Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
How would you summarize the civil year as it comes to an end? These are the days of year-end reviews and we will surely start hearing about our blunders. And there certainly were - from the handling of the coronavirus restrictions to politics, from stories of corruption, abuse, and exploitation to catastrophic disasters and terrorist attacks. Yet despite all this, yesterday we learned something that reminds us what is deeply hidden in all that happened this year.
Acum (Society of Authors, Composers, and Music Publishers) published the finding that the song played the most in Israel this year was "Sibat HaSibot" (Cause of all Causes) by Yishay Ribo. This is the most played song on all the Israeli radio stations (not including what was played in your kitchen or your living room, on YouTube or Spotify)...
It appears that the gap between the news and our personal playlist was never so large, but it seems that it's our playlist that is making the real headlines.
Here are the words of the most popular song in Israel this year (Translation by Moshe Kaye):
"Return my soul to me, remove the rain from me
I had a sea of time to relax, I got used to it a bit actually
and in the wide open space, we can see the sun on the horizon
no doubt I’m sure, at the end the path will be clear
Just open for us
the gates of faith, the gates of understanding
that we don't have any king...
Other than You
Creator of the universe, cause of all causes
awe-inspiring glory
and only to You is it proper to thank, for all the days and nights
We came out of Noah's Ark, to a different reality
redeem the prisoners of power and those trapped in the net
also to accept the black and white, with all the colors of the rainbow
favored are people created in G-d's image (Mishna Avot Chapter Gimel)
Just open for us
the gates of containment, the gates of the beginning
since we don't have any other king...
Other than You
Creator of the universe, cause of all causes
hears prayers
and only to You
is it proper to thank, for all the days and nights".
