A year without words: A terrible year ends, a new year begins; so we wonder, as we do every year ...
The classic liturgy meets Leonard Cohen and then meets Israel's broken hearts
Until recently, we had all been asking “How will we celebrate on Simchat Torah?”
That’s still an impossible question, but now, there are so many others, too.
So two pieces from Israeli social media which afford a glimpse into the soul of this wounded but resolute nation, on the eve of a holiday season that once — in that world that no longer exists — would have been unimaginable.
A woman named Tovi Ben Herzl posted on her Facebook page the following words followed by the image:
איך... איך שום צרוף לא עובד טוב עם המילה שנה. אני מחפשת... שנה עברה? שנה חלפה? שנה טובה? שנת שלום? לא מוצאת... How? There's no combination of a word that works with "Year" So I'm searching ... A year has passed? A year gone by? A good year? A year of peace? Nothing works.
So she wrote out the word שנה, “year,” in the yellow ribbon which signifies the hostages, and under it, in white, ללא מילים, “No words.”
A year with no words …
Still, we’re a people who cannot resist words. There is nothing to say, but there is everything to say, and there is a need to say. … So—in IFTI’s “tradition” of showing how classic texts and songs morph in Israeli culture—three renditions of a portion of the liturgy that many of us will be reciting over the next few days …
U-netaneh Tokef, which has a fascinating history, is one of the best-known sections of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy. Here is the classic text:
Liturgy for Rosh Hashanah:
On Rosh Hashana their decree is inscribed, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed, how many will pass away and how many will be created, who will live and who will die; who will come to his timely end, and who to an untimely end; who will perish by fire and who by water; who by the sword and who by beast; who by hunger and who by thirst; who by earthquake and who by the plague; who by strangling and who by stoning; who will be at rest and who will wander about; who will have serenity and who will be confused; who will be tranquil and who will be tormented; who will become poor and who will become wealthy; who will be brought to a low state and who will be uplifted.
Leonard Cohen “Who by Fire”
Leonard Cohen, who had a deep knowledge of the classic Jewish liturgy, took those words, rewrote them to raise timeless theological questions, and produced one of his most loved songs:
And who by fire, who by water
Who in the sunshine, who in the night time
Who by high ordeal, who by common trial
Who in your merry merry month of May
Who by very slow decay
And who shall I say is calling?
And who in her lonely slip, who by barbiturate
Who in these realms of love, who by something blunt
Who by avalanche, who by powder
Who for his greed, who for his hunger
And who shall I say is calling?
And who by brave assent, who by accident
Who in solitude, who in this mirror
Who by his lady's command, who by his own hand
Who in mortal chains, who in power
And who shall I say is calling?
Tzachi Gatzek, Gali Gatzek and Vered Raz
A few months after the war began, an Israeli named Tzachi Gatzek posted on his Facebook page a reworking of Leonard Cohen’s song, altered to ask the questions that Israelis were now asking. We’ve added English subtitles.
Leonard Cohen’s “Who shall I say is calling?” has now become “Who will have mercy on us, Who will protect us?”
Indeed.
As the Rosh Hashanah liturgy pleads:
תכלה שנה וקללותיה, תחל שנה וברכותיה: “May this year and its curses come to an end, and may a new year of blessing begin.”
Prayers for a much better year ahead.
Thank you Danny, for your well-curated window into Israel and Israelis. Shana Tova to you and your family and may the year ahead be a better one for the Jewish people & Israel and may we all have the strength & endurance to continue to bring light unto the world.
Thank you, Daniel Gordis, for enriching our minds and bringing us closer to our Israeli brethren. May we, the Jewish People, know only peace and prosperity in this New Year and may we all be written and sealed in the Book of Life. Shana Tova U'Metuka! Am Yisrael Chai.