Yardena Arazi is a well known Israeli singer and entertainer, who grew up in Israel on a kibbutz, represented Israel in the Eurovision song competition, was one of the most popular Israeli singers of the 80’s, and in general is a major voice in Israeli music.
In her song “Shehashemesh ta’avor alai” ( “The sun should pass over me”) Arazi sings of feelings of hardship and loneliness and the desire for better days, coupled with a direct plea to G-d to bring back the sun in her life and guide her back to happiness through the land and her roots. Arazi herself has described the song as a song of longing and wistfulness. The song also has a strong Zionistic element, with much of it dealing with Arazi’s connection to her native land.
It is also cool to see Avraham Fried, a famous Israeli religious singer, to perform her song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUr5mXeiS1s
Questions:
How do you feel your surroundings, whether in nature or in civilization, affect your prayer?
There is often a certain sadness or wistfulness associated with prayer. Why do you think prayer elicits such strong emotions?
Do you think prayer outside of Israel is lacking a certain something? Why or why not? Tell us in the Be’ur Tefillah form!
English lyrics:
https://lyricstranslate.com/en/%D7%A9%D7%94%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%A9-%D7%AA%D7%A2%D7%91%D7%95%D7%A8-%D7%A2%D7%9C%D7%99-sun-should-pass-over-me.html
