Did her lover die? Was he killed by marauders? Did he simply abandon her for another life? Set in the Galilee region “Between Degania and Kinneret,” the story depicts life in those early farming collectives: hard work, driving carts in the field, embroidering shirts, and eventually, the sad reality of loss. Written sometime in the 1930s by poet Yaacov Orland and set to music by longtime collaborator Mordechai Zeira, Hayu Leilot (There Were Nights) tells an ill-fated love story of pioneers of the Second Aliyah period, narrated by a woman. Since then, both have remarried, and Geffen no longer performs the song. In March 1998, Geffen and Berkowitz divorced. The two married in June 1996, at a lavish wedding in the presence of Israeli president and personal friend Shimon Peres. It has been said that Feinberg wrote “The Ballad Of A Thousand Kisses” to his fiancée Rivka Aaronsohn (sister of NILI cofounders Aaron, Alexander and Sarah Aaronsohn, the tragic heroine of NILI), although others claim that the dates indicate it was written during his studies in Paris, well before Feinberg knew the Aaronsohn family. The words were inspired by a letter written by Avshalom Feinberg, often called “the first sabra” and one of the founders of the Jewish underground network NILI, which assisted the British against the Ottoman Empire in World War I. This sweet love song by lyricist Mirit Shem-Or and composer Zvika Pick, and released in 1985 by singer Yehoram Gaon, has its roots in the pre-State Ottoman Era. Still, the identity of the woman remained unknown until Zehava Berlinsky’s death in 2011 when, at her behest, it was played at her funeral and the poem engraved on her headstone.Īlthough perhaps written as a love song to the State of Israel that raises philosophical questions – “Why is there war and pain? / Why does God not intervene? / Why are there people living the streets?” - it is also a romantic song that tugs at the heartstrings as the lover asks desperately, “Who loves you more than I do? / Who makes you laugh when you are sad? / How long will you be mine? / And why are you silent?” In 1977, singer Arik Einstein released the song to acclaim that brought Halfi out of obscurity. In 1950s Tel Aviv, actor-poet Avraham Halfi wrote about his unfulfilled passion for Zehava Berlinsky, the wife of Halfi’s friend, actor Ze’ev Berlinsky. The love song topping almost every list is Atur Mitzchech (Your Brow Is Adorned ). The stories about the people behind the words and music can be as compelling as the songs themselves. Like most in their genre, Israeli love songs tend to be about unrequited, unfulfilled passion. Playing in the background of those late summer flings will almost definitely be 10 songs that crop up continually on the playlists of the Israeli listening public. Tu b’Av may be a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar but it falls at the perfect time for major romance. In time for Tu b’Av, the Jewish holiday of romance (this year beginning Thursday night), ISRAEL21c presents a playlist of Israeli love songs and the fascinating stories behind them.
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