THE DAILY BY SIVAN RAHAV-MEIR PORTION
When Ehud Banai Travels Back in Time
width that we have little energy left to discuss its depth, questions of culture, spirit, and substance.”
ְאף ֶאת ַ יתי י ְִצ ָחק ו ִ ְאף ֶאת ְּב ִר ַ יתי יַעֲקוֹב ו ִ ָכ ְר ִּתי ֶאת ְּב ִר ַ ְוז .ְה ָא ֶרץ ֶא ְז ּכֹר ָ יתי ַא ְב ָר ָהם ֶא ְז ּכֹר ו ִ ְּב ִר
thousand years whereas
And I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham I will remember; and I will remember the land. (Lev. 26:42)
at most two or three hundred
I was once the moderator for a panel discussion with two singer-songwriters, Ariel Horowitz and Ehud Banai. They both talked about our connection to the Land of Israel and how we treat it, which is one of the central motifs of this parasha. Ariel is the son of famed singer songwriter Naomi Shemer, who composed Jerusalem of Gold. He recalled that he is often asked if he shares the same right-wing political views as his late mother and that he has a standard answer to this question: “We are too obsessed with the width of the land, busy arguing about its borders, and split among ourselves between rightand left-wing. This is a terrible shame because we are so concerned about the 60
TORAH TIDBITS / BEHAR BECHUKOTAI 5780
We have a time span going back three or even four American history goes back years Ehud Banai spoke about the Land of Israel in a similar vein: I am very fond of American Blues and of songs that tell the story of a journey. I was always jealous of American musicians who go on never-ending musical tours and write about their experiences on the road from New Orleans to Memphis and on to New York. Here in Israel if you want to write about the long and winding road, your choice would be about the road from Acre to Safed, which is only an hour’s drive. In one of my songs I wrote, “I am taking time again, between Peki’in and Bet Jan,” but the whole journey takes six minutes, in traffic, at least according to Waze. Another song talks
