His Music and Words United Israel

a guest blog by Michal Zur

This week is the shloshim (30 days Jewish memorial) for one of Israel's icons, Arik Einstein. The loss that we all felt, the feeling of an era ending, and the hundreds of his songs played for weeks 24/7.

All of it reminded me of the feeling of winter in 1995. I was a newly arrived shaliach (emissary) in the community and our beloved hero, Prime Minister Rabin, was assassinated. Now I am back in shlichut and Arik Einshtein, my childhood hero, is dead. In spite of many differences, it feels alike.

Michal Zur, in our Israel office, writes a moving tribute that tries to capture the feelings of our nation upon this terrible loss.

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A couple of weeks ago, Israel lost one of its artistic legends and icons. Arik Einshtein died at the age of 74 from a sudden aneurysm and left the entire State of Israel in a state of shock and pain. For days the Israeli radio stations played only his songs, and the Israeli TV aired his movies. Even the Israeli drivers seemed to be mourning and drove more slowly than usual.

When speaking to my American friends and colleagues, I’ve tried to explain who he was and why we all feel so sad about someone who suffered from terrible social anxieties and didn’t even perform.

How can one tell of an artist that followed Israeli history through his work for over 54 years, with more than 44 CDs (the latest still in the works), with numerous sketches and songs that accompany so many Israeli Jewish life cycle events? Many of his songs are not only part of Israeli Jewish secular rituals but in many ways his words are the modern words of prayer.

So it’s only appropriate to share three songs that might tell his story and how we all feel:

The last Naïve — It felt so sad simply because NO ONE other than him could unite ALL of Israel and ALL the Israelis. In a place where we usually disagree on anything and everything from any political statement to the weather, there is one thing on which we all agree — there was no one, there is no one, and there probably won’t be anyone as big as Arik the performer, singer-songwriter, actor, the movie star.

His career started five decades ago, as a singer in an IDF military band, singing Palmach songs. These songs told of the early days of the country, the good old Israel, the naïve one, the one in which we tend to idealize and admire its ethos.

His next step was establishing and being part of the young, kicking and (still influential today) Israeli rock music scene. During his long career he cooperated with Israel’s best artists. Some of them gathered last week and recorded a song in his memory — “The Last Naïve,” which combines lyrics of his songs with the message that somewhere along the way we lost our naiveté, and that we need to unite and by that, be able to dream again. You can watch and listen to it here.

Adon Shoco — My two year old son has a favorite song called “Adon Shoco,” which is a children’s song by Einshtein and Yoni Rechter. It talks about a chocolate milk guy walking on the street, meeting second and third chocolate milk guys and then hanging out. Sounds simple, but it is well written and has become one of the most successful children’s CDs in Israel.

During the week of the shiva, people laid letters, flowers, and candles near his house in Tel Aviv, which is something we see in many other places in the world when public figures pass away. Only this time, by the flowers, letters, and candles there were small bottles of chocolate milk, which demonstrated Einshtein’s talent in bridging generations and crossing all age groups. You can watch and listen to it here.

Ani V’Ata — One of Einshtein’s most famous songs provided a bittersweet moment for me last week and an answer to my question of how to share his memory with my Greater MetroWest family.

We were sitting in a video conference of the third cohort for our Peoplehood Project. It is the beginning of the process for the participants and the “first date” between the Israelis and Americans as part of their two-year program.

During an ice breaker, the participants had to interview each other, and one of the Americans asked her Israeli peer about her favorite Israeli music. The Israeli Peoplehoodinkit answered with no hesitation — Arik Einshtein, and added that her favorite song is “Ani Ve’Ata Neshane Et Haolam” (You and I Will Change the World).

Spontaneously, the Israeli group started singing the song, joined by some of the American participants who knew it. Despite technical challenges, and bridging the distance of 6,000 miles, the message was clear— it is in our hands! You can watch and listen to it here. You can also see the lyrics and translation here.

So who is Arik Einshtein to me? All of the above and more. His character and music are my inspiration and command me to take responsibility and continue dreaming. Listening to his music will tell you more than anything else about us Israelis.

Drishat Shalom,