Mark Eliyahu - Through Me

The death of Shimon Peres didn't come as a surprise, and yet it sent a wave of shock throughout the country and the world. I think it hit me when Netanyahu said the next day "Today is the first day the State of Israel has existed without Shimon Peres". I internalized the sentence and realized that we won't hear his thoughtful and carefully chosen words anymore, always said in a confident and comforting tone. We won't see his face light up in wonder at the latest tech innovation, like as he tried a VR set a few months ago when he laid the cornerstone for the Israeli Innovation Center. It's difficult to imagine future chapters in our country's history without Peres by our side, acting as the stern but loving grandfather who has very high expectations from us. On Thursday night the news channels were dedicated to Peres-most were focused on his political past but one of the programs was from a few years ago when he was President. He gathered together a small group of 30 year-olds from different sects of Israeli society, all with promising futures in medicine, politics, hi-tech, science, education and the social sector. He asked them complex questions with a sparkle in his eyes and seemed to be at his happiest: he was bringing together bright people from very different backgrounds and was deeply interested in not only what they had to say but perhaps more importantly, in what they had to say to each other.
I chose this beautiful piece by Mark Eliyahu because there is something so touching and reflective in the tune. It urges you to take a step back and to listen, just as Peres always encouraged us to do.