This week's tarot card is the Four of Swords featuring Lev Abramov from my graphic novel, “Sam in New York.” Lev is the protagonist Sam’s father, and he is a strict, authoritarian yet loving figure who is willing to do anything for his family. He runs a printing shop on the Lower East Side with his wife, Raisa.
This card symbolizes meditation, relaxation, and contemplation. Lev is seen lying on a tomb, thinking about what immigrating to the U.S. has meant for his family. It's certainly a mixed bag of good and bad. Far from being the Golden Land of opportunity, the U.S. has many problems that he wasn't aware of before going there.
But he doesn't really have that much time to think about what immigrating means to him - he's too busy trying to run his family business, the print shop. Otherwise, he won't be able to pay the bills or his debt (symbolizes by the three swords pointing toward his head).
The stained glass windows show Raisa and Sam. They are the main reasons why he works himself to exhaustion.