600 Holocaust Survivors and their descendants sing "Chai" (Life) by Ofra Haza.
Hope is not yet lost.
I live. I live. I live.
I cried my eyes out watching this. The Jewish people not only survived the Holocaust as most of the world sat by and watched the genocide of six million men, women, and children with a soulless indifference, but G-d has kept his promise and restored the Jewish people and returned them to the Holy Land and made it flourish again! (Thank you to my sister, Roz, for sharing this with me)
Shlomo Carlebach was a master of Jewish Nigunim (melodies). With his music he could literally move one's soul to reach for G-d Almighty in the Heavens and on Earth. Thank you Eitan Katz for bringing this alive again. I hope you can feel it as I do. Hashem lives!
Great song: David and Shaul from Ehud Banay's third album, ”The Third/Hashlishi” The song is about the "bipolar" feelings of King Saul toward David (then the next king of Israel). Here are the lyrics:
כולם מזמן הלכו לישון רק שאול ער, קודר מרים לדוד טלפון
A late-night hour
Everyone is long gone to sleep
Only Shaul is awake, cheerless
He calls David up over the phone
אולי תקפוץ אלי, יא דוד נפשי אגם שחור תביא איתך את הגיטרה כי באצבעותיך אור
Maybe you should stop by, Ya David
My soul is a black lake
Bring the guitar with you
For you have light in your fingers
דוד בא מיד רגוע, מתיישב ומכוון את המלאכה היטב יודע עוצם עיניים, מנגן
David comes right away and he is calm
Sit down and tunes (the guitar)
The job he well knows
Closes his eyes, he plays
עשר אצבעות לדוד קצה כל אצבע - קרן אור כשהוא פורט על המיתר הזמן זורם לו לאחור
Ten fingers David has
The tip of each one - a ray of light
When he port on the string
The time is flowing backwards
שאול מבפנים קרוע קרבות בתוך בטנו אוהב-שונא, ומקנא מכור לחברו
Shaul is torn inside
Battles in his stomach he has
Love-hate, and jealous he is
Addicted to his friend
דבר מה אפל נופל השד חוזר להשתולל סכין נזרקת באוויר פתאום יש בין השנים קיר
Something dark falls
The demon is back to a rage
A knife is thrown in the air
Suddenly there is a wall between the two
דוד מתחמק משאול
אבל שאול לא מוותר דוד שוכח וסולח כששאול מתקשר
David is avoiding Shaul
But Shaul is not giving up
David forget and forgives
When Shaul call up
בוא שוב לנגן לי דוד קח אותי לכוכבים בוא שוב לנגן הלילה שיר געגועים
Come again to play to me David
Take me to the stars
Come again to play tonight
A song of longing
בוא שוב לנגן הלילה...
Come again and play tonight..
בוא שוב לנגן הלילה שיר געגועים...
Come again and play tonight..
A song of longing..
(Kudos to my Ulpan teacher, Rivka D. for sending me the video and to Izchak, my wonderful son-in-law, for providing the Hebrew/English lyrics)
This place was really cool in Washington, D.C. Artechouse = Art + Tech + House. Great immersive technology, art, music, dance, and light show. Highly recommend it! This exhibit "Lucid Motion" was by Japanese artist Daito Manabe X Rhizomatiks Research. They also had a nice augmented reality display. Had fun with the clan. Hope you enjoy! (Credit Video: Andy Blumenthal)
Saw an incredible segment on 60 Minutes on Sunday about this amazing girl named Alma. Alma Deutscher is a British-born (of Israeli-descent) musical whiz kid who was playing piano and violin at age 3. And she composed a whole opera by the time she was 10. They call her the Second Mozart, although she prefers to just be the First Alma! She literally hears music playing in her head all the time, and she says that there are different expert musical composers in her head that she calls on to solve whatever musical challenge she is facing or sound out the emotion she is trying to get to. In her interview, she did not seem like a 12-year old, but rather an old soul who has come back perhaps many, many times. Listening and watching Alma is sort of like watching a walking miracle--as there is no way she learned these skills at such a young age and has "comprehensive mastery" over all the music and instruments. If there was ever a question about where knowledge, skills, and abilities come from, with a child prodigy like Alma, there should be no lingering doubts about G-d's complete role in everything. With Alma, G-d graciously let's us in to the mysteries of creation by showing us the source of all is Him. (Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
And Even In Hiding By Yaakov Shwekey & Kobi Peretz
Even though I am walking through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil Because you are with me Even behind the difficult things you are going through I stand...I stand...I stand Even in the place which is hidden, within that which is hidden Surely, the blessed Hashem is found there too
My heart and soul are uplifted by this beautiful song. ;-)
I took this photo a while back on the Metro to/from Washington, D.C. It combines the seemingly normal person on the way to/from work listening to music and reading the newspaper with wearing a pretty scare face mask. It reminds me of the horror movie, "The Purge," where people are permitted one night a year to commit crimes and murder others "legally" as a venting mechanism for social unrest and to help eliminate crime and criminals. Sitting across from this guy, you're not really sure if he's gonna finish reading the paper and walk off the train all nice or get up and start wiping people out left and right. Big cities in the U.S. can be scary places, and the mass transportation systems are one of those places where you don't always feel safe. Maybe a mask is just a mask until G-d forbid, one day, it isn't. (Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
I learnt last night that Mimouna comes from the word "Emunah" which means faith. The Mimouna is the celebration at the end of Passover. It is a custom from the Jews who lived in Morocco who celebrated hand-in-hand with their Arab neighbors in peace and harmony This celebration of faith, friendship, and peace has now become standard in Jewish communities far and wide. In the light of the anti-Semitic instances yesterday with the vilr caricature in the garbage New York Times and the Shooting at the Chabad synagogue in San Diego (exactly 6 months after the shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue), I say:
Let us have faith in the one true G-d that he will redeem his loving people of all religions and utterly punish the haters and anti-Semites for the evil they are.
Being a heart alone in this world is very lonely, indeed. Chasing another heart, so that we can pair together makes two less lonely hearts. Two hearts that beat as one making beautiful music together. When the hearts are in harmony, we sway and are uplifted flying away into the heavens. And when the music is discordant, we are forced to retune and to grow wings that we never even knew we had. Hearts that complement each other, help us face the questions we often fear to ask ourselves. When these hearts meet, they touch so gently, and like silk they dance a perfect dance. What is meaningless alone is all of a sudden meaningful with another. What is too painful to bear by oneself is manageable when shared between two. And what is joyful is magnified in sweetness when there is someone else to enjoy it with. One heart chases another until they embrace that long blissful embrace. ;-) (Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So nice to see neighbors from the surrounding communities just getting together to play music and sing along. It's amazing to me the good that people can accomplish when they come together like this. This is hopeful and happy. (Source Video: Andy Blumenthal)
Andy Blumenthal is Deputy Program Director at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Blumenthal is a dynamic, award-winning leader with over 35 years of experience delivering results across the public and private sectors. All opinions are his own.
