Finding Light in the Dark: A Mother's Journey Through Tragedy and Art

"For 28 years, I worked with the Israel Police as a forensic expert, but I never thought it would hit so close to home," recounts Naomi Amadi, mother of Sharon Chanukah, a vibrant 20-year-old whose life was cruelly taken in a terrorist attack on Bus Line 18.

Naomi takes us back to the heart-wrenching days of the Intifada and the horrific bus bombings of the 90s and early 2000s. "It was a Sunday, and Sharon was just a month shy of her 20th birthday, nearing the end of her military service. She was on Bus Route 18 when a suicide bomber detonated explosives, taking 24 lives, including Sharon's. Later, I understood she was standing close to the bomber who carried a 20-kilogram explosive belt. She never had a chance to survive.

"Sharon loved life," Naomi adds. "She was charming, modest, full of dreams she wanted to fulfill. An artist at heart, she studied arts in school. With my love for art too, we often created together. Today, looking at her works, I realize what immense talent was lost and what a loss it is to the world."

Fulfilling Her Legacy

The time following the loss was incredibly tough. "I felt I couldn't go on," recalls Naomi. "It took me a while to accept Sharon's absence, all while continuing my police work for three more years, which intensified my pain. After retiring, I decided to follow Sharon's path into art, creating with her unique perspective that saw only goodness and light. I felt like I was fulfilling her legacy."

Naomi has a special piece inspired by the verse: "Your watchmen shall lift up their voice, with their voices together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when Hashem shall bring again Zion" (Isaiah 52:8). "This painting, full of great light, symbolizes the redemption that will soon come, expressing our growth as a people and the light that will brighten our darkness."

Where do you find the strength to create after such a tragedy?

"I learned it from my father who came from Iraq in the 1920s, a young orphan who never lost hope or his longing to be part of the beginning of redemption and the building of Jerusalem. Dad taught us to love the land and our community, to do and create tirelessly. He endured the 1929 riots in the Old City, yet his faith held him through, often saying, 'Hashem gives us another life lesson.' We've also undertaken several special remembrances for Sharon, which strengthened me and gave me tremendous power.

"After the attack, I grew closer to Hashem, and faith is the only thing that lifts me out of this dark pit, helping me understand that Sharon completed her mission in this world. She fulfilled her purpose perfectly, and there is nothing more for her to seek here.

"In retrospect, there were clues that Sharon somehow sensed something was about to happen. Before the attack, she focused intensely on death, mentioning it in her journals, and strengthened her Jewish practice. Though we come from a religious home, Sharon adopted traditions we didn’t emphasize. Now I know clearly that Sharon is in the best place possible, and from there, she continues to bring light to the world, together with all the sacred souls lost through our history."

Phoenix Rising

But surely, there are difficult moments?

"Certainly, there are moments of struggle and crisis, but I believe setbacks are meant to push us toward new life - to help us 'restart', rethink and move forward. Thanks to these insights, I can separate myself from Sharon, understand she completed her role, and now it's my turn - to continue passing this message of faith to my children and grandchildren."

Recently, Naomi was invited to participate in the "Witnesses in Uniform" project, which included a week of training at Yad Vashem, followed by a special delegation to Poland, where participants shared their personal stories at the death camps.

"I came to strengthen others, but I left strengthened," she says. "We visited the hardest places, saw dreadful things, but also heard survivors' stories of enduring the horrors and then building families, emphasizing their personal victory - to continue living and not stop.

"Now I believe that's the real victory, and that's why as an artist, the phoenix is a prominent symbol in my paintings. Just like the phoenix rising from the ashes, in Judaism, even at the lowest, darkest point, we can draw energy for renewal and creation, to build a better world, always striving to illuminate it."