The Rashbam says the entire book of Devarim is called שירה, “Song,” We see this week that Torah is synonymous with Song. For this week, I wrote about how a song saved my life.
Music has been such an important healing tool for me over the years. Feeling good comes in waves, so if you hit a funk, it’s important to have ways to get yourself out. For some it’s being in nature, seeing the grand grace and epic beauty of creation, for others it’s exercising, and for others it’s staying connected to loved ones. For me, staying happy and connected is certainly tied to maintaining a daily spiritual practice, but also an important and key part is music. Music transcends current moods and creates universes to jump into; it’s a powerful way to shift perspective and feelings. @BonIver‘s self-titled album does it for me every time– if I ever feel down and I listen to it, I feel that darkness can’t coexist with the light and beauty that those songs exude, and it snaps me out of it. Of course, on an even more connected level are the songs from Jewish singers that blend our rich tradition into their own styles (@IshayRibo_official, @Eviatar.Banai, @Akiva.official, Erez Yechial etc.)
Song is at the center of all our rituals, and singing is the unifying element of communal prayer. King David used a harp to compose the Psalms. The Talmud teaches that the harp hung above King David’s bed, and at midnight a northern ruach (wind) would blow on the five strings, raising him from his sleep to study Torah until day break. The Zohar teaches that the five strings parallel the five books of Torah and are the instruments with which he composed much of Tehillim….
When you listen to music, you can feel some of what the artist is feeling when he sings. In the Talmud it teaches, “Words that emanate from the heart – enter the heart.” Kabbalists explain that music helps banish extraneous thoughts and clear the mind, cutting away impure thoughts that envelop the soul, allowing a person to connect to the Light of the Infinite. Music is also something that can be played in circles infinitely, in fact that is often how the prophets would reach their state of nevuah. It would be a repetitive riff being played until the riff would act as a mantra, a meditation, and prophecy would be reached.
***here are the last few paragraphs from the Dvar:
I spent the last few days in the woods for Rosh Hashana with the Ostrova Biala Rebbe. It’s hard to put into words what it feels like to sing and pray surrounded by people you love as the Rebbe sings the songs of redemption that usher us into the new year. There is always a moment that is above all the surrounding moments when all feels aligned and it all sort of makes sense. This moment for me came earlier today when we sang Avinu Malkeinu/Our Father, Our King, hearing the Rebbe lead, as we all joined in with an ineffable feeling; I just felt connected and exalted.
There’s a story from Ta’anit: once, during a drought, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva prayed for rain. First R’ Eliezer stood before the ark and recited twenty-four blessings for fast days, but his prayers went unanswered. And so R’ Akiva rushed to the bimah and cried out “Avinu Malkeinu…” (“Our Father, our King, we have no king but You”) And immediately, the rain fell, ending the devastating drought. The Sages of the time suspected that it must be because R’ Akiva is greater than R’ Eliezer, but a Heavenly Voice was heard proclaiming, “The prayer of this man, R’ Akiva, was answered not because he is greater than the other man, but because he is always forbearing and the other is not. The lesson here isn’t that a prayer is answered based on the greatness of the person, but on patience and the heartfelt nature of its offering. R’ Akiva pleaded with Hashem, reminding Him that He is our Father and our King, but in pleading with Hashem as our Father first, R’ Akiva was asking that Hashem lead with the love of a parent before that of a king, and that is how we are to approach our davening.
Singing “Avinu Malkeinu,” in the woods, with the Rebbe leading it, I felt truth and oneness, and I could hear through the singing that was in sync with mine that everyone around me felt the same.
Shana Tova Umetukah!
— DIVE FULLY IN & READ FULL ARTICLE/DVAR @ https://lightofinfinite.com/the-song-that-saved-my-life/
———————-
Thanks for listening/reading.
Much love, Erez Safar
** Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/lightofinfinite
*** Follow on instagram: @thelightofinfinite