Shalom u’vracha to one and all.

For even the most indifferent subscriber, by now it surely has been noticed that these new posts aren’t as frequent as they once were. And even when there is a post, there’s really no variety. No Parsha, no Oldie, no Behind the Scenes insight or interview. And you’re right. I’m not here to make excuses, the reason is simple: things aren’t as they once were. Things are not the same. Things aren’t yet back to “normal.”

To be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d be doing another one of these, in fact, I was hoping there wouldn’t be the need… but here we are. I am writing this from the comfort of my heated home – hopefully reaching you in the comfort of yours – while those who we are thinking of and davening for constantly are in unfathomable places, enduring unfathomable circumstances. Hashem Yishmor.

Previously, we had talked about how we are all trying to cope with the emotional turmoil that we have been dealing with since Simchas Torah. For many of us, in a lot of ways, it’s still Simchas Torah. Day by day, there is an undeniable bitterness mixed with the sweet. There is joy, but there is an almost overwhelming angst as well.

What are we supposed to do? How can we be נושא בעול עם חברו and share the load with our brothers and sisters without buckling under the immense psychological burden. How are we supposed to keep our balance – for our own sake and for the sake of those who rely on us – so that we come out whole on the other side?

Well, the answers won’t be found in this insignificant space, but maybe these posts can help a little bit.

Firstly, we must feel. We must not allow ourselves to become desensitized. We cannot let ourselves be overexposed. We mustn’t become numb. The matzav on the other side of our front doors is very real. Make it real – just enough – so that you can turn that pain and anguish into prayer and emunah. A Yid’s strength is his ability to pray. When we daven, we are acknowledging our dependance on no one but Him, and when we do that, in turn, Hashem allows us to witness the results of our faith.

Therefore, it is my sincerest hope once more, that this fifth installment helps keep us grounded, keep us aware, keep us feeling – keep us from becoming numb. We have to do whatever we can to not lose our ability to daven for what we have, and for what we have to lose. To acknowledge Hashem for both the bitter AND the sweet. To daven that we may finally see the end of this terrible tekufah and with it, see the arrival of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, bimheira v’yameinu, amein!

{Here are the links to the previous four, in case anyone wanted to re-indulge:} https://jewishmusicalnotes.com/songs-of-the-heart-part-1
https://jewishmusicalnotes.com/songs-of-the-heart-part-2
https://jewishmusicalnotes.com/songs-of-the-heart-part-3
https://jewishmusicalnotes.com/songs-of-the-heart-part-4
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🎵 Kehilos Hakodesh – Composed by Shulem Lemmer & Hershy Weinberger, Sung by Shulem (Kiddush Hashem, 2023) 🎵

We’ll appropriately begin with a tefillah that was anonymously written during the First Crusade, following the 4856/1096 Rhineland massacres (שמד תתנ”ו) that destroyed the Ashkenazi communities of Vermaiza (Worms). A mixture of tender recollection of the martyred victims and bitter denunciations of those who perpetrated the massacres, Av Harachamim memorializes those who have died al kiddush Hashem.

אָב הָרַחֲמִים שׁוֹכֵן מְרוֹמִים בְּרַחֲמָיו הָעֲצוּמִים הוּא יִפְקוֹד בְּרַחֲמִים הַחֲסִידִים וְהַיְשָׁרִים
קְהִלּוֹת הַקֹּדֶשׁ שֶׁמָּסְרוּ נַפְשָׁם עַל קְדֻשַּׁת הַשֵּׁם – יִזְכְּרֵם אֱלֹקֵינוּ לְטוֹבָה

Included below is the video production that was released in the aftermath of the atrocities carried out on October 7th.

In the face of unspeakable tragedy, we remember. Lives cut short, worlds forever broken, solely because of their unwavering Jewish faith. Their loss is an ache that knows no measure. We may never truly grasp the why, but we pray, with tears in our eyes and pain in our hearts, for a world where such sorrow is extinguished, and these holy souls are reunited with us.

Please support ZAKA and donate generously:
https://www.charidy.com/shulem4zaka

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🎵 Shomer – Composed by Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz, Sung by Uzia Tzadok (Shir Volume 1, 2014) 🎵

This next song was composed before the last Gaza war, after the terrible news of the abduction and killing of Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaer, and Naftali Frenkel Hashem Yikom Damam, became known. Uzia Tzadok was in Los Angeles when the news broke and went to meet with Mr. Rechnitz that Motzei Shabbos. The mood was murky and depressing, but what came forth was a powerful plea in the form of an impassioned song. (Words from Tachanun)

שׁוֹמֵר יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁמֹר שְׁאֵרִית יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאַל יֹאבַד יִשְׂרָאֵל, הָאוֹמְרִים: שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל

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🎵 Yisrael B’tach Bashem – Composed and sung by R’ Shlomo Carlebach (Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach Live in Concert – Yisrael B’tach Bashem, 1974) 🎵

יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּטַח בַּהַ’ עֶזְרָם וּמָגִנָּם הוּא. (תהלים פרק קטו פסוק ט)

The title track of a record which R’ Shlomo forever dedicated to the one nation that relies on the One G-d in Heaven.

Just some quick context: In 1973, Israeli forces crossed to the western side of the Suez Canal in a decisive battle of the Yom Kippur War. A division led by Ariel Sharon had attacked a weak point in the Egyptian “seam line” between the Egyptian Second Army in the north and the Egyptian Third Army in the south. In some of the most brutal fighting of the war, the Israelis opened a hole in the Egyptian line and reached the Suez Canal. A small force crossed the canal and created a bridgehead on the other side. A few days later, Israeli troops trapped the Egyptian Third Army, leaving it without any means of resupply, thus effectively ending the Yom Kippur War. But….

You know friends, to tell you the truth, to tell you the truth, for me and for you, it’s still Yom Kippur, it’s still Yom Kippur…. Till there’ll be peace in the world, till there’ll be peace in the world, peace in Yerushalayim, it’s still Yom Kippur….

‘יִשְׂרָאֵל, בְּטַח בַּהַ
‘יִשְׂרָאֵל, בְּטַח בַּהַ

You know friends, sometimes it makes me sad, but sometimes it makes me happy, Israel has no friends in the world. The Holy Land, the Holy People of Israel are all alone – הֵן עָם לְבָדָד יִשְׁכֹּן….
But you know what we have?!

…’יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּטַח בַּהַ

We have One Friend in Heaven….

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🎵 Al Kol Eileh – Composed by Naomi Shemer, Sung by Avshalom Katz (K’shoshana, 1985) 🎵

It would be hard to overstate the impact that Naomi Shemer (1930-2004) had on Israeli music. One of Israel’s first-generation songwriters and performers, her songs have been part of Israel’s soundtrack since the 1950s. Her compositions poetically document the atmosphere of their time, as well as accurately express the collective pains and triumphs of their audience.

Mainstays such as “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav,” the ethereal anthem of the Six Day War in 1967, and “Lu Yehi,” famously first sung by Chava Alberstein, resounded deeply during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. When her sister Ruthie was widowed in 1979, Naomi wrote “Al Hadvash Ve’al Ha’oketz” for her as a song of comfort. The song’s bittersweet lyrics encourage resilience, to find strength in the face of difficulties and to appreciate the sweetness with which we’ve been blessed.

After Yossi Banai sang it on a televised program and included it in his one-man show, the private prayer Shemer had written for her sister soon became the prayer of many. Al Kol Eileh has since gone on to become one of the most popular songs of contemporary Israel and beyond, being recorded by Shemer herself in 1981, as well as a plethora of others across the wide spectrum of Jewish music.

{Shelly Lang, The Messengers (1982); Meir Sherman (1983); Martin Davidson, Yoel Sharabi, Sherwood Goffin (1984); Sandy Shmuely (1985); Dudu Fisher (2005); Benny Friedman (2011); Simcha Leiner (2018) – just to name a few. Notably, Safam paired it with “Yamit” and made it the fitting finale for their 1983 album called Bittersweet. (Evacuees from Yamit, the settlement bulldozed in 1982 when Israel returned the Sinai to Egypt, adopted Al Kol Eileh as their anthem because of the line “אַל נָא תַּעֲקֹֹר נָטוּעַ” – “Do not uproot what has been planted.”)}

For today’s post, Avshalom Katz delivers an emotionally rich rendition of Shemer’s classic, only now, after all that’s been said and done, we might be able to appreciate it just a little bit more.

על הדבש ועל העוקץ
על המר והמתוק
על בתנו התינוקת
שמור קלי הטוב

על האש המבוערת
על המים הזכים
על האיש השב הביתה
מן המרחקים

עַל כָּל אֵלֶּה, עַל כָּל אֵלֶּה
שׁמֹר נָא לִי קֵלִי הַטּוֹב
עַל הַדְּבַשׁ וְעַל הָעֹקֶץ
עַל הַמַּר וְהַמָּתוֹק

אַל נָא תַּעֲקֹֹר נָטוּעַ
אַל תִּשְׁכַּח אֶת הַתִּקְוָה
הֲשִׁיבֵנִי וְאָשׁוּבָה
אֶל הָאָרֶץ הַטּוֹבָה

שמור קלי על זה הבית
על הגן, על החומה
מיגון, מפחד פתע
וממלחמה

שמור על המעט שיש לי
על האור ועל הטף
על הפרי שלא הבשיל עוד
ושנאסף

…על כל אלה

מרשרש אילן ברוח
מרחוק נושר כוכב
משאלות ליבי בחושך
נרשמות עכשיו

אנא, שמור לי על כל אלה
ועל אהובי נפשי
על השקט, על הבכי
ועל זה השיר

…על כל אלה