We don't sing enough. Raise an eyebrow or roll your eyes at me if you wish, but the fact remains; in our everyday lives we simply don't spend enough time singing. Now I don't necessarily mean Mary Poppins-type theatrical singing while sweeping chimneys. Nor do I mean joining something like Improv Everywhere's spontaneous musicals (if you aren't familiar with their work, you should be. Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkYZ6rbPU2M). I just think our lives aren't filled with enough joy, gratitude, and happiness, specifically expressed through song. And I definitely know that we don't spend enough of our time blessing one another. Which may, perhaps, seem like a very random comment, but not so much, in fact, if you are familiar with this week's Torah portion.
When I was a student at Columbia University, a large number of Jewish
students would gather on Saturday evenings for prayer, some food (obviously), and to sing Shabbat songs. It was a wonderful experience for me, and I learned some terrific tunes there that I often wish I had more opportunities to sing. One of those comes from this week's Torah portion. It is a beautiful piece of poetry, uttered by Jacob when blessing his grandsons, Ephraim and Menashe. The text itself is very powerful, and combined with a lovely Shabbat melody it becomes truly unforgettable. If you're interested, you can hear everyone's favorite Yeshiva University a capella group, the Maccabeats (of "Candlelight" fame), singing their version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY84tg_odp4&feature=related.
The words are: "The God in whose ways my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who
has been my shepherd from my birth to this day - the Angel who has redeemed me from all harm - bless the lads. In them may my name be recalled, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they be teeming multitudes upon the earth" (Gen. 48:15-16). It is a beautiful blessing of protection, hope, connection to history, and closeness to God. I don't know if Jacob conjured up this blessing on a moment's notice, and I don't know if he actually sang it to his progeny, though I'd like to think that he did. What I do know is that it's heartfelt, it's touching, and it's inspiring.
I think it is a stirring reminder that we should bless each other more often. We should bless our children, our parents, our siblings, our friends, and yes, even our pets. We cannot take anything for granted in life. For someone who's family members were too close for comfort in the recent suicide attack in Stockholm, Sweden, I am more aware of this now than I would like to be. Life is tremendously precious. Why waste it being stressed out, angry, frustrated, tired, bored, or irritated. Value the people around you, cherish the time you have with them, and make sure they know it! And if the mood strikes you, why not even sing about it once in a while?
Shabbat Shalom!
Photos in this blog post:
1. CC image courtesy of Loren Javier on Flickr
3. CC image courtesy of wrestlingentropy on Flickr
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