The Spirituality of Song

Moderator, Sivan Rahav Meir: Shalom, shalom. Welcome, everyone. I'm Sivan Rahav Meir from Israel.

Very excited to host, to speak to, I think, one of the greatest singers in Israel and one of the most influential rabbis in the world. Welcome! Sivan Rahav Meir from Israel, from isolation in Israel. It's a pleasure to host the singer and one of the most successful, if not the most successful, in Israel, Ishay Ribo. He lives in Jerusalem. Shalom, Ishay.

Ishay Ribo: Shalom, welcome. Chag Sameach to everyone. It's a pleasure to be with you.

Sivan: And we are delighted to have Rabbi and Professor, Lord, Jonathan Sacks, joining us from London. Shalom, shalom. 

Rabbi Sacks: Shalom, shalom.

Moadim LeSimcha to you all. If it's possible to speak in just a few words in Hebrew, to wish all those are joining us a very happy holiday, may all the sick receive complete healing, to all doctors and medical professionals, we thank you from the bottom of their hearts, and to all of us, may God allow us to remain healthy, safe, and strong. I would like to thank you, Sivan, for facilitating this bilingual conversation.

And above all, I would like to thank and bless Ishay Ribo for his beautiful music, and for the very moving song he wrote and recorded during this pandemic. The great power of art, especially music, is to take pain and transform it into beauty. And this is what he did in his song, Keter Melucha.

I’m a Rabbi and he is a musician. I try at times like this to find words that bring people comfort and hope. But words alone are not enough, because the mind speaks, but the soul sings.

And that is why when you listen to Ishay Ribo, you hear the soul sing. 

Sivan: Wow, beautiful words in Hebrew and in English. Thank you very much.

And I think no introductions now are needed. Ishay Ribo, your new song, Keter Melucha - maybe later we'll hear you in English, Ishay, after Rabbi Sacks spoke so beautifully in Hebrew.  

Between his Shakespearean English and your wonderful, beautiful Hebrew, I'll just mediate and try not to interrupt. Keter Melucha, the wonderful song you wrote during the pandemic, performed from the home studio, please. 

Ishay: Chag Sameach to everyone. It's a great honour to be part of this broadcast. As the Rabbi said, may there be healing for all the sick, and that we will go through this with a lot of understanding and we will listen to life, we will understand, and we won’t take things for granted. We will appreciate every moment we have, because we have a lot.

[sings Keter Melucha] 

Sivan: Wow, we're clapping. I'm sure many people, when they hear you right now, are joining us. Beautiful. I want to ask you Rabbi Sacks, Ishay just sang, “What do you want to understand? What is the divine message in that huge mess, in that chaos?” What does God want?

How is the sound in London, okay? 

Rabbi Sacks: Fine. So listen, Sivan, I think first of all this is the power of music. You see, Ishay can ask that question. If I asked that question, nobody would listen to me. What do you expect us to learn from this? Let's just get cured from it and get back to normal.

And they would thereby have established, confirmed Hegel's remark that the one thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history. So, you know, people don't learn from history. So when Ishay sings those words, he's asking a very fundamental question.

If we were to read the signal beneath the noise, what would it be saying? I think it would be saying three things. Number one, realise how vulnerable you are. You have thought yourself so great. Unbelievable technology, unbelievable wealth. You are immune to anything. And I've shown you, you are immune, you are vulnerable to one tiny little microscopic virus, which has brought all humanity to its knees. 

Learn a little bit of anivut, of shiflut, of something or other, of humility, which we've been sadly lacking. 

Number two, understand that if a virus can travel from China all the way to the United States, then it's not just kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh, kol bnei adam areivim zeh bazeh [all Jews are responsible for one another, but all human beings are responsible for one another]. If we can all make each other fall ill, we should all be responsible for making one another well.

We should learn from this, the interconnectedness, the Brit Bnei Noach, that kol bnei adam areivim zeh bazeh. 

And finally, thirdly, you will see that the good thing that came out of this is that suddenly everyone wants to help everyone else. All of a sudden, what happened, Sivan, did they go out on the mirpeset [balcony] at 8.30 at night? Yes? 

Sivan: Of course. Why is this night different? Of course. 

Rabbi Sacks: All of a sudden, all of a sudden, halayla hazeh, hashana hazot, [this night, this year] all Yerushalayim is like one family, and we are there to help one another so that nobody should feel alone.

In this, you know, what did Ishay sing? Eich lehitached bepirud hazeh? [how can we unite in this division?]. And Yerushalayim showed eich lehitached bepirud hazeh [how to unite in this division]. So reach out and help one another.

I think those are the three things. 

Sivan: I'll summarise in Hebrew. 

Second song, Ishay. On Shabbat we read, I mean, no one was at shul, to read Shir HaShirim [Song of Songs], but Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach, spring. Megillat Shir HaShirim, Kol Dodi, I think is apt to be the second song.

Ishay: I must mention… 

Sivan: Yes, please. 

That this song was written on Shabbat - I mean, I didn't have the ability, of course, to write and record, but it's a story that happened to me when I was still in yeshiva, around the age of 19. The tune came to me on Shabbat Eve, and with the words from Shir HaShirim, and somehow, in total contrast to the rest of the songs I’ve written to date, this song mostly came to me on that Shabbat. And all that Shabbat, I hummed it to myself, so as not to forget, and on Motzei Shabbat, I went to David, who is currently playing with us in the recordings, and we brought it down to the ground, so to speak, so that's a story that has a very strong connection to Shabbat.

Sivan: You know, we had a problem choosing. All your songs are an anthem for this specific period, everything fits, so we'll try to listen to them.

Ishay: I don't know if that’s a compliment or it’s the default. 

Sivan: No, no, no, everything touches our feelings, everything fits to express the heart, all of this is a request. 

Ishay: Before we sing, I’ll just drink and let's all say Amen. [makes the blessing over water].

[Ishay sings Kol Dodi] Thank you!

Sivan: Beautiful! Thank you very much. Rabbi Sacks, Ishay describes basically the Final Redemption, the Messiah -  Kol Dodi. How do you stay optimistic in these really frustrating times? When you look, you know, everything you see basically now is quite depressive and negative around us.

Rabbi Sacks: You know, I call Judaism “The voice of hope in the conversation of humankind.” We read that extraordinary haftarah, the vision of Yechezkel HaNavi [Ezekiel the Prophet], a vision from 26 centuries ago. But which in all of Tanach is the most precise literature of the Shoah. He sees the whole people as a valley of dry bones and God says to the Navi, they say avda tikvateinu [our hope is lost], but I will bring them out of their graves and I will bring them back to the Land of Israel. 

And that 37th chapter of Yechezkel is to me the story of Jewish hope. Now in 1877, two years before the word “antisemitism” was coined, Naftali Hertz Imber wrote a poem in which he referred to that prophecy and he said, od lo avda tikvateinu [our hope is not yet lost], and somehow, between Ezekiel and Naftali Hertz Imber, there's this huge arc of hope. And this quite secular man, Imber, says the Jewish people never lost hope.

So it doesn't matter how dark the clouds, we never lose hope. And the truth is, the whole of humanity turned to us for hope. Right now they turned to Israel for hope. Why? Because I think Israel is managing this coronavirus better than virtually any other country in the world. If you look at the figures - I know it's terrible and there are just over 100 people who have died - but look at any other country, I mean it's horrific. Israel took clear measures, very firm from day one and it has shown the world what it is to care for life and put that care above everything else.

Israel is going to be 72 years old and as somebody who has just become 72 years old, I know that's not young anymore, but it stays young and it shows that in a part of the world that never had democracy and human rights and an independent press, you can have all of those things and still be the most creative - technologically, artistically and spiritually.

When you have somebody like Ishay Ribo singing faith and having millions of people sing along with him. They never had faith, many of them never had faith until Ishayi Ribo put it into music and into words for them. So Israel is the symbol of hope for the world. 

No Jew ever gives up hope. The Jewish people kept hope alive and hope kept the Jewish people alive.

Sivan:  Great. First of all, mazal tov on reaching 72! If only Israel can be as vital, active and creative, so mazal tov!

[She then summarises in Hebrew what Rabbi Sacks just said.]

So if we overcame Pharaoh, we’ll overcome this Corona, and certainly with such a wonderful soundtrack like Ishay Ribo’s.

We’re rushing on to the next song, the third song, “Tocho ratsuf Ahava.” Did you want to say something about it before you sing?

Ishay:  Yes, I wanted to say something. This song relates to - there’s a sentence there -  one of the 10 miracles that occurred in the Temple when people made the pilgrimage there on the Foot Festivals. They were standing there crowded, yet when they prostrated themselves, there was enough space between them.

Sivan: And not a distance of 10m or 2m, but really close together, and they still felt separated.

Ishay: Right, which was a huge miracle. Just one moment. Something I felt on the chag itself. According to the Torah readings we read, and the haftarah too.

First, it’s interesting to note that if the first day of Pesach falls on Shabbat we call seven people up to the Torah. It wasn’t Shabbat this year so we called up five. And when we call up five, we go straight into the reading of the last plague, the Killing of the Firstborn. As it’s written [references the verse talking about the plague and the blood on the doorposts], which is really connected to what we’re experiencing right now, and another interesting thing, in the haftarah, in Joshua, which talks about what they were commanded to do before they were about to conquer Jericho. They had to circumcise all the children of the generation of the wilderness. After they had done that, it’s written that God removed “the disgrace of Egypt,” that they’d borne for 40 years with all the mixed multitude, and the haftarah ends like this: “Jericho was completely sealed before the Children of Israel. No one left and no one entered.”

I really had goosebumps. How this haftarah and the parasha are so relevant to what we’re experiencing in the entire world.

And then, the comfort I received from this whole story. Because again, I saw the relevance but not the salvation. And then we segued into Mussaf, where we started to say “Morid HaTal” [the prayer for dew]. And the Hebrew letters of Tal, (Tet and Lamed), stand for Morid Tov LeOlam or Tov Le Am Yisrael [bring down good for the world or good to the Jewish people]. So may God, in the merit of the chag, the festival of redemption, only salvation and good news! Amen veAmen!

Rabbi Sacks and Sivan: Amen!

Sivan: If you give us such wonderful divrei Torah, in the next part we’ll ask Rabbi Sacks to sing!

[Ishay sings “Tocho ratzuf Ahava”]

Sivan: TochoRratzuf Ahava [it’s insides are full of love]. Beautiful. I was thinking while Ishay was singing, Rabbi Sacks, he sings about the Temple. I was thinking about our “little Temples,” our shuls. I think it's been a month since we last visited our shuls. No minyanim, no Kaddish, no kedusha. What will happen to the halachic world and the religious, spiritual world afterwards? How do you see those days? These days, in terms of halacha, are very strange. For the first time, the yeshivot are closed. The synagogues are closed. What will happen to us? 

Rabbi Sacks: The irony is that never have we been more separated. And never have we been more connected. HaKadosh Baruch Hu hikdim refua lemaka [God provided the cure to the blow beforehand]. He saw that we would be separated, so He created all these social media just in time. We never had them. If this thing, if this pandemic had happened 10 years ago even, certainly 20 years ago, we would be completely isolated. We would be completely isolated. But as it is, electronically we're connected. So Hashem has given us this sense of connection.

At the same time, He is giving us an extended lesson in what is missing when we connect only electronically. The touch of personal presence. You can't touch somebody through a screen.

So I think we're going to come through this with a new sense of how important it is to be together. Don't forget, in many religions you can pray all the most serious prayers on your own. But with us, the holiest prayers - davar shebi’kedusha - our most holy prayers, are together.

We find the Shechina beineinu [the Divine Presence amongst us] not bi [in me] but beineinu [amongst us]. So, I think in one sense Hashem has mitigated, has allowed us to stay connected electronically. But number two, he is giving us a lesson in how important it is to be panim el panim [face-to-face].

You know the keruvim [cherubs] in the Mishkan were panim el chavero [facing each other], because they loved one another. And when we love one another, we are face-to-face. And this is what we're missing right now.

So we're beginning a lesson in hitkashrut [connection], how important it is. So I think we'll learn from this. So I think you will suddenly see shuls becoming very popular as soon as they reopen.

Sivan: Ishay, I want to ask you, like us all - we’re really in isolation - we’ve just come back from New York. You, like us all, are under lockdown, without shul, without minyan, without Kaddish, kedusha, tefilla, kehilla. You call the place you’re broadcasting from “The Ribo Bunker”! But you’re not in the bunker all day?

Ishay: I'm at home and come down here as needed. I’m trying to get used to the new Zoom shows. Israelis and Jews adapt to change quickly. 

Sivan: Where are the kids? I have the kids around here, but where are yours? 

Ishay: Up here, at home.

The thing is, at first it was a bit of a shock, but I felt it somehow. I knew it was going to happen. We had a big show, which was a celebration of my birthday. That's why I put it in the title. It was a big show with Nathan Goshen, which was supposed to be at Heichal Menorah. 

We all realised something was going on. So when they cancelled the show because there were more than 5,000 people there, I realised something was going on here different than we were used to. And we're probably going to have a lockdown sometime soon.

So I prepared myself. That's why I felt like I took it ok. Because I felt like the whole world was in this situation. There’s something here much bigger here than my personal career, or the things we're going through. The real problem is the people who lost their livelihood, people who are really sick with this disease, with this virus, which is really a type of harsh decree. But beyond that, I see a lot of compassion involved in this judgement.

It’s an opportunity to stop this cycle that we're living in. I'm talking about myself, but I also see around me that we're always unsatisfied with what we have, and we want to conquer more peaks and get to more places. And if it’s in our industry, then more shows in Israel and the world. We were supposed to get to Chicago, and the end of Pesach trip to Mexico, and then to New York, and then to London.

So I felt that on the one hand, maybe it's a shame and it hurts, but on the other hand, maybe I should stop, and say thank you for what I have. And here's the opportunity to bring songs out into the world, to do this conversation. People still connect through music, and it helps them get through this crisis in a different way, and with a lot more hope.

So that's why I felt the need to record a new song on the spot. But beyond that, I think there's something here that needs to be contemplated. I also thought about Pesach.

All of this came a moment before Seder Night. And many of us, in recent years, have found ourselves - part as work, part as holiday, one way or another. We find ourselves on Pesach in all kinds of islands, or in all kinds of countries in Europe.

And I think it's okay to do it in a balanced way, but beyond that, there's something here that God wanted us to burn the chametz from home, from where we are. Not that we leave Egypt by selling chametz to a non-Jew, and we're not even going to clean Pesach, because we’re going to this or that destination. So there's something here that we need to learn from.

And I think that what happened, happened irrespective of us, and many people will have many good insights, I believe. We had an amazing Seder. Up to three in the morning with my family, even though I didn't get to be with my parents, or with my in-laws, like every year.

But we still did a Seder until three o’clock, which is something that without the coronavirus, or this crazy lockdown, I probably wouldn't have been able to do at this time. 

Sivan: Absolutely, absolutely. We did a family Seder for the first time, who would have believed that we could? 

That leads us to the next song, “Lashuv HaBayita,” [to return home] and I want to thank you for that in particular.

We left New York after eight months of shlichut. We left New York, we came to Israel, 10 days to go. We decided it’s better to be here for a while, at least, at home. And your song, “It’s high time to wake up, to come home,” was part of the soundtrack accompanying our decision.

So we’re all in our homes now, and they’re the next sounds we’re going to hear.  

[Ishay sings “Lashuv HaBayita”] 

Ishay: We’ll play one more song, with your permission. Very connected to the seventh day of Pesach, connected to the Jewish people’s voyage, finally leaving Egypt and getting to the Red Sea. On the one side, sea, behind them the Egyptians, and desert all around. And then he turns to God, exhausted…

[Ishay sings “HaLev Sheli”(My Heart)]

Thank you, have a Chag Sameach! 

Sivan: Ishay Ribo, thank you very much!

[Ishay thanks his musicians and expresses the wish that they can meet in person soon.] 

Sivan: We want to see you in person. Those are songs worthy of being sung in Jerusalem, the soundtrack of the Redemption. And now we’ll move to London.

Thank you Rabbi Sacks. And I want to thank the great team, Dan Sacker and Joanna Benarroch - I asked you how to define them, you said the best team in the world, these are the people you work with, thank you very much, and if you want to add just last words of inspiration, a few sentences for us, food for thought, we'd love to hear. 

Rabbi Sacks: We can't stand together, we can't sit together, but we can still sing together, and that will carry us through.

Sivan: Godwilling, thank you very much, and I want to thank the World Mizrachi Movement, Rabbi Doron Peretz and Rabbi Reuven Taragin, and thank you for watching, for listening, hope to see you all soon. In good health and may all the sick get well soon. Moadim LeSimcha!

Shalom, shalom, lehitraot.  

A Royal Crown

בֵּין תְּרוּמָה לְתְּצַוֶּה	Between Terumah and Tetzaveh
יוֹם הֻלֶּדֶת קְצָת מְשֻׁנֶּה	A somewhat strange birthday
הַכֹּל רָגִיל כָּאן לִכְאוֹרָה	Everything seems normal here
בָּמָה קָהָל וְאַהֲבָה	Stage, crowd, and love
בֵּין תְּצַוֶּה לְכִּי תִשָּׂא	Between Tetzaveh and Ki Tissa
אֶסְתֵּר פּוּרִים מִשְׁתֶּה שִׂמְחָה	Esther, Purim, feasting, joy
מִי יַחֲנֶה וּמִי יִסַּע	Who shall stay home, and who shall travel
וּמִי יִשָּׂא בַּתּוֹצָאָה	And who will bear the consequence
בֵּין כִּי תִשָּׂא לְוַיַּקְהֵל	Between Ki Tissa and Vayakhel
עוֹלָם מַפְסִיק לְהִתְקַהֵל	The world stops congregating
לְהִשְׁתַּתֵּק לְהִסְתַּגֵּר	Goes quiet, locks itself in
יִשְׁמָעֵאל אֱדוֹם וְיִשְׂרָאֵל	Ishmael, Edom and Israel
בֵּין וַיַּקְהֵל לִפְּקוּדֵי	Between Vayakhel and Pekudei
אֵין אִישׁ בָּעִיר וּבַשָּׂדֶה	Not a person in the city or the country
כְּבָר אֵין מוּל מִי לְהִתְנַהֵל	Not a soul left to talk to
מִגְדַּל בָּבֶל שׁוּב מִתְבַּלְבֵּל	The Tower of Babel is confused again
וּמָה אַתָּה רוֹצֶה שֶׁנָּבִין מִזֶּה	And what do You want us to understand from this?
אֵיךְ מִתְרַחֲקִים וּמִתְקָרְבִים בִּכְאֵב הַזֶּה	How do we distance and yet come close during this pain?
רוֹצֶה לִחְיוֹת אוֹתְךָ וְלֹא לִהְיוֹת לְבַד	I want to live with You, and not be alone
וּמָה אַתָּה רוֹצֶה שֶׁנִּלְמַד מִזֶּה	And what do You want us to learn from this?
וְאֵיךְ נֵדַע לְהִתְאַחֵד בַּפֵּרוּד הַזֶּה	And can we unite from this separation?
עַד שֶׁנִּתֵּן לְךָ כֶּתֶר מְלוּכָה	Until we give You a crown of sovereignty
בֵּין פְּקוּדֵי לְוַיִּקְרָא	Between Pekudei and Vayikra
כֻּלָּנוּ בְּאוֹתָהּ סִירָה	We all are in the same boat
אָבִיב הִגִּיעַ פֶּסַח בָּא	“Spring has arrived, Pesach is coming,”
וְאִתּוֹ תִּקְוָה רַבָּה	And with it, much hope
שֶׁתִּקְרַע אֶת רֹעַ הַגְּזֵרָה	That You will tear up the evil decree
לְכָה דּוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה	Come, my beloved, to greet the bride
כְּבָר אֵין לָנוּ כּוֹחוֹת יוֹתֵר לְהִתְמוֹדֵד לְהִלָּחֵם	We have no more strength to cope, to fight
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה' אֶחָד וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד	Listen Israel, God is One and God’s name is One

Rabbi Sacks’ Commentary

This beautiful, powerful song, written and released at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, is framed by two questions of faith: “Umah Ata rotzeh shenavin mizeh?”, What do You want us to understand from this? And “Umah Ata rotzeh shenilmad mizeh?” What do You want us to learn from what is happening to humanity?

Early on, an answer came from Pesach and the story of the Exodus. What begins in suffering can end in liberation and joy. That is how Judaism tells the human story. Out of the bad, comes good. Out of the curse comes blessing. Out of the coronavirus pandemic can come a new sense of collective responsibility, and we will all eventually feel renewed.

The Voice of My Beloved

קוֹל דּוֹדִי הִנֵּה זֶה בָּא כָּכָה מְסַפְּרִים	The voice of my beloved, behold it is coming, that's what they say
לְהָסִיר אֶת כָּל הָרַע וְאֶת קַרְנֵנוּ לְהָרִים	To remove all evil, and to lift up our horn,
מִתּוֹךְ תְּהוֹמוֹת עָפָר	From the depths of the dust.
וּלְהָקִיץ נִרְדָּמִים עִם תְּרוּעַת שׁוֹפָר	And to awaken those who sleep, at the sound of the shofar.
קוֹל דּוֹדִי הִנֵּה זֶה בָּא	The voice of my beloved, behold it is coming
כָּךְ פָּשְׁטָה לָהּ הַשְּׁמוּעָה	That's the rumour that is spreading
וְכָל תִּינוֹק שֶׁנִּשְׁבָּה קִבֵּל אֶת הַנְּבוּאָה	And every captive baby received the prophecy
אָז בּוֹא נֵצֵא לִקְרָאתוֹ בְּתֻפִּים וְעוּגָב	So come and let's go out to meet Him, with drums and flute
שִׁירוּ לוֹ זַמְּרוּ לוֹ	Sing to Him, Sing praises.
אַשְׁרֵי הָעָם שֶׁה' אֱלֹקָיו	How blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.
וְאָז יָפוּחַ הַיּוֹם וְהַשֶּׁקֶר יִתְאַדֶּה	And then the day will break and the lie will evaporate
אָז יָצְאוּ בְּמָחוֹל כָּל אַיָּלוֹת הַשָּׂדֶה	Then all the does of the field will go forth in dance
וִידַלְּגוּ עַל הֶהָרִים וְלֹא מֵחֲמַת אֵימַת הַשּׁוּעָלִים	And skip upon the mountains and not from the fear of foxes
וּמֵחַגְוֵי הַסֶּלַע יִזְרְמוּ מַיִם חַיִּים	And out of the clefts of the rock, fresh water shall flow forth
בֵּין סִתְרֵי הַמַּדְרֵגָה לְהַשְׁקוֹת שׁוֹשַׁנַּת הָעֲמָקִים	From the hidden places of the terrace, to irrigate the lily of the valley
וּלְהָקִים מִשְׁכָּן שֶׁיָּסִיר אֶת סִבְלוּתֵנוּ מִכָּאן	And to establish the tabernacle, that will remove our suffering here
קוֹל דּוֹדִי דּוֹפֵק פִּתְחוּ לִי בָּנַי	The voice of my beloved is knocking, open to me my son
הִגִּיעַ זְמַן גְּאֻלַּתְכֶם	The time of your redemption has arrived
וּלְצָרוּתְכֶם אָמַרְתִּי דַּי	And I have said ‘enough’ to your troubles
וּבָאתִי לְבַשֵּׂר	And I have come to bring good tidings
שֶׁלֹּא תִּבְכִּי יוֹתֵר רָחֵל	That you will no longer weep Rachel
מְרִיחִים אֶת הַמָּשִׁיחַ יוֹתֵר מִכָּל אַבְקַת רוֹכֵל	We sense the Messiah more than fragrant powder
שָׁלוֹם לְךָ דּוֹדִי הַצַּח וְהָאַדְמוֹן	Shalom to you my beloved, pure and ruddy
שְׁפֹךְ חֲמָתְךָ עַל אֲבָנִים וְהָשֵׁב לְבִצָּרוֹן	Pour out your wrath on rocks, and return to the fortress
בְּרַחֲמִים כִּי לְרַחֲמֶיךָ	In mercy, for in mercy
אֵין זִכָּרוֹן שֶׁיָּכִיל אֶת כָּל הַנְּתוּנִים	There is no memory that can contain all the data

Rabbi Sacks’ Commentary

Judaism is the only civilisation whose golden age is in the future. When Moses asked at the Burning Bush how to describe God, God replied: Ehyeh asher ehyeh (Ex. 3:14): “I will be what I will be”. God was saying: “You must trust Me. The destination to which I am calling you is just beyond the visible horizon.” So it was. So it is. We are the people who honour the past but keep walking to the future, to meet God who, we know, is coming to meet us. The Jewish vision of the future – of peace, love, respect for humanity and nature – has never been surpassed.

Judaism is a sacred journey to the future God asks us to build.

He is Filled with Love

חוֹשֵׂךְ שִׁבְטוֹ	He withholds His staff
מִבְּלִי לַחֲשֹׂךְ אֶת אַהֲבָתוֹ	Without withholding His love
מוֹשִׁיט אֶת שַׁרְבִיטוֹ	He holds out His sceptre
לְכָל הַפּוֹשֵׁט יָדוֹ	To whoever reaches out their hand
עַיִן לֹא מַעְלִים מֵעַל צֹאן מַרְעִיתוֹ	He never looks away from His flock
גַּם כְּשֶׁאָנוּ שִׁבְרֵי כֵלִים	Even when we’re a wreck
עוֹדֵנוּ כְּלִי חֶמְדָּתוֹ	We’re still His most precious commodity
תּוֹכוֹ רָצוּף אַהֲבָה רָצוּף אַהֲבָה	For He is filled with love, filled with love
בֵּיתוֹ צָפוּף לִרְוָחָה	His Home is spaciously crowded,
צָפוּף לִרְוָחָה	Spaciously crowded
מַמְצִיא לָנוּ מְחִילָה	Granting us pardon
לֹא רַק בִּשְׁעַת הַנְּעִילָה	Not just at Ne’ilah time
לְךָ דוּמִיָּה תְהִלָּה	Praise befits You
יָדָיו רָב לוֹ	His hands contain power
וְאֵין רֵאשִׁית לְרֵאשִׁיתוֹ	And there was no beginning to His beginning
גַּם הַשִּיׁרָה כְּחוֹל הַיָּם	Even a song as vast as the sand
הִיא רַק מִקְצָת שִׁבְחוֹ	Is only a fraction of His praise
לִפְנִים מִשּׁוּרַת הַדִּין	Beyond the letter of the law
מַנְהִיג אֶת עוֹלָמוֹ	He leads His world
וּמִלִּפְנֵי הַמַּלְאָכִים	And before the angels
דּוֹרֵשׁ בִּשְׁלוֹם עַמּוֹ	He provides for the safety of His people
עָתִיד הוּא לָתֵת פְּאֵר תַּחַת אֵפֶר	He shall “Give them glory instead of ashes
שֶׁמֶן שָׂשׂוֹן תַּחַת אֵבֶל	The festive ointment instead of mourning,
מַעֲטֵה תְהִלָּה תַּחַת רוּחַ כֵּהָה	A garment of splendour instead of a drooping spirit."

Rabbi Sacks’ Commentary

Judaism took love and made it the centre of the universe. Three loves. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5). “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). And “You shall love the stranger, for you were once strangers in a strange land” (Lev. 19:33–34). And these loves are a reflex of God’s love for us. We exist because God loves. And when we love, God’s light enters our soul. Loving others, we learn to love God and feel the fullness of His love for us. Opening ourselves to something other than ourselves, we become more than we currently are.

Come Home

הִגִּיעַ הַזְּמַן לְהִתְעוֹרֵר	The time has come to wake up
לַעֲזֹב הַכֹּל לְהִתְגַּבֵּר	To leave everything and to overcome
לָשׁוּב הַבַּיְתָה לֹא לְחַפֵּשׂ מָקוֹם אַחֵר	To come home, not to look for anywhere else
הִגִּיעַ הַזְּמַן לְהִשְׁתַּנּוֹת	The time has come to change
גַּם אִם פִסְפַסְנוּ תַּחֲנוֹת	Even if we missed a few stops
אֶפְשָׁר לָרֶדֶת יֵשׁ רַכֶּבֶת חֲזָרָה לַשְּׁכוּנוֹת	We can get off, there is a train back to the neighborhood
הַכֹּל אֶפְשָׁר רַק אִם נִרְצֶה	Everything is possible if we wish for it
הַמְּחַפֵּשׂ תָּמִיד מוֹצֵא	The seeker will always find
גַּם אִם הוּא נִמְצָא אֵי שָׁם הַרְחֵק בַּקָּצֶה	Even if he is somewhere out there on the edge
דַּלְתוֹת שָׁמַיִם לֹא נִנְעֲלוּ	The doors of heaven are never locked
כְּשֶׁהַבֵּן קוֹרֵא הַצִּילוּ	When the child cries for help
אַבָּא שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם מַגִּיעַ אֲפִלּוּ	Father in Heaven even comes
אֲפִלּוּ שֶׁעָשִׂינוּ מַשֶּׁהוּ רַע	Even when we’ve done something bad
הוּא מוֹחֵל וְסוֹלֵחַ מוֹחֵל וְסוֹלֵחַ	He pardons and forgives, pardons and forgives
מוֹשִׁיט יָדוֹ לְעֶזְרָה	Holds out his hand in help
וְנוֹתֵן בְּרַחֲמָיו אֶת הַכֹּחַ לְתַקֵּן	And in his compassion gives the strength to repair
וְלָשׁוּב אֵלָיו	And to return to him
הִגִּיעַ הַזְּמַן לְהִתְחָרֵט	The time has come to regret
אִם כְּבָר לִבְרֹחַ אָז מֵהַחֵטְא	If you’re fleeing, then from sin
אִם כְּבָר לָקַחַת אָז לָקַחַת בִּשְׁבִיל לָתֵת	If you’re taking, then take in order to give
זֶה הַזְּמַן לְהִתְקָרֵב	And this is the time to come closer
לֹא לְפַחֵד מֵהַכְּאֵב	Not to fear the pain
וְאִם לָתֵת אָז כְּבָר לָתֵת מִכָּל הַלֵּב	And if you’re giving, then with all your heart

Rabbi Sacks’ Commentary

Teshuvah, which has a physical and spiritual dimension, means “returning, coming home.” To come home we have to ask who we are and where we truly belong. There has been a physical homecoming to the land of Israel, but not yet a complete spiritual homecoming to the faith. That challenge rests with us, our contemporaries and our children. How it will happen, we do not know, but that it will happen, we do know, for we have God’s promise: that the faith of Israel will be reborn just as its land and state have been. May we live to see it, and work to be part of it.

My Heart

הַלֵּב שֶׁלִּי נִקְרַע לִשְׁנַיִם	My heart was torn into two
מָה שֶׁלֹּא רָאֲתָה שִׁפְחָה עַל הַמַּיִם	What the maid did not see on the sea
כְּמוֹ סוּפָה מִן הַיָּם הוֹלֵם	Like a pounding storm in the ocean
כְּמוֹ תֻּפָּהּ שֶׁל מִרְיָם פּוֹעֵם	Like the beating of Miriam’s drum
וְאֵין תְּרוּפָה בָּעוֹלָם	And there is no cure in the world
הַלֵּב שֶׁלִּי מֵרִים יָדַיִם	My heart raises its hands
כְּבָר מוֹעֵד לֹא עוֹמֵד עַל הָרַגְלַיִם	For some time it’s not standing on its feet
שֶׁבֶר כְּלִי שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ כְּבָר מָה	An empty broken vessel
וְהַשָּׁמַיִם הֵם לִי חוֹמָה	The Heavens are a barrier for me
אֵיךְ אֶעֱבֹר בְּתוֹךְ הַיָּם בְּיַבָּשָׁה	How can I cross the sea on dry land?
וְרַק אַתָּה יָכוֹל	And only You
לַהֲפֹךְ מִסְפֶּדִי לְמָחוֹל	Could convert my mourning to dancing
לְזַכֵּךְ אֶת הַחוֹל	To purify the mundane
לְרַכֵּךְ בִּי הַכָּל	To soften everything in me
וְרַק אַתָּה מֵבִין אֵיךְ לָגֶשֶׁת לַלֵּב שֶׁלִּי	And only You understand how to approach my heart
מֵּשַׁכֵּךְ כָּל כְּאֵב שֶׁבִּי	Relieve all the pain in me
מְרַפֵּא אֶת הַלֵּב	Heal the heart
הַלֵּב שֶׁלִּי נִקְרַע לִשְׁנַיִם	My heart was torn into two
חֶצְיוֹ אָשֵׁם וְחֶצְיוֹ לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם	Half guilty, half for the sake of Heaven
כְּמוֹ סוּפָה מִן הַיָּם הוֹלֵם	Like a pounding storm in the ocean
כְּמוֹ תֻּפָּהּ שֶׁל מִרְיָם פּוֹעֵם	Like the beating of Miriam’s drums
וְאֵין תְּרוּפָה בָּעוֹלָם לַלֵּב	And there is no cure in the world for the heart
וְיֵשׁ עוֹד צַר שֶׁמֵּצִיק לְצֹאן	And there is another trouble that distresses the flock
וְאֵין צִיר שֶׁיִּצְעַק לְצוּר	And there is no envoy to call out to the Rock
רַק אֲנִי מוּל יָם שָׁלֵם וְלֵב שָׁבוּר	Only me in front of the entire ocean and a broken heart

Rabbi Sacks’ Commentary

One of the most important distinctions I have learned from Jewish history is the difference between optimism and hope. Optimism is the belief that things will get better. Hope is the belief that, together, we can make things better. Optimism is a passive virtue, hope an active one. It takes no courage to be an optimist, but a great deal to have hope. Knowing what we do of our past, no Jew can be an optimist. But Jews have never given up hope. God’s ultimate word – the Torah – is an extended message of hope in the future. Without this, Jews and Judaism would not have survived. Jews kept hope alive, and hope kept the Jewish people alive.

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