Ehud Banai Travels Back in Time Sivan Rahav Meir

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When Ehud Banai Travels Back in Time

וְזָכַ רְ תִּ י אֶ ת בְּ רִ יתִ י יַעֲקוֹב וְאַ ף אֶ ת בְּ רִ יתִ י יִצְ חָ ק וְאַ ף אֶ ת בְּ רִ יתִ י אַ בְ רָ הָ ם אֶ זְ כֹּ ר וְהָ אָ רֶ ץ אֶ זְ כֹּ ר.

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)

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 width that we have little energy left to discuss its depth, questions of culture, spirit, and substance.”

We have a time span going back three or even four thousand years whereas American history goes back at most two or three hundred 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

about “Pardes Hanna and Karkur,” which are less than five minutes apart. All I want is space and freedom. I want to get behind the wheel and just travel as far as I can. I always hoped that the day would come when I could drive to the border, cross it and continue on my journey.

My friend Oded Peled lives in Kibbutz Bet HaNassi and translates American poetry into Hebrew. When I shared my frustrations about the lack of distance in this country, he told me that we have something here that the Americans do not. We have a time span going back three or even four thousand years, whereas American history goes back at most two or three hundred years.

His idea gave me a new perspective on our country and I look at it with new meaning. Now I understood why I was attracted to writing songs that talk about our Jewish heritage: “The Golden Calf,” “David and Saul,” and “City of Refuge.” These are topics that send me back to earlier eras and this is my compensation for not having geographical space here. So instead I sing about the time span of this wonderful country.

Sivan Rahav-Meir is an Israeli journalist, currently on shlichut of World Mizrahi movement to the US. She is the author of #Parasha (Menorah Press) and Reaching to Heaven (Artscroll). To receive her daily insight on the portion of the week, text your name to: 972-58-679-9000