In preparation for the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which will take place on January 27, the musician and creator Aharon Razel is publishing “Moed Katan”.
Razel is known for the originality of the subjects of his works and this time he chose to compose a song that is a work and a story that will not leave a dry eye. In the new song you can hear musical influences from musicals and even a little from the composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein.
And about the song he tells: “Moed Katan” is a story told by a Holocaust survivor that describes his uncle the “wise student”, who did not stop studying Gemara even there, in the camps. One night the uncle wakes him up. He knows this is his last day and one request to him: Please finish the tract for me. Rabbi Carlebach told the thrilling story only once in his life in one of his last performances. As the grandson of Holocaust survivors, I had to share the world with the tear in the song. “The six million saints ask us: Finish the books we have not finished.”
Aaron Razel, one of the most esteemed and special musicians of our generation, is a gifted composer and a talented troubadour who has redefined the boundaries between the sacred and the profane and walks between them naturally. In his humble submission, Razel succeeds time and time again in bringing his works to high emotional intensities that touch the depths of the heart and soul. With twelve albums behind him and many collaborations with the best Israeli artists (Eviatar Banai, Shuli Rand, Yishai Ribo, Yonatan Razel, David D’Or and more), Aharon Razel manages to bridge gaps and views and simply and sincerely produce a unique and exciting musical language.
Lyrics:
The day I met my uncle R. Shalom, life in the camp received hope.
With another slice of bread he gave me his own, a word of encouragement, or comfort.
My uncle Hasid Kozenitz from the world that has already been destroyed, we survived there together for almost two years.
I have not yet told what I will tell anyone here, but for the sake of future generations:
One night, he woke me up from my sleep, woke me up and said to me:
“Know that you, you alone, will stay from the whole family.
And I have a feeling, that I will not be tomorrow.
And this is my last request:
As you know, I know the whole gemara, by heart, word for word.
And from the day I entered Auschwitz, I did not stop learning,
Today I am holding the tract “Moed Katan”,
I estimate that by tomorrow I will reach page 7, page A.
I ask you, if God will help you and you will come out of here alive,
I swear to you: Please finish the tract for me! ”
The six million saints ask us:
Finish the books we have not finished yet!
Please pass this message on to your children!
I ask you, if God will help you and you will come out of here alive,
I swear to you: Please finish the tract for me!
Please finish the tract for me!
Story: R. Shlomo Carlebach.
Arrangement and Orchestration: Aharon Razel
Musical production: Avi Tal
Guitar: Avi Singolda
Piano: Aharon Razel, recorded in the Yellow Submarine in Jerusalem
Wind Instruments: Dor Asraf
Violinist: Larry Brand
Viola: Raz Ronen
Cello: Jonathan Niv
World Friends Choir conducted by Jacob Rotblatt
Bass, Keyboards Programming Recordings and Mixes: Avi Tal Medical Studios 2021
Clip:
Photography and editing script: Nir Fisherman ‘Narrative’
Illustrations: Shalhabatya Ziss
Production and idea: Efrat Razel