Kanye West Chabad Patch Remix

KANYE and THE RABBI

“I’m going death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” Ye tweeted in October.

After much consideration over what to do about the Kanye West mural in West Loop Chicago, Devins received a call from a local Rabbi who asked him if they could get creative and change the mural into something positive.

Rabbi Kagan proposed responding to the vitriol through art. He shared some teachings that a religious mentor often repeated.

“One must see the world as in balance between good and evil — between positivity and negativity,” he said. “One good deed can tip the scale and bring redemption.”

Nine days later, on a chilly January morning, the rabbi and the street artist agreed to meet again at the mural.

Kagan brought his eight-year-old daughter, Chaya, and one of the young professionals who’d passed out menorahs on the block, 23-year-old Jeremy Kopelman. The street artist arrived with his wife, Jody. They all stared up at the brick wall that Devins had transformed over the weekend.

“What I love about this is — you made a point,” Kagan said. “You’re saying: We don’t stand for negativity, and you did it with a positive message.” - Danielle Paquette for the Washington Post