A new song about Love, G♥d, Relationships, and the Law of Contracts

[bnewman]

I've been filking my way through the Jewish calendar for a while now, and am pleased to announce that I am finally (according to some interpretations) done! There are two groups of Jewish holidays which could each be viewed as a single extended holiday, and I've now got one song for each group (and for the other major holidays) but not for each individual holiday within each group. (See below for the complete list.)

The song which completes the sequence is "Love Letter" (MP3), which picks up the biblical narrative at Pesach but is really about Shavuot. On Shavuot, we celebrate the revelation of the Torah at Sinai. The Jewish interpretive tradition likens G!d and Israel to lovers, the revelation at Sinai to a wedding, and the Torah to a marriage contract, and reads the Song of Songs as an allegory of this story (which it is, and...). It's touching, it's meaningful... but let's look at the particulars: The contract is written unilaterally, and Israel accepts it without reading it first and (according to one midrash) under duress. If your sensible Jewish mother heard that you were in a relationship like that, she'd tell you to find a lawyer (maybe your uncle Reuven...?)!

Because of that, reading the plain text of Exodus as a love story doesn't really work for me. The problem is not that I don't experience myself, and the Jewish people, as in love with G!d — I do. Neither is it that I feel love and law to be in conflict (this is one of the major points of divergence between Judaism and Christianity) — I hold to the very Jewish idea that clear agreements, written if necessary, ennoble a relationship and raise love above the level of mere sentiment. The problem is simply that, in the last few thousand years (and mostly in the last few hundred), there has been a radical change in the common understanding of both relationships and contracts: That the best kind (of either) are those entered into through the mutual negotiation of parties who come to the table on more-or-less equal terms, and that unilateral ones are accordingly less real.

I am a person of the Western world of the late 20th century. That concept of relationship, or of contract, as essentially rooted in mutuality, seems — to me — more ennobling and sacred than any other. Thus, when approaching my or the Jewish people's relationship with G!d as a romantic one, the modern concept of love is the one I apply. That doesn't mean I can't place myself at Sinai, it just means we're going to have to talk things over a bit... which, of course, the Jewish people — including, if not especially, those who hold to the more ancient view that of course G!d has the authority to contract unilaterally — have been doing ever since.

Incidentally, yes, the tune is very similar to "Circle Story" (MP3), which is a coincidence but not an accident — compare the section of "Circle Story" covering the corresponding part of the calendar and you'll see why.

List of My Jewish Holiday Songs:

• Shabbat: "Shechinah" (MP3)
• Pesach/Shavuot: "Love Letter" (MP3)
• Tisha B'Av: "Cracked" (MP3) (with reference to The Dark Crystal)
• Sukkot: "Starlight through Woven Branches" (MP3) (with reference to Elvish poetry)
• Chanukah: "Dedication" (MP3)
• Purim: "Masquerade" (MP3) (really, more of a ta'anit Esther song)

I have a midrash for the Days of Awe which may eventually find its way into the form of a song, in which case I would of course consider it part of this series, but in the meantime I feel that my "filk the Jewish calendar" project is complete for the time being. Enjoy!

Comments

[batyatoon]

I don't know why, but the line "And we gathered spun sugar in the middle of nowhere" is just so beautiful.

[orawnzva.livejournal.com]

Thank you :-). It's referring to an interpretation I've seen somewhere that identifies manna with the sugary exudate of a certain bush. I thought that knowing-where-to-find would fit the Song-of-Songs-ish storytelling mode better than producing-ex-nihilo.

[batyatoon]

It works at that level, but it also works on a more ambiguous level where it could refer to either producing-ex-nihilo or knowing-where-to-find.

[orawnzva.livejournal.com]

That icon is too cute!

BTW, since you seem like one of the few people I know who might do it... someone should totally make a Snood snood.

[crystalpyramid]

Yes! This is the one that brought tears to my eyes — it's about love and also full of the childish innocence that finds all kinds of amazing things in the middle of nowhere, playing with grass and seeds and stuff.

[batyatoon]

The icon art is by cadhla. *beams*

And yes, the idea has occurred to me, only I don't know how to make snoods.

[ladymondegreen.livejournal.com]

I might be able to make a snood snood. Do you want to design how you want it to look? I have lots of brightly colored thick cotton yarn.

[batyatoon]

Oooo!

Let us discuss this soon. :D

[sammka.livejournal.com]

I haven't gotten around to listening but I just wanted to say that "G♥d" is a nice way to spell "G-d."

[stevemb.livejournal.com]

It's touching, it's meaningful... but let's look at the particulars: The contract is written unilaterally, and Israel accepts it without reading it first and (according to one midrash) under duress.... The problem is simply that, in the last few thousand years (and mostly in the last few hundred), there has been a radical change in the common understanding of both relationships and contracts: That the best kind (of either) are those entered into through the mutual negotiation of parties who come to the table on more-or-less equal terms, and that unilateral ones are accordingly less real.

Granting the latter point, a unilateral contract is still an advance over the older concept of utterly arbitrary divine power (just as "an eye for an eye" was an advance over the older concept of revenge limited only by one's physical ability to inflict it).

[orawnzva.livejournal.com]

a unilateral contract is still an advance over the older concept of utterly arbitrary divine power

Certainly, and indeed a historical prerequisite for subsequent changes like the idea of mutuality.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to say that I think Love Letter is a really beautiful song. I love the idea of "I threw one box of crackers on top of my knapsack" and "We gathered spun sugar in the middle of nowhere" and "my heart opened up like a seed."

Come to think of it, I particularly like that image, the seed swelling with the rains of spring until the tender green shoot cracks the hard outer shell...

Anyway. Just thought I'd say.

I wrote a new song yesterday, btw. Nothing as fine as Love Letter, but I'll put it up at my lj.

[orawnzva.livejournal.com]

Thank you :-). That means a lot to me, especially in the context of our other recent LJ conversation.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

:-)

[batshua]

Did anything ever come of this? I am insanely curious.

[ladymondegreen.livejournal.com]

No, though thank you for reminding me. That might be a good project.