Exhaustion and relief

My dear Friends
The concert is over and I feel a sense of exhaustion and relief. Also of happiness, because I feel I did a good job. I had a final rehearsal in the beautiful hall last Thursday, with my friend who is a professional pianist of some standing, so gave me the best advice. We decided that I should sing 'off the floor' which means me, a chair, footstool and the guitar! And that way I am close to the audience.

They took a little winning over, which was a bit strange, as I knew many of them, but I had them singing by the second song, which was Blowin in the wind-there was no excuse as I had provided the words. They loved 'Killin me softly' and I enjoyd it too, because finally having mastered the chord sequence I felt light with it and that's really its style.
The Hebrew music and special Sabbath melodies went down very well and an Israeli couple in the audience beamed at me and sang along ! Summertime, which I had never performed in public before was appreciated too. Throughout, I spoke of Risa Domb, my former Modern Hebrew teacher who died not long ago and to whom the concert was dedicated. How fearless she was and how she had told me to continue regardless of opposition.

James, my friend and former lecturer in Accadian Studies, had requested an encore in the afternoon, and so I finished with 'Eli, Eli,' a very moving song I sang on my visit to Auschwitz. Written by Hannah Senesh as she was walking by the Mediterranean, she perished at the hands of the Nazis when her parachute came down over enemy lines.She had returned to her native Hungary to play a part in the war.

And so I leave you with the words:
'Eli, eli, shelo yigamer leolam,
Hachol vehayam, rishrush shel hamayim.
Verak hashamayim tefilat ha-adam.'

My God, my God, who is unending,
The sand and the sea, the rustling of the waters,
And only the skies are the prayer of Man.

Every blessing and much Shalom
Sister Gila