Why do you call yourselves "Oneg"?
Sometimes, people who love our art ask us, "Why do you call yourselves 'Oneg'?"
Well, I'm glad you asked!
A few reasons. First, "Oneg" as you probably know is "עֹנֶג" in Hebrew, and it means "Delight".
Our art of the great rabbis aims to delight Jews everywhere, starting with ourselves!
We want every Jew in the world to hang a portrait of the rabbi that most inspires him or her on their wall, to remember their wisdom at all moments.
But wait, there's more!
There are two other aspects of the name "Oneg" that I love.
One is that it reminds me of the the "Oneg Shabbat" events on Saturday nights I used to go to as a kid. It creates that "warm and fuzzy" feeling of happy memories with my friends sitting around doing Havdalah then having fun. And this is the sort of happy emotions we want our art to evoke.
The final reason is a bit a bit of a pun. We're based in Argentina, and we work and exist in Spanish here (of course—deep insight, I know.) But in Spanish, "ONG" is how they say what in English is an "NGO", or a "non-governmental organization"—that is basically, a non-profit. (Technical differences, I know, but a similar concept: a private institution working for the common good.) And as an "autogestionado" (self-organized) part of Hebraica, we're a little part of a great, non-profit project to help and support the Jewish community here.
