"After the rain, comes the spring"—a new Lament over Beeri.
On the The Three Weeks, we typically stay away from music. This new "Lamentation" for Be'eri is precisely the sort of creation that merits an exception.
What is it that we grieve over during these Three Weeks, the traditional period of mourning between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av? We mourn, of course, the beginning of the end and the end itself—the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem, and the destruction of the Temple and with it, the end of Jewish sovereignty.
More than nine months into this war, Israel is still deeply in mourning: for the lives lost on October 7th and then thereafter, for the hostages still languishing in the horrific and unspeakable cruelty of Hamas captivity, for the suffering of the still wounded, for the hundreds of amputees learning to life live anew, for the children who will never be the same, for the many thousands sent from their homes, with no signs of their being able to go back anytime soon.
Israel mourns a past we understand we will never recover, as we face and hope to shape a future the contours of which we still cannot imagine.
And to go hark back to those images of Jerusalem of old, we mourn the breaching of the walls of ancient Jerusalem, just as we mourn the breaching of the fence on October 7, the permeability of the northern border that has led to so much suffering and death, this week especially in Magdal Shams with the horrific deaths of 12 young Israeli children, the enemy that surrounded us then and does so once again.
We mourn the image we had of an IDF that could accomplish anything, and which, instead, is struggling on many fronts. We mourn much, much more.
There is, of course, also much to celebrate. The emergence of a young generation that still says it is determined to save this nation. The heroism of our civilians and soldiers who have saved thousands of lives and who enable us to slowly dismantle Hamas.
We celebrate the unique spirit of the Israeli people, a spirit that has inspired us all. On Shabbat afternoons, in the Mincha service, we say in the Silent Prayer (Amidah): אַתָּה אֶחָד וְשִׁמְךָ אֶחָד וּמִי כְּעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל גּוֹי אֶחָד בָּאָרֶץ — “Your are One and Your Name is One, but who is like Your people, a singular nation in all the world?”
It’s true—there is something unique about this people, something that has emerged and been rediscovered during this past terrible year. We’ve seen some of that in the music that has emerged over this period, and we’ll return to that.
On the Three Weeks, though, it is customary to stay away from music. Today’s performance of a new “Lament” or “Lamentation” for Be’eiri—the kibbutz on which we’re focusing this week through our conversations with Dekel Shalev yesterday and tomorrow—is not only appropriate to the Three Weeks, but actually can enrich ur mourning, and remind us of the magnitude of what has transpired.
If you know something about traditional Kinot (Lamentation poems), you’ll see how this new one evokes the classic ones beautifully and poignantly. If you’re curious to glance through some, or perhaps even to learn them on Tisha B’av, here’s a selection on Sefaria.
And on these Three Weeks, with negotiations for the hostages either happening or not happening, depending on whom you ask, we also offer (once again) this performance of the prayer the words for which are below.
We need this prayer to be answered. Now.
"We need this prayer to be answered. Now."
Has this supernatural ever answered? Is there one?
Haunting and beautiful. Thank you for bringing us things we otherwise might not know about. You do such important work.