Great Song

I really love this song, words from Tehillim 130, composed and sung by Israeli artist Udi Davidi.



Tehillim 130 is ne of the most famous chapters of Tehillim, which is often said during times of crisis and for sick people. Not only are the words beautiful, with themes of calling out to Hashem, asking for forgiveness, and expressing hope in waiting for Hashem’s kindess, but many recent artists have put beautiful tunes to different verses. I can name tons of songs whose words come from this mizmor. There are two other songs called “Mimaamakim” that I enjoy, one by Idan Raichel, which is quite famous, and the other by Aryeh Kuntsler. The Aryeh Kunstler song seems to have inspired the name of his entire first album as well, “From the Depths.”

The Chevra 3 has two songs from this perek: a stunning rendition of Verse 3 and 4 called “Im Avonos,” (featuring a boy from Yeshiva Boys’ Choir who hits the highest note I’ve ever heard a kid reach) and “Yacheil” which is also pretty good. Another song from this perek, psukim 5-6, that I have always loved is the song “Kivisi” from the first Shalsheles CD, and Shalsheles put another song to verses 1-2 called, “Shir Hamalos,” on their fourth CD. I am sure you can probably think of at least one song that I am missing.

So when I heard there was yet another song called “Mimaamakim,” I admit I was slightly skeptical. Not again! Can’t Jewish artists put words to other less well known words? But apparently there is just no way to go wrong with this mizmor. When I first heard this song by Udi David, I fell in love. The tune fits the words so well, as it sounds like he is singing from the very bottom, the very depths, of his soul. What makes this song beautiful is when I listened to it when I was sad because it expressed how I felt. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do!

Tehillim - Psalms - Chapter 130

1. A song of ascents. From the depths I have called You, O Lord.
2. O Lord, hearken to my voice; may Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
3. O God, if You keep [a record of] iniquities, O Lord, who will stand?
4. For forgiveness is with You, in order that You be feared.
5. I hoped, O Lord; yea, my soul hoped, and I wait for His word.
6. My soul is to the Lord among those who await the morning, those who await the morning.
7. Israel, hope to the Lord, for kindness is with the Lord and much redemption is with Him.
8. And He will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.

Ups and Downs

Lately, it feels like life is one big obstacle course. Everywhere I turn there is another obstacle in my way, and as soon as I gather the strength to approach with full force and I manage to conquer one challenge, it seems that within the blink of an eye another obstacle is in my way, and this time it is even bigger. The truth is that this feeling that life is a constant challenge isn’t something I’ve only felt recently, that’s just how life is, despite the fact that we seem to be born with the misconception that life should just be smooth sailing. Having said that, however, I can think of times when my life was just happy and good and didn’t feel like a constant struggle, and some of those times weren’t that long ago at all. This summer, though, has been filled with an unusual share of bad days and consequently, bad moods. I find it so appropriate and applicable to my life that we started adding Tehillim 27 in Elul, which mentions “Yom Ra’ah,” a bad day.

Do you want to know the best part of having bad mood? (Yup, I did just say the best part, there is actually something good about it.) It’s what comes after the bad mood- the super good mood. Maybe this is just me, but often when I’m in a really bad mood it seems like the world is going to end and there’s no way out, like being trapped in an elevator. Just for a second it feels like it’s never going to get better, no matter how much I remind myself that life moves on. But once the bad mood fades, (and even though sometimes it takes forever, it always does go away) it’s amazing! All the sudden things seem wonderful again. The feeling of working through a problem, over overcoming a difficulty, is one of the most uplifting feelings. When a difficult situation is turned around, whether because I worked hard to do that, or if it magically works out on its own, the result is an emotional high that is unbelievable.

The interesting thing is that the deeper the bad mood, the lower the low point, the more intense the good mood is and the higher the high point is. I think it’s because the spiritual world and the physical world are complete opposites. Picture a roller coaster, for example. It needs to go very high up in order to come crashing down. The higher the roller coaster goes, the more drastic the drop is. Or even just think about gravity. The higher you lift something up, the longer a fall it will be. Bad moods are just the opposite. The lower down you go, the larger the potential to be lifted up. It’s like a reverse roller coaster. Momentum builds up as you sink, and then you go shooting up. Good moods defy gravity. You sink lower and lower and lower until you reach the bottom and go soaring up.

What’s amazing is my inability to learn this. Each time I’m in a bad mood I forget that it will fade and will be replaced with joy. I forget that the thunder and lighting will stop, that the rain will stop, and that the sun will come sneaking out of the clouds. That as bad as things might seem, they can almost always be fixed and there is a way to make it all better. And even if there’s not, there is a way to accept it and move on. The main thing is to start by accepting the fact that life will always have obstacles and challenges, and that is just how it is so you better learn to deal with them. There will always be something that tries to break me, but I have to remember that I’m strong enough to deal with anything G-d sends my way. That’s why Tehillim 27 ends with “Kaveh El Hashem, Chazak V’Yaametz Libecha, V’Kaveh El Hashem.” You start by longing for Hashem, but inevitably *something* will bring you down, and so the posuk doesn’t say “hope to Hashem,” it tell us to hope for Hashem, and then strengthen ourselves. Because something is bound to try to break us down, but we have to hold on and be strong in our hearts, and then go at it again full force ahead.

TGIF

One of my favorite Psukim is from Tehillim 30:6, "...weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." (Translation from Tehilim Hotline) No matter how hard the previous day was, every day is a new day, every morning is a new chance. It's amazing how you can go to sleep so upset, but when you wake up things just magically don't seem as bad.

It's been a long week for me, hope it was better for all of you.

Made it through this week. Happy Erev Shabbos everyone! Have a great shabbos.