Rita - Waiting

"It's a dream that may be slowly becoming a reality. The protesters there are paying the highest price, the price of human life, with everything they have, in fact. These are very brave people who deserve appreciation for what they are doing against all odds. After all, they are dealing with dark forces that throw anyone they want into prison, and kill without reckoning. If the war they are waging now ends in a revolution, and the regime in Iran falls, I feel that the whole world will become brighter - certainly our lives in Israel. There is so much beauty, depth, and color in Persian culture, and I pray that one day all of these will return to be the face of Iran. Of course, I support those who are protesting, am proud of them and pray for them."

I wanted to share these words of hope from Rita, who immigrated to Israel from Iran when she was eight years old and has become one of Israel's top singers, always proud of her Persian heritage. These are days of tense uncertainty. I'm terrified of the fate of Iranians if the regime stays in place and the brutal crackdown that will follow, and how things will play out over here if there's an escalation. As a person who values freedom and secular rights, I can only hope that one day things will be different.

One day it will happen

Without our even noticing it, something will change

Something within us will calm down, something will touch us

And there won't be anything to fear.

And it'll come, like a line engraved in the palm of your hand

It'll come, self-assured

As if it had always been there, waiting for us to notice.

And it'll come, you'll see

Your tightly clutched hands will open

And the heart that guards us from pain will beat regularly again

It'll come, like nature is accustomed

To be at peace with itself.

One day it will happen

Without our even noticing it, something will change

Something within us will calm down, something will touch us

And there won't be anything to fear.

And it'll come, like a line engraved in the palm of your hand

It'll come, self-assured

As if it had always been there, waiting for us to notice.

And it'll come, you'll see

Your tightly clutched hands will open

And the heart that guards us from pain will beat regularly again

It'll come, like nature is accustomed

To be at peace with itself.

And it'll come, you know

Not everything will shake us

Not everything will strike

And what will open up for us

Waits.