This beautiful song was chosen as the chuppah song at Shir Siegal's wedding a few days ago. A moving soundtrack to an emotional moment that brought tears to my eyes and to many others - seeing Shir's parents, Aviva and Keith Siegal, walk their daughter down the aisle, a long-awaited moment that almost didn't happen. As Shir wrote, "This is the image of victory. And when everyone will be home - that will be total victory. Nothing else".
When I heard the sad news of Ozzy Osbourne's death, I thought of his last performance in Israel in 2018, as part of his farewell tour. From the footage here, it looks like it was an unforgettable night, both for Ozzy and for the lucky fans who got to see him live. Orphaned Land had the honor of opening for him, and you can hear the influence of Black Sabbath in their music, just as they have influenced so many others around the world. I came across Orphaned Land's cover of Avner Gadassi's classic a few months after October 7th. Kobi Farhi shared that they had recorded the cover before the war, and the dark lyrics suddenly became chillingly relevant. Who would have thought that they would still be so relevant almost two years later?
When I hear the song today, my first thought goes to the hostages struggling to survive in the tunnels, especially after seeing the shocking recent footage of Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski, who were both taken captive from the Nova music festival. We are their voice, and we must do everything we can to get them finally home before it is too late. I also think about the soldiers who have fallen in Gaza and the tragically growing number of soldiers who have taken their lives. It's not a popular opinion here, but I can't stop thinking of the innocent victims in Gaza and the very real starvation that is happening there. Yes, Hamas is responsible for them, but in this situation, so is Israel. Hamas has shown that it does not care for its people and is benefiting from the international pressure on Israel. That doesn't mean that we can just close our eyes and seal our hearts. As Nietzsche wrote: "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you".
The 12-day war with Iran is over, for now, but the war in Gaza isn't over yet, and we must do everything we can to bring home Omri Miran and 49 other hostages.
Night comes and it's quiet now
Longing comes, to see and embrace you
What I'm going through, it's more than words
I have everything here except for you.
You are going through difficult days again
How do you protect yourself and what about the smiles
What are you thinking, this is difficult in words
I have everything here except for you.
We'll meet again and it'll be good
It'll be soon, soon
The two of us together, it'll be good for us
Don't worry, it'll be soon, soon
What can I tell you and this is only a letter
What can I describe for you and how to make it interesting
What can I tell you - I can't find the words
I have everything here, except, for you
We'll meet again...
Thank you, Moshe Kaye, for the lovely translation of Arik Einstein's timeless classic, performed here by the Nahal Oz community.
One week in. It's crazy how quickly you can get used to a new situation, like not sleeping a full night and adjusting all your routes so you'll be near a bomb shelter. I've taken to walking my dog along the route of the underground light rail, so we'll have a dog-friendly shelter if needed, but the siren caught us once while we were in a small side street, and we took refuge in a nearby private building shelter. It was packed, and I felt a bit uncomfortable as the 'outsider', but one of the neighbors kindly offered water, and my dog loved the attention. With places closed and almost everyone working from home, or not working this past week, there was an early Covid vibe, only this time we are encouraged to be with other people, and I'm grateful to have neighbors I feel comfortable being in the shelter with at 3 am. But the home front updated the rules, and workplaces are encouraging workers to return, a strange situation when schools are still closed.
The threat from Iran has always been in the back of the mind, a matter of when, not if. Despite the danger, I feel okay with suffering a bit now if there is a chance that we won't have to live with an existential threat in the future, but only time will tell how this will play out.
When missiles will fall on Tel Aviv's streets
What will we wear? What music will we like?
And what will we do till then?
When Dizengoff Center will collapse into itself,
And the city within the city will vanish along
Please, please, please, please, kiss me at the end of the world
When missiles will fall on the central station
And the black city will disperse into the air,
And devour the White [city]
We will all be done in a great shock wave,
Let's live today as if it were yesterday
Please, please, please, please, kiss me at the end of the world
Thank you to youtube user @snurts for the translation!
It started on Thursday. As I was rushing to finish the work week, news came in that there might be an attack on Iran. This wasn't a far-stretched possibility, considering the stalled talks with the U.S. and, yes, also Netanyahu's fragile coalition, which was on the brink of falling apart due to tensions with the ultra-Orthodox parties. But we all agreed that if there was something, it would be sometime the next week, right after Netanyahu's son's much-discussed wedding. On Thursday night we were busy getting ready for Pride weekend, which was supposed to make a festive comeback after last year's low-key event due to the war. And then the siren woke us up at 3 am. At first I thought it was a missile from Yemen, which we've somehow gotten used to. But it was strange that there was no information in the red-alert app. We soon learned that Israel had attacked Iran, and we were instructed to be alert and near a shelter in case there was immediate retaliation. I understand the rationale behind this, especially when not everyone has a shelter in their house, but I was pretty annoyed that I had been woken up by this very loud FYI when no rockets had been launched yet. My thoughts turned to Caitlyn Jenner, who had just landed in Israel as a guest of honor for the Pride parade. She had come to Israel to support us, and now she was stuck in the country during a war with no option to leave due to the closed airspace. But the next day, after Iran's first retaliation attack, a photo of her sitting in a shelter with a glass of wine went viral and lifted our spirits. We'll get through this. This isn't another attack, and things will be different this time, as we learned when we woke up to sirens later in the night and again early this morning, seeing the devastation of the missile strikes targeted at civilian areas.
There's still so much uncertainty, but I want to share the words the singer Liraz Charhi posted yesterday to her followers in Iran: "My sisters and brothers, freedom is coming. Don't be afraid - the songs we wrote together are coming true, we sing together. Music will connect our hearts until the day comes when we will all live, free. We are with you, closer than ever. Our dream to live together, without dictatorial rule - so close. A new day is coming when you can rejoice, dance, sing, hug and kiss in the streets. We will sing again in Freedom Square in Iran and Israel. Soon. Love and support you, Liraz".
Good luck Yuval! It was amazing to watch Yuval's journey on 'A Star is Born', from a girl who dreamed of singing professionally but never put herself out there, to the winner of the show and our representative in this year's Eurovision. During the show, she said that surviving the Nova massacre gave her the courage to fulfill her dreams, capturing our hearts along the way with her calm presence and beautiful voice. No matter what happens, it's so happy to see her live life to the fullest and enjoy her journey.
And even if you say goodbye
You'll never go away
You are the rainbow of my sky
My colours in the grey
My only wish upon a star
Sunshine in the day
The only song that my piano ever plays
And even if you say goodbye
You'll always be around
To lift me up and take me high
Keep my feet close to the ground
Are you proud of me tonight
Dreams are coming true
I choose the light
Nothing to lose if I lose you
New day will rise
Life will go on
Everyone cries
Don't cry alone
Darkness will fade
All the pain will go by
But we will stay
Even if you say goodbye
Et meme si tu dis adieu (And even if you say goodbye)
Tu ne partiras jamais (You'll never go away)
T'es l'arc-en-ciel de mon ciel bleu (You are the rainbow of my sky)
Mes couleurs dans le gris (My colours in the grey)
Et mon seul souhait sous un ciel d'art (My only wish upon a star)
Un rayons dans ma journee (Sunshine in the day)
La seule chanson que mon piano peut jouer (The only song that my piano ever plays)
New day will rise
Life will go on
Everyone cries
Don't cry alone
Darkness will fade
All the pain will go by
But we will stay
Even you say
New day will rise
Life will go on
Everyone cries
Don't cry alone
Darkness will fade
All the pain will go by
But you will stay
The love of my life
מים רבים
לא יכבו
את האהבה
ונהרות לא ישטםוה
(Many waters cannot quench love. Neither can the floods drown it)
