Songs of loss and faith

This is a song of hope for a future in Israel's devastated Gaza border communities. It was written in the wake of October 7 by Assi Stav and originally recorded by Adar Gold.

The version below was filmed by Israeli singer Eden Hasson and local Gaza border musicians in kibbutz Kfar Azza, one of the Israeli villages hardest hit by the Hamas invasion.

The lyrics reference many classic Israeli songs of this genre, bittersweet ballads of loss and mourning coupled with a fierce and determined hope and longing for a bright future.

More than anything, these are themes that come up in Israeli songs over and over throughout the years and generations. From Naomi Shemer to Ehud Manor to Uzi Hitman to Ilai Bottner and Keren Peles and so many others.

These are songs that every Israeli grows up with and as we have suffered new wars, terror attacks and painful hardships more of these are written and added to a canon that Israelis sing together, that are played on the radio especially around Memorial Day and times of trouble, that are sung at memorial day ceremonies and communal singalongs on sad days and happy days alike.

These are songs that are in many ways a therapy, a balm for the battered souls of a traumatised nation. 

These are songs of resilience in the face of terrible pain and grief that at once give space to that sorrow but also look to the future and the comfort that better days will come.

The wheat will grow again. The flowers will bloom again. Children will be born to run and play on the paths and in the fields once scarred by war and terror. We remember our dead and our wounded and the horrors of war but also keep the faith that life is stronger and peace will prevail eventually.

Though today we must fight for our lives we never lose sight of that hope for a peaceful tomorrow.

There is a reason Israel's national anthem is The Hope. 

This is Israel in a nutshell. 

Shibolim (wheat sheaves) by Assi Stav (my rough translation)

You remember when we were small
We would hide behind the hay
Punnets of tomatoes and the October breeze
Whistling through the air

Stones in my shoes, a smile on my face
Flowers in my hair
The way to the village has been lost
The way I hoped to return 

The battlefield will turn to sheaves of wheat
You'll see we'll yet return and raise our children here
The battlefield will turn to wheat sheaves
Beautiful people will keep dancing on the paths
Songs will yet be written here and thousands of red anemones will cover the stains

You remember when we were already big
We would hide behind the wall
Punnets of gunpowder and the October wind
Igniting the air

Dust on our shoes, a smile without a face
Shabbat flowers on the table
The way to the village is lost
The way I saw how everything ended

The battlefield will turn to sheaves of wheat 
You'll see we'll yet return and raise our children here
The battlefield will turn to sheaves of wheat
Beautiful people will continue to dance on the paths
Songs will yet be written here and thousands of red anemones will cover the stains

The battlefield will turn to sheaves of wheat 
Seeds of hope will sprout and climb high
The battlefield will turn to sheaves of wheat 
Beautiful people will continue to dance in the wide open spaces
Books will be written here and thousands of red anemones will cover the years.