Tisha B'Av: The 9th of Av - (Rap Poem/Hip Hop Acapella)
All raps, poems, songs etc available at: http://www.danielraphaelsilverstein.com
During the 3 weeks of mourning, culminating in the 9th Av (Tisha B'Av) we mourn the destruction of the 2 previous Jewish Commonwealths, and especially the Temples that were their epicentres.
The Temple service was a unique means of bringing harmony to the world, so in fact we are grieving everything that is lost, broken, lacking, inside us and around us. As the sun burns ever hotter and the water table drops ever lower, we place our attention on the discomforting reality of quite how imperfectly humans treat each other, and our planet. We are all in exile, until we chose to be otherwise...
This poem is an attempt to relate our most ancient pain to our lives today, and to explain why Tisha B'Av is still very much relevant, not only to Jews, but to all humans.
Of course, Tisha B'Av is not the end of the story - in fact it comes when it does to prepare us for beginning a new year with the right attitude. We each have to go through the process of mourning what is lacking, what is still missing from our world, in order to direct ourselves towards rebuilding it as we would like to see it.
1love
Daniel
----
Imagine running in the dead of the night
Grabbing what you can & leaving behind
Everything you thought made up your life
Everything you thought was life was a lie
-
Cos everything you thought, & everything you bought
Don't offer no protection, & now you're caught
A rabbit with a panic attack
Stopped dead in your tracks
No destination & no way back
-
The city you were livin in smoulders in ash
Civilians are massacred whilst soldiers harass
Those fortunate survivors chosen to be slaves
Manacled in shackles & marched far away-
-
The adverts advertised appetising lies
But now reality has removed its disguise
Delusion has melted away & left you naked
Exposed to a baseless hatred
-
Wondering the earth with no dignity or safety
& forced to flee before enmity & hastily
We learn to pack up what is really essential
Teach it to our children & carry the Temple
-
Deep in our hearts, many times a day
We pray for rebuilding, we pray for the day
That nation will not lift up sword against nation
Nor will they learn war any more
-
But these words are beginning to sound empty
When the supposedly civilised world can't prevent the
Propagation of preposterous prejudice
The creation of hatred, the genesis of enemies
-
In a world so broken that the glow from the Temple's embers
Burns on our plasma screen TVs, and begs us to remember
What happens when we exile ourselves from the tender touch
-
Of this gift that we're given to be livin
Across the globe, sparks of light are hidden
& our mission is to re-build ourselves
Thru the fission of our ancestral wisdom
& the vision of every people
& so we were scattered to learn & to teach
& given opportunities to listen & to speak
Until we'll be gathered together to reach
A unity too deep for words
In tune with the people of Earth.
dannyraphael@gmail.com
http://www.danielraphaelsilverstein.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dannyraphael613
http://soundcloud.com/dannyraphael
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/danny-raphael/id433731350
During the 3 weeks of mourning, culminating in the 9th Av (Tisha B'Av) we mourn the destruction of the 2 previous Jewish Commonwealths, and especially the Temples that were their epicentres.
The Temple service was a unique means of bringing harmony to the world, so in fact we are grieving everything that is lost, broken, lacking, inside us and around us. As the sun burns ever hotter and the water table drops ever lower, we place our attention on the discomforting reality of quite how imperfectly humans treat each other, and our planet. We are all in exile, until we chose to be otherwise...
This poem is an attempt to relate our most ancient pain to our lives today, and to explain why Tisha B'Av is still very much relevant, not only to Jews, but to all humans.
Of course, Tisha B'Av is not the end of the story - in fact it comes when it does to prepare us for beginning a new year with the right attitude. We each have to go through the process of mourning what is lacking, what is still missing from our world, in order to direct ourselves towards rebuilding it as we would like to see it.
1love
Daniel
----
Imagine running in the dead of the night
Grabbing what you can & leaving behind
Everything you thought made up your life
Everything you thought was life was a lie
-
Cos everything you thought, & everything you bought
Don't offer no protection, & now you're caught
A rabbit with a panic attack
Stopped dead in your tracks
No destination & no way back
-
The city you were livin in smoulders in ash
Civilians are massacred whilst soldiers harass
Those fortunate survivors chosen to be slaves
Manacled in shackles & marched far away-
-
The adverts advertised appetising lies
But now reality has removed its disguise
Delusion has melted away & left you naked
Exposed to a baseless hatred
-
Wondering the earth with no dignity or safety
& forced to flee before enmity & hastily
We learn to pack up what is really essential
Teach it to our children & carry the Temple
-
Deep in our hearts, many times a day
We pray for rebuilding, we pray for the day
That nation will not lift up sword against nation
Nor will they learn war any more
-
But these words are beginning to sound empty
When the supposedly civilised world can't prevent the
Propagation of preposterous prejudice
The creation of hatred, the genesis of enemies
-
In a world so broken that the glow from the Temple's embers
Burns on our plasma screen TVs, and begs us to remember
What happens when we exile ourselves from the tender touch
-
Of this gift that we're given to be livin
Across the globe, sparks of light are hidden
& our mission is to re-build ourselves
Thru the fission of our ancestral wisdom
& the vision of every people
& so we were scattered to learn & to teach
& given opportunities to listen & to speak
Until we'll be gathered together to reach
A unity too deep for words
In tune with the people of Earth.
dannyraphael@gmail.com
http://www.danielraphaelsilverstein.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dannyraphael613
http://soundcloud.com/dannyraphael
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/danny-raphael/id433731350
Danny Raphael
Published on Fri, July 16th 2010